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Polysics finalize show in SF
Fri, September 7, 2007 (6:31am EDT)



Following up on their announcement of three shows in California, Polysics has finalized a fourth show, scheduled for October 14 at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

[ Last edited by  whitedove at 13-9-2007 04:37 PM ]

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Former Takarazuka top star breaks new ground as "Chacha"
Fri, September 7, 2007 (2:03pm EDT)



Yoka Wao, a former top star of the Takarazuka, has signed on to star in a big-budget film titled "Chacha: Tengai no Onna," directed by Hajime Hashimoto.

The movie is a fictionalized version of the life of Chacha, a concubine of the famous daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The story is based on the novel "Yodo no Nikki" by Yasushi Inoue.

"Chacha" marks a big leap for Wao, as this is her first non-theater role, as well as her first time playing a female.

The film is scheduled for a December 22 opening. It is projected to cost over 1 billion yen, following in the footsteps of Toei's recent New Year releases, "YAMATO" in 2005 and "Ooku" in 2006.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

[ Last edited by  whitedove at 13-9-2007 04:38 PM ]

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Leah Dizon "destined" for Asia
Fri, September 7, 2007 (4:22pm EDT)



Idol Leah Dizon is set to take a major step forward as a pop star. Her debut album, "Destiny Line," will see a simultaneous release on the 12th in nine Asian countries. Aside from Japan, fans will be able to buy the album in Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines.

Dizon has become popular throughout Asia mainly through the Internet. Even without much publicity effort, her single "Koi Shiyou" performed well on the radio and sales charts in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Her schedule is currently too busy to accommodate an Asia tour, but it is reportedly likely to happen sometime next year.

[ Last edited by  whitedove at 13-9-2007 04:43 PM ]

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Charts: Arashi on top
Tue, September 11, 2007 (2:02am EDT)



It was mostly a slow week on the singles chart, except for Arashi's newest release, "Happiness." It sold 192,000 copies to easily take the #1 spot ahead of Hikaru Utada's "Beautiful World / Kiss & Cry," which actually climbed one spot since last week. The sixth single from rising star Ayaka, titled "Why / CLAP & LOVE," only sold 16,000 copies but managed to make #5.

Within the top 20 were the first four character songs from the anime "Lucky Star," which were simultaneously released last Wednesday. They ranked at #8 (Konata), #9 (Kagami), #11 (Tsukasa), and #15 (Miyuki).

At #13 was "Oshiri Kajiri Mushi," the children's song by UrumaDelvi that has quickly become one of the latest crazes. Also known as "The Butt-Biting Bug," the song was chosen for NHK's "Minna no Uta," but proved so popular that it was extended for a second two-month stay on the show. It debuted at #93 after its July 27 release, but rose to #42 two weeks later. The following week it ranked at #24, climbing to #13 in last week's charts. In the daily charts, it has been #3 for the last two days.



In the album charts, Ketsumeishi remained on top with "Ketsu no Police 5," followed by the two best albums of rap-rock group Dragon Ash. Rock band Boowy captured the next two spots with their best albums. KREVA's newest ranked 6th, while Kome Kome Club barely made the top ten.

In the DVD rankings, the limited and regular editions of "Bleach: Memories of Nobody" took the top two spots, respectively.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Kobukuro sings theme for Sorimachi drama
Fri, September 7, 2007 (5:32am EDT)



Popular duo Kobukuro has been chosen to handle the theme song for the NTV drama series, "Dream Again," starring Takashi Sorimachi. The song, titled "Aoku Yasashiku," is their fifth consecutive single to be used as a television drama theme. It goes on sale November 7.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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AKB48's Masuyama, model Teramoto to star in "ChocoMimi" drama
Fri, September 7, 2007 (4:36pm EDT)



The leads for the previously announced "ChocoMimi" drama series have been revealed: 13-year-old Kayano Masuyama of AKB48 and 14-year-old model Yukika Teramoto of fashion magazine nicola. This will be the acting debut for both girls.

The show is an adaptation of Konami Sonoda's manga of the same name about two fashionable friends named Choco (Teramoto) and Mimi (Masuyama).

TV Tokyo will broadcast the series at 5:30pm on Mondays, starting on October 1.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Nakama to co-star with Nakai in "Shellfish"
Fri, September 7, 2007 (5:11pm EDT)



It was announced in May that SMAP's Masahiro Nakai was given the lead role in a new feature-length version of "Watashi wa Kai ni Naritai" ("I Want to Be a Shellfish"), a 1958 drama special that was later adapted to film and remade for television.



Nakai plays a man sentenced to death as a war criminal. Actress Yukie Nakama has now officially signed on to co-star with Nakai, playing the part of his wife.

The film is directed by Katsuo Fukuzawa and written by Shinobu Hashimoto. It is scheduled for release at the end of next year.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Yuming to produce free short films
Fri, September 7, 2007 (7:23pm EDT)



Singer-songwriter Yumi Matsutoya is working on a new project to promote her upcoming best album, "Seasons Colours: Fall Winter Selection," in stores October 24. Three short movies based on her music will be released for free online. Referred to as "Yuming Films," the project has brought together some notable young directors and actors.

Matsutoya recruited about twenty young writers to create a total of around forty works, and she selected three of them in the end.

The first is "Refrain ga Sakenderu," directed by Takashi Kubota ("Humming Life") and starring Yuika Motokariya. The second one, titled "Bye Bye, Bear ~ Aoi Airmail," stars Mikako Tabe and is directed by Sayaka Kai, who worked on the short films "pellet" and "Out Sect." The third film is "A Happy New Year," is helmed by Kenichi Watanabe ("I My Me Mine") with Takashi Tsukamoto playing the lead.

The movies will be available on internet video sites starting in October.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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tamurapan: from MySpace to major
Fri, September 7, 2007 (8:10pm EDT)



Singer-songwriter Ayumi Tamura, better known by her solo project name tamurapan, will be making her major label debut next month.

At the end of last year, Tamura joined MySpace and began using the site to release her songs, all completely self-produced. She built a following of thousands of fans in a few months, catching the attention of more than ten record labels.

She finally signed a contract as the first artist on Robin Works, a new internet label being launched by Columbia Music Entertainment on the 12th of this month. On October 10, two of her songs are being officially released: "Semenai Day" (for free) and "Heiyo Meiyo." Tamura also has a performance lined up at Shibuya O-West on October 25 to commemorate her debut.

After October, the label will release a new single every month until next March, and her first album is expected to go on sale in April.

Tamura is the first Japanese artist to start on MySpace and get signed to a major label. Her MySpace page can be found here.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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[JAPAN] Goto Maki prepares for solo tour and named product image character for Sandisk



Former Morning Musume member Goto Maki (21) will embark on her solo nationwide tour on September 15th.  The singer was promoting Sandisk抯 line of USB memory known as擟ruiser Color Plus

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Kumi Koda announces first Tokyo Dome show
Sat, September 8, 2007 (4:58pm EDT)



Pop star Kumi Koda has announced her first show at the Tokyo Dome, scheduled for December 1. The concert is an addition to her first arena tour, which kicks off on the 28th in Kobe.

December 6 marks the seventh anniversary of her debut single, "TAKE BACK." To commemorate the occasion, all tickets for the Tokyo Dome show are being sold at a price of 7,777 yen.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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NTV produces drama about "hedgehog man"
Sun, September 9, 2007 (4:38pm EDT)

NTV has announced the production of an unusual drama series titled "Hari-kei," to be aired late night on Saturdays this fall.

Tomoya Nakamura stars as a man referred to as "hari-kei" because unlike normal humans, he has evolved from hedgehogs (known as harinezumi in Japan). The story revolves around his romance with a regular girl (Eri Murakawa).



Other cast members include Masako Motai, Tomorowo Taguchi, Suguru Matsuzawa, and Mitsuru Fukikoshi.

The series begins on October 13. Its regular broadcast time will be at 12:50am, but the first episode begins at 1:05am.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Hiromi Iwasaki collaborates with Czech Philharmonic
Sun, September 9, 2007 (5:01pm EDT)



Singer Hiromi Iwasaki is releasing an album on the 26th titled "PRAHA." The album features covers of 12 songs, performed with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

Last October, Iwasaki approached the orchestra with the idea of a collaboration, and the group agreed. In early April, Iwasaki traveled to Dvorak Hall, where she and the orchestra recorded the album within a span of three days.

The tracks are covers of her own songs (such as "Romance" and "Shishuuki"), as well as other famous tunes, including "Tsubasa" by her close friend, the late Minako Honda.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Kobukuro's Kuroda becomes a father
Sun, September 9, 2007 (6:04pm EDT)



It was discovered on Sunday that Shunsuke Kuroda, the main vocalist of folk duo Kobukuro, recently became a father. His wife, whom he married in 2005, gave birth to a son on Saturday night.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Sex and violence seem to have won the day at the Venice International Film Festival. The prestigious Golden Lion went to Ang Lee for the second time, for "Lust, Caution", which features long and often violent sex scenes that are rumored to have been real. The Silver Lion was awarded to Brian De Palma for "Redacted", which features a reenactment of the violent rape and murder of an Iraqi girl by U.S. soldiers in 2006. Of the Japanese contenders, Miike Takashi's "Sukiyaki Western Django" was considered a strong outsider after its official screening received a rapturous standing ovation. But in the end the quirky mix of jidaigeki and spaghetti western was passed over in favor of Taiwanese director Lee's sexually explicit spy thriller. The win comes just two years after Lee won with "Brokeback Mountain." Another Japanese entry that missed out was Aoyama Shinji's "Sad Vacation", which opened the festival's Horizons section for cutting edge cinema.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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"Hero" triumphs at the box office
Mon, September 10, 2007 (3:25am EDT)

The "HERO" movie opened this weekend on 475 screens, the most ever for a domestic film in Japan. As expected, it took the top spot at the box office, with a gross of 1.08 billion yen.

Distributor Toho believes the film may be able to surpass "Pirates of the Caribbean: World's End," which is the #1 film so far this year. Producer Chihiro Kameyama is even more optimistic, hoping to earn more than the 2003 hit "Odoru Daisousasen 2," which set the record for a domestic live-action film. That movie was also produced by Kameyama.

"HERO" has its sights set on Korea next. It will screen at the Pusan International Film Festival before being released on 250 screens, the biggest opening for a Japanese movie in that country.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Kumiko Aso goes international
Mon, September 10, 2007 (4:09am EDT)



Ryuganji reports that actress Kumiko Aso has landed her first true role in a foreign film. She will appear in "Hafez" by internationally acclaimed Iranian director Abolfazl Jalili. The movie is inspired by the legendary mystic and poet of the same name.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Tackey & Tsubasa announce best album
Mon, September 10, 2007 (4:32pm EDT)



Pop duo Tackey & Tsubasa announced on Monday that they will release their first best album on October 17, which also happens to be Tsubasa Imai's 26th birthday.

The first press limited editions of the album will include an ID and a serial number, which will let fans download a wallpaper to their mobile phones. There are 55 different images in all - 8 of them can be obtained anywhere in the country, while the remaining images are exclusive to each of the 47 prefectures. Fans who want to collect all of them will have to purchase 55 copies of the album and travel all over Japan. However, the images will only be available between the album's release and the end of October.

The album itself will be sold in three versions: single CD, double CD, and CD plus DVD. The double CD version includes a disc of previously unreleased songs, spanning back to their Johnny's Jr. days.

The Fujii brothers (Fumiya and Naoyuki) have also written and composed a new song for the album. This is their first work for another artist since V6's "GENERATION GAP" in 1997.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Shokotan brings you science
Mon, September 10, 2007 (5:03pm EDT)



Idol Shoko Nakagawa continues to spread her presence in all forms of media. Her newest project is a radio program on the Nippon Broadcasting System, titled "Shoko Nakagawa's Giza Science!" Acting as a novice researcher, she will highlight interesting developments in cutting-edge science.

Last month, she appeared on a special program on the same station. Her ability to communicate to listeners in her own unique way impressed the staff so much that they set out to create a regular show for her.

"Giza Science!" is a collaboration with Nikkei Science, the Japanese edition of magazine Scientific American. University research staff will be invited to the studio to talk about advancements in fields such as genetic engineering, robotics, and space technology. One of Nakagawa's roles will be to make the material more accessible.

The show begins its broadcast on October 6, airing Saturdays at 9:30pm.

Nakagawa also has her second anime song cover album coming out on the 19th.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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[JAPAN] Ide Mariko抯 musical debut



In a recent article on 揇aily Yomiuri