Japanese Entertainment News & Info HERE! [part II]

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"Nodame" author gives birth
Tue, November 4, 2008 (12:37am EST)



39-year-old mangaka Tomoko Ninomiya, best known for the ongoing series "Nodame Cantabile," announced on her blog on Monday that she recently gave birth. On October 24, her new son was born, though she mentioned that she couldn't hold her child right away because her right shoulder and arm were in pain.

Ninomiya has put "Nodame Cantabile" on hold since last month due to her pregnancy.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Tanihara, Karina named Best Leathernists
Tue, November 4, 2008 (1:02am EST)



The 2008 Best Leathernist awards were presented on Monday. This year's prizes went to actor Shosuke Tanihara and model Karina. Although this is the 8th year for the awards, Tanihara is the first male to receive one.

Previous winners of the promotional award include Chiaki Kuriyama and Eriko Sato.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Skier Ogiwara marries OL
Tue, November 4, 2008 (3:40am EST)



38-year-old sports commentator Tsugiharu Ogiwara recently got married. He publicly broke the news on TV during Monday's episode of "Zoom In!! SUPER" His wife is a 24-year-old office worker from the Kanagawa prefecture.

Ogiwara is also known as a former Nordic combined skier who won a world championship in 1995. His twin brother, Kenji Ogiwara, was also a successful Nordic combined skier, winning gold medals in two Olympic competitions and multiple world championships.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Tatsuya Fujiwara to star in live-action "Kaiji"
Tue, November 4, 2008 (2:05am EST)



It has been officially announced that Nobuyuki Fukumoto's manga series "Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji" is getting a live-action movie adaptation, simply titled "Kaiji." The film, which will star "Death Note" actor Tatsuya Fujiwara as the gambling protagonist, is the first for director Toya Sato, better known for his work on television dramas such as "Gokusen" and "My Boss My Hero."

The original comic ran for three series between 1996 and this year, and its 39 tankoubon volumes have sold over 11 million copies. It won a Kodansha Manga Award in 1998, and this past fall and winter it was turned into an anime series.



Teruyuki Kagawa and Yuki Amami have been revealed as additional cast members. The film's budget is said to be several hundred million yen, and there is a possibility of the movie being expanded into a series. "Kaiji" will be released sometime in 2009.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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More details continue to emerge following the arrest of music producer Komuro Tetsuya (49) yesterday by the special investigation department of Osaka District Court. It seems that Komuro tried repeatedly to sell the copyrights to more than 800 songs and was looking for

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Meanwhile, Avex announced that they have canceled the release of two new Globe singles this year. "Get Wild" and "Self Control" are covers of hits by TM Network, the trio with which Komuro launched his career in the early 1990s. And Sony Music Entertainment has also canceled plans to release an album of TM Network singles, which was to go on sale later this month.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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Freelance announcer Tsushima Ayuko (32) wrote on her blog yesterday that she and a 34-year-old company employee tied the knot on Monday. She said they first met last December and had already decided back in March to get married. Tsushima is a presenter on the TBS "Sunday Morning" show.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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3 Visual-kei related announcements from HearJapan

November 4, 2008 by Dennis Amith



For November 5th, HearJapan has two very special visual-kei releases for the fans.  The first being the new GaGaalinG mini-album entitled Alice (http://www.hearjapan.com/store/album_info/ALICE).  Alice is packed with 4 new songs and completes another addition to HearJapan抯 visual-kei catalog thanks to all the user support we have been getting.  It is also a shift to a major label, UP-FRONT WORKS, and HearJapan is the first store that UP-FRONT will sell in the mp3 format in its history.  While HearJapan will soon be featuring more and more big name artists in the near future through legal downloads, HearJapan will still shine the spotlight on a lot of the great up and coming artists rising up out of Japan.

On November 5th, our other Visual-kei release will focus the light on one such band.  Although almost everything about the band is a dark secret, HearJapan is letting a little light shine through by offering their debut single on HearJapan for free.  That抯 right.  All you have to do is register to HearJapan and download Kuroi Taiyou (http://www.hearjapan.com/store/album_info/Kuroi_Taiyou) by XodiacK (http://www.hearjapan.com/store/group/XodiacK) .  This free single will only be offered in a limited time so make sure you pick it up while it is still available.  The single will be taken down once the band reveals themselves to the world.  Also, by downloading the single you will get to see an as of yet unseen picture of the band that will blow you away.

HearJapan also has another visual-kei related announcement.  HearJapan has officially changed its policy in regards to upcoming visual-kei releases.  Before we would only add an album to our list once we had the songs and album artwork to upload.  This let everyone sample the music before it came out to help their purchasing decision.  However many users requested a form to preorder the album months in advance.  We are now offering the ability to do this.  We are starting with the upcoming D抏spairsRay single 揌ORIZON

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TK Arrest Update: What about TK抯 wife KEIKO and globe member Marc Panther?

November 4, 2008 by Dennis Amith



With the arrest of super producer Tetsuya Komuro on Tuesday, a lot of people are wondering what about his wife KEIKO (also vocalist of the group globe).

Reports are coming out of Japan that cite one source saying that TK and KEIKO have been separated for several months and that this probably is what led to TK committing a major crime.  According to the source, KEIKO has been staying at her parents home and that the two were going to divorce.

As media went to KEIKO抯 parent抯 home and business, the business was closed.  The person who knows the family told media that KEIKO came from a very good family and her mother is a very hard working person but was unaware of TK抯 arrest.  But was shocked about the news.

As for Marc Panther (a member of globe), media was unable to reach him since he is in another country at the moment.

Source: www.nt2099.com/J-ENT

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TK Arrest Update: What about TM Network upcoming release?

November 4, 2008 by Dennis Amith



With the announcement of the avex trax label halting all relationship with Tetsuya Komuro and halting any physical and digital releases including upcoming monthly releases (Nov. 2008-Jan. 2009), the question remained about the upcoming TM Network (a popular synth group in the 80抯 that Komuro was a member of) release.

Sony Music Entertainment has issued a statement that the album 揟M NETWORK THE SINGLES 2? which was set to be released on November 26th will be suspended.

Source: www.nt2099.com/J-ENT

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Takami Yoshimoto tells of her cycling adventures
Wednesday 05th November, 03:43 AM JST



OSAKA

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AKB48, Mako Ishino attend Tokyo Tower's 50th anniversary illumination event
Wednesday 05th November, 05:50 AM JST



TOKYO

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Star Troupe's Asuka Tono to leave Takarazuka
Wed, November 5, 2008 (1:02am EST)



Last month, Takarazuka top star Kei Aran announced that she will be leaving the troupe in April. Now, her fellow Star Troupe star Asuka Tono has revealed that she too will be leaving at the same time.

Tono made her Takarazuka debut in 1998, originally part of the Cosmos Troupe. She later transferred to the Flower Troupe, then to the Star Troupe in 2006, eventually taking on the musumeyaku role alongside the otokoyaku Aran.

Like Aran, Tono will be leaving after her performances in "My dear New Orleans" and "A Bientot," which will end on April 26. Tono is holding a press conference on Wednesday to provide more details about her departure.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Shunsuke Daito leads in radio-to-film adaptation
Wed, November 5, 2008 (1:40am EST)



Young actor Shunsuke Daito has been given his second starring movie role. He will play the lead in "Nakitai Toki no Kusuri," based on a JFN radio drama that ran during October and November of last year.



The drama's theme was "medicine for times of tears," and it revolved around five central characters, including a young man, an OL, a train station attendant, and a high school girl. For the movie, Naho Toda and Yoshihiko Hakamada have been confirmed as cast members. Directed by Saburo Fukushima, the movie is ready for a January 10 premiere.

Daito's first starring role is in "Tabidachi: Ashoro Yori," directed by Kazuhisa Imai and based on an autobiographical novel by folk singer Chiharu Matsuyama. That movie opens in theaters on November 22.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Charts: Porno takes top two spots
Wed, November 5, 2008 (2:12am EST)



Last week, Porno Graffiti simultaneously released two best albums, "PORNO GRAFFITI BEST ACE" and "PORNO GRAFFITI BEST JOKER." They managed to achieve the remarkable feat of capturing the #1 and #2 spots on the album charts, with "ACE" slightly outselling "JOKER" (105,000 copies versus 103,000 copies).

This is the second time that Porno Graffiti has taken the top two spots - they previously did it in 2004 with another simultaneous best album release. They are one of 19 artists with that accomplishment, but they are only the second to have achieved it twice. TM NETWORK managed it over 15 years ago with chart toppers in 1992 and 1993.

Remioromen's new album also did well, debuting at #3. Others in the top ten included Motohiro Hata (#7), BENNIE K (#9), and Anna Tsuchiya (#10).



On the singles chart, Kanjani8 scored their 5th consecutive #1 single with "Musekinin Hero" selling 348,000 copies, their best first-week sales numbers ever. Kobukuro's "Toki no Ashioto" came in second at 136,000 copies, followed by the debut single by comedy unit Yajima Biyo#su, formed by DJ OZMA and Tunnels.

New releases by SID and WaT were 4th and 5th in line, while Milky Way, Maaya Sakamoto, and Haruka Tomatsu made the bottom three spots of the top ten.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Enka singer Mori Shinichi may yet be able to sing "Ofukuro-san" once again. The song was his signature tune for many years, but a dispute with the man who penned it changed all that last year. Kawauchi Kouhan severely criticized Mori for making changes to the lyrics of the song without his permission. And when Mori reacted as if it was no big deal, the aging Kawauchi had a fit and insisted that Mori would never sing any of his tunes again, asking the JASRAC copyright association to make it legal. Once he realized the corner he was in, Mori tried repeatedly to apologize to Kawauchi, but the writer refused all approaches right up until his death in April. Some seven months later, it seems the dust may have settled. Mori is to give a press conference today, and he is expected to announce that he has persuaded Kawauchi's family to allow him to sing the song once more. There are still those who insist the old man's wishes be respected, but it now seems likely that Mori and NHK will milk the situation with his performance at the "Kohaku Uta Gassen" on New Year's Eve. At least he should stick with the version originally penned by Kawauchi.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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In the ongoing saga and downfall of music producer Komuro Tetsuya (49), it seems that at least his wife Keiko (36) is sticking with him. There were rumors of a divorce between the two following his arrest on Tuesday, with Komuro said to want to protect her as much as possible from legal or financial responsibilities. But in her first public statement, sent to the media by fax, she apologized for the incident and said, "The road ahead of us is very steep, but we are committed to walk it together." She signed the statement "Komuro Keiko," a denial of reports that she had filed divorce papers earlier this week.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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Fuji TV and 20th Century Fox are teaming up on a Japanese remake of the Oscar-winning movie "Sideways" (2004). The comedy drama set in California's wine country was nominated for four Oscars and won the screenplay award. Kohinata Fumiyo (54) will take on the lead role originally played by Paul Giamatti (41), but he and Namase Katsuhisa (48), Suzuki Kyoka (40) and Oscar nominee Kikuchi Rinko (27) are the only Japanese cast members. The movie marks the directorial debut of Cellin Gluck, who has bridged the U.S.-Japan divide for many years in marketing and TV commercials. Shot in California, it is scheduled for release in the autumn of 2009.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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HANGRY & ANGRY Mini Album 揔ill Me Kiss Me

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Softbank's 'White Family' wins Grand Prix for best commercial
Thursday 06th November, 05:24 AM JST



TOKYO