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Nanase Aikawa, Chiharu Tamashiro give birth to second children
Tue, September 11, 2007 (1:03am EDT)

Two musicians delivered their second children on Sunday.



At about 8:40am, Kiroro vocalist Chiharu Tamashiro gave birth to her first daughter. She has been married since April 2005, and her first child, a son, was born the following February.



Then at noon on Sunday, singer Nanase Aikawa gave birth to her second son. She married in February 2001 and had her first child that September.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Ninety-nine's Okamura teams up with EXILE
Tue, September 11, 2007 (1:17am EDT)



Takashi Okamura of comedy duo Ninety-nine is teaming up with music group EXILE to form a temporary unit, roughly pronounced "Ok-xile." The collaboration is a project for Fuji TV's "Mecha-Mecha Iketeru!" which Ninety-nine is a regular on.

Okamura has previously worked with other well-known artists, such as SMAP and Morning Musume.

The temporary unit will be photographed for the cover of The Television magazine, and will appear on a special episode of "Mecha-Mecha Iketeru!" on October 6.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Magnolia Pictures launches Magnet, licenses "Dainipponjin"
Tue, September 11, 2007 (5:52am EDT)

American film distributor Magnolia Pictures has launched a new label called Magnet Releasing, which will specialize in "horror, action, comedy, and Asian cinema."

Magnet has already announced six films on its roster, including "Dainipponjin" (Hitoshi Matsumoto) and "Triangle" (Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam, Johnnie To). Both will see releases in 2008.

Magnolia Pictures is known for releasing other Asian films such as "The Host" and "Ong Bak."

Source: www.tokyograph.com

fantomette

hahahahah... aku tgk yg die kaco konsert SMAP tu. yg die join MoMusu pon dh tgk gk. terer tul die menari.

whitedove

hihi tu la...buleh tahan!

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hihi tu la...buleh tahan!

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Sayuri Yoshinaga stars in Tsutsumi's "Yamataikoku"
Tue, September 11, 2007 (6:40pm EDT)



Actress Sayuri Yoshinaga has been chosen to star in the film "Maboroshi no Yamataikoku," directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi and written by Shizuka Oishi.

The story is inspired by the best-selling book of the same name, written by Kohei Miyazaki in 1967. According to historical record, Yamataikoku was an ancient country within Japan.

The film tells the story of a couple, loosely based on Miyazaki and his wife, played by Naoto Takenaka and Yoshinaga. The husband is blind, but both continue their pursuit of Yamataikoku. At one point, Kohei has a vision of the country, and he sees the queen Himiko, who is also played by Yoshinaga.

Filming begins near the end of October. The movie is not scheduled to be released until next fall.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Best Jeanist 2007: two in a row for Koda and Kamenashi
Wed, September 12, 2007 (5:05am EDT)



The winners of the 2007 Best Jeanist awards were announced on Wednesday. In the public selection categories, KAT-TUN's Kazuya Kamenashi and singer Kumi Koda once again earned the most votes. This is the second consecutive award for both artists. The voting results will be available soon on the official website.

Meanwhile, the committee selection awards were given to jazz singer Chie Ayado, toy collector Teruhisa Kitahara, and model Kyoko Kubo. A special recognition award went to singer Mariya Takeuchi, who released the album "Denim" in May.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Oricon: best face
Wed, September 12, 2007 (6:25pm EDT)

Oricon reports that women have recently been paying more attention to their faces, making it a hot topic in the beauty world. One popular website called Kaocheki lets users upload pictures of themselves to see which celebrities they look like. With that in mind, Oricon's audition magazine De-View surveyed a thousand women to see which celebrities they wanted to have their faces look like.



Two young actresses tied for the #1 spot: Erika Sawajiri and Yui Aragaki. Those who voted for Sawajiri tended to comment on how pretty her face is, while Aragaki's supporters mainly cited her cuteness.

In third was the young newlywed Aoi Miyazaki, placing above Masami Nagasawa (#4) and Karina (#5). Ayumi Hamasaki tied with Leah Dizon for 6th. The next two on the list were Yuri Ebihara and Haruka Ayase, followed by Nanako Matsushima and Kou Shibasaki in a tie for 10th.

Best face:

1) Erika Sawajiri
1) Yui Aragaki
3) Aoi Miyazaki
4) Masami Nagasawa
5) Karina
6) Ayumi Hamasaki
6) Leah Dizon
8) Yuri Ebihara
9) Haruka Ayase
10) Nanako Matsushima
10) Kou Shibasaki

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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The eldest son of actor Okazaki Jiro was arrested yesterday for attempted murder. Okazaki Rei (28) gave himself up to police in central Tokyo and was held on suspicion of having stabbed a 52-year-old movie producer at a nearby production company office. The victim was stabbed twice, in the thigh and groin, with a 10cm mountaineering knife. The attack was related to a dispute between the two that has been ongoing since Okazaki was fired from the company six months ago. He visited the office to ask for work but the producer continued speaking on the phone. Okazaki attacked the man because, "I thought he was ignoring me." Real name Kuraoka Hiroyuki, Okazaki has appeared mostly in so-called "V-cinema", or direct to video, crime movies. The elder Okazaki (63) had a small part in the classic 1982 Sci-Fi movie "Bladerunner".

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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[AUSTRALIA] Australia allows Japanese drama to be filmed in country

JapanToday.com reports, 揟he Australian government is pushing ahead with an ambitious plan to host a Japanese soap opera as a means of reviving tourist numbers from Japan. Tourism Minister Fran Bailey, who first flagged the novel idea of a Japanese soap opera filmed in Australia in May, said Wednesday the project is now ready to move forward. The government抯 tourism body, Tourism Australia, is now looking for Australian and Japanese companies to create the multi-part TV series for the Japanese market, Bailey said.

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International Drama Festival scheduled for October
Thu, September 13, 2007 (4:27pm EDT)

The 1st International Drama Festival, part of the currently ongoing CoFesta, will take place on October 12-13.

The event, which aims to showcase television dramas from Japan and other Asian countries, will include a reception party and a symposium. Six domestic series will be introduced, including "Nodame Cantabile." Three foreign shows will also be highlighted. Korean actress Yoo Joo-hee, who appeared in the KBS series "A Dwarf Launches A Small Ball," is scheduled to attend.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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GO!GO!7188 to produce misono's 2nd rock single
Thu, September 13, 2007 (4:39pm EDT)



This week, misono released "Zasetsu Chiten," produced by Straightener's Hidekazu Hinata. The song was the first in her three-single "Rock Project."



The second one has already been announced, to be produced by rock band GO!GO!7188. No title has been revealed yet, but the release has been scheduled for November 14.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Yuko Hara forms unit with Fumido
Thu, September 13, 2007 (4:57pm EDT)



Yuko Hara of Southern All Stars has formed a new unit with three-man band Fumido. The group, named Harafumi, will debut with "Yume wo Chikatta Ki no #a de," on sale November 7. The song has been chosen as the theme song for Fuji TV's "Swan no Baka!" drama series.

Fumido, whose members are said to be fans of Southern All Stars, came up with the idea for a collaboration. Since both bands are on the same label, Fumido asked the label's staff members to pass the request to Hara, who quickly agreed.

Included on the single is Hara's solo tune, "Daisuki! Happy End," her first in ten years. The song is being used as the theme for the Japanese dub of "Hoodwinked," which opens on October 6.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Little Uekusa makes drama debut in "Kinpachi Sensei"
Thu, September 13, 2007 (7:34pm EDT)

Yuta Uekusa, the 12-year-old son of Shonentai member Katsuhide Uekusa, will appear in his first television drama this fall.

Yuta barely made his debut as a Johnny's Jr. idol in July when he joined his father in Shonentai's annual musical, "PLAYZONE." His next role is an a part in TBS's "3 Nen B Gumi Kinpachi Sensei 8," which begins on October 11.

His character in the drama series is Yuki Kanawa, a boy who behaves like an honor student at school, but is quite different on the inside.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Okinawan rock trio Mongol 800 have taken part in their first TV documentary. The three Urasoe High School friends took the music world by storm in 2001 when the independent label album "Message" made No.1 on the Oricon charts and racked up a phenomenal sales total of 3 million. But despite their huge success, they refused to appear on TV and even turned down an invitation to the annual New Year's Eve Kohaku show on NHK in 2002. It wasn't until they were in the editing room in July working on a DVD project that they became interested in the visual side of their work. Once again it was NHK who approached them about filming their July-August tour of southern Japan. "Monpachi", as they are known to fans, toured 10 locations in Kagoshima and the outlying Okinawan islands. Playing in small venues such as hotel reception rooms and public halls, they had to deal with blackouts and turbulent tropical weather. The documentary will air in the 10pm "Premium 10" slot on September 21.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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Popular actors Matsumoto Koshiro (65) and Ichikawa Somegoro (34) attended a PR event yesterday for their upcoming joint production. The kabuki double-header at the National Theater will feature Matsumoto in "Heike Nyogonoshima" and Ichikawa in the first major production of "Mukashigatari Uguisuzuka" in 78 years. The production will run from October 3 to 27.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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Charts: KinKi Kids and V6 on top, 'Oshiri' breaks top 10
Tue, September 18, 2007 (7:20pm EDT)



In the singles chart this week, KinKi Kids' 26th single, "Eien ni," came out on top with 190,000 copies sold. This extends their Guinness World Record of most consecutive chart-toppers starting with the debut single.

Kumi Koda charted at #2 with "Ai no Uta," her 25th consecutive single in the Top 10, while Ken Hirai had his 8th in a row with "fake star" ranking at #6.

Ayaka's new single remained at #5, experiencing a sales boost since last week. Electropop idol trio Perfume reached #7 with "Polyrhythm," their first single to debut in the top ten. Meanwhile, the popular children's song "Oshiri Kajiri Mushi" climbed up to #8. This is the first time since Masafumi Akikawa's "Sen no Kaze ni Natte" that a song has reached the top 10 after debuting outside of the top 100.



On the albums chart, V6's "Voyager" stood on top, selling 76,000. It also occupies a special place in Oricon history, since it is the 1,000th album to grace the #1 spot.

Meanwhile, The Cro-Magnons released "CAVE PARTY," their second consecutive top 10 album. It ranked 7th, two spots above Leah Dizon's debut, "Destiny Line."

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Kikunosuke stars in "Codebreaker"
Fri, September 14, 2007 (3:35am EDT)



Filming has wrapped up for a new China-Japan movie called "Codebreaker 507: Shanghai Waltz," directed by Kaizo Hayashi. It stars actor Kikunosuke Onoue V as Agent 507, a cryptanalysis expert working to rescue a singer named Meiran (Izumi Inamori) from her mafia captors in Shanghai.

This is Onoue's first contemporary role; he is generally known for his kabuki work and his parts in period films. In addition, his role here involves wire-action scenes. He also had never been in a movie shot overseas, but this one was filmed in Shanghai for three weeks starting last month.

The movie marked a first for Inamori as well. In order to play the role, she intensively trained in the Chinese language for a month and a half.

"Codebreaker 507" is scheduled to open in Japan in fall 2008.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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13,000 fill Budokan for ZARD memorial concert
Fri, September 14, 2007 (4:27pm EDT)



On Friday, a crowd of approximately 13,000 fans filled the Nippon Budokan for a concert in memory of ZARD vocalist Izumi Sakai. Nine screens displayed footage of her performing, while live musicians accompanied her on stage.

The video performance included a total of 35 songs, filmed over the span of 16 years. The encore was the first performance of her previously unreleased "Glorious Mind," which she recorded in June of last year while she was battling cancer.

"Glorious Mind" will be sold as a single before the end of the year, and has also been chosen as the new opening theme of the "Detective Conan" anime series. It will be introduced on the show on October 15.

Source: www.tokyograph.com