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Kazuki Kato announces Budokan concert
Sat, October 13, 2007 (5:01pm EDT)



On Saturday, actor and singer Kazuki Kato performed his first outdoor concert at the Hibiya Yagai Ongakudo. During the show, he announced that he has scheduled his first Nippon Budokan concert for April 28.

Kato also has a new album, titled "in LOVE," coming out on January 23. On February 17, he will launch a live house tour that covers nine cities.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Iruka to release first album in over five years
Sat, October 13, 2007 (5:30pm EDT)



Singer-songwriter Iruka is releasing her first original album in more than five years. The album is named "Harujoon Himejoon," and the title track is about her husband and producer, Kazuo Kanbe, who died of renal failure this past March.

Iruka and Kanbe met when they were both members of the folk group Shrieks. They married in 1972. Around 1987, Kanbe began exhibiting symptoms of Parkinson's disease, which he fought until his death.

"Harujoon Himejoon" goes on sale November 7.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Harada to direct "Climber's High" movie
Sat, October 13, 2007 (7:45pm EDT)



Hideo Yokoyama's best-selling novel "Climber's High" is being turned into a film, directed by Masato Harada and starring Shinichi Tsutsumi.

"Climber's High" first appeared in print in 2002 and was published as a book in 2003. In 2005, it was made into a two-part drama on NHK, starring Koichi Sato.

The story revolves around the 1985 crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123, which resulted in 520 deaths. The protagonist (played by Tsutsumi in the film) is a local newspaper reporter sent to cover the incident, who had been planning to climb a nearby mountain the same day as the crash.

Filming began during the summer and ended in September, with some scenes shot in New Zealand. The movie opens sometime next year.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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T&T provides theme for TV Asahi drama
Sun, October 14, 2007 (1:42am EDT)



Tackey & Tsubasa will be providing the theme song for the TV Asahi drama series "Kyoto Chiken no Onna 4," starring Yuko Natori. The song, "Daydreamer," is written and composed by the Fujii brothers (F-BLOOD). It is also included in Tackey & Tsubasa's best album, "Takitsuba Best," which goes on sale on the 17th.

"Kyoto Chiken no Onna" airs on Thursdays at 8:00pm, starting on the 25th.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Oricon: cool actresses
Sun, October 14, 2007 (3:09am EDT)



Oricon has another survey to kick off the fall drama season, inspired by Miho Kanno's character in "Hataraki Man." The survey asked 1,200 Internet users which actress they thought had the image of being cool ("kakkoii"), particularly in relation to work. Ryoko Shinohara ranked #1, boosted by drama roles such as those in "Anego" and "Haken no Hinkaku." Last year, Shinohara came first in a similar survey.

Makiko Esumi ranked second, followed by Hitomi Kuroki, Yuki Amami, and Norika Fujiwara. The bottom half of the top ten consisted of Nanako Matsushima, Misaki Ito, Ryoko Yonekura, Yukie Nakama, and Miho Kanno.

Cool actresses:

1) Ryoko Shinohara
2) Makiko Esumi
3) Hitomi Kuroki
4) Yuki Amami
5) Norika Fujiwara
6) Nanako Matsushima
7) Misaki Ito
8) Ryoko Yonekura
9) Yukie Nakama
10) Miho Kanno

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Oricon: "Hana Kimi" themes are popular karaoke choices
Sun, October 14, 2007 (4:04am EDT)

The newest issue of Oricon's weekly magazine Oricon Style contains a special feature about karaoke, including a survey about song choices. The question asked respondents which songs they get "fired up" for, and the results demonstrated the popularity of this summer's "Hanazakari no Kimitachi e" drama series - the top two answers were Orange Range's "Ikenai Taiyou" and Ai Otsuka's "PEACH."

Kanjani8's ranked third with "Zukkoke Otokomichi," while Arashi took fourth and fifth with "Love so sweet" and "Happiness."

The Ayaka and Kobukuro collaboration, "WINDING ROAD," made the list at #7, followed by GReeeeN's "Aiuta" and Shonannokaze's "Suirenka." #9 was another Ai Otsuka song, "CHU-LIP." YUI's "CHE.R.RY" rounded out the list.

Popular karaoke choices:

1) ORANGE RANGE - Ikenai Taiyou
2) Ai Otsuka - PEACH
3) Kanjani8 - Zukkoke Otokomichi
4) Arashi - Love so sweet
5) Arashi - Happiness
6) Ayaka x Kobukuro - WINDING ROAD
7) GReeN - Aiuta
8) Shonannokaze - Suirenka
9) Ai Otsuka - CHU-LIP
10) YUI - CHE.R.RY

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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"Sushi Ouji!" movie title and cast announced
Mon, October 15, 2007 (4:49pm EDT)



On Monday, Warner Bros. made an announcement regarding the "Sushi Ouji!" movie. The film's official title is "Ginmaku Ban Sushi Ouji! ~New York e Iku~." Aside from Koichi Domoto from KinKi Kids and KAT-TUN's Yuichi Nakamaru, the main cast includes Yumiko Shaku, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Kinya Kitaoji, and Lina Ohta.

The film is still scheduled for theatrical release during Golden Week 2008.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Shokotan touched by groper
Mon, October 15, 2007 (5:27pm EDT)



According to her blog, idol Shoko Nakagawa recently had an encounter with a groper. Starting with this post, she mentioned the incident in three updates to her blog between Friday night and Saturday morning.

Nakagawa did not say when or where the incident occurred, but she briefly described what happened. She had been carrying something with both hands when a young man passing by took the opportunity to touch her breasts while saying "sorry."

Nakagawa expressed her outrage on her blog, where she included drawings of her offender. She further mentioned that the incident made her feel like leading a campaign to prevent such molesters.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Tsunku to start new idol project in 2008
Mon, October 15, 2007 (4:43am EDT)



Producer Tsunku has revealed plans to establish a new idol project, titled NICE GIRL Project (abbreviated as NGP), sometime next year. The undertaking is a collaboration of four companies: TNX, Up-Front Agency, Tanabe Agency, and Spacecraft.

According to an interview with Oricon, Tsunku already has several plans for the project, but it appears that not much has been formalized yet. First of all, The Possible (composed of Hello! Project Eggs) will be transferring from Hello! Project to NGP. Spacecraft's group Canary Club will also be officially attached to the new project.

Tsunku is currently thinking of adding one to three more units by recruiting from Spacecraft and other model agencies, and is already in the process of holding an audition. One possibility Tsunku mentioned is a Hello! Project-style public audition around next summer.

While the groups will of course be involved in music and theater, Tsunku plans to make the Internet an important part of NGP. Performances will be viewable online, along with other videos. Tsunku suggested entertainment shows emphasizing humor, along the lines of the early days of The Drifters and the Crazy Cats.

Based on Tsunku's comments, one of the motivations behind the new project is to develop competition for Morning Musume (and Hello! Project in general). He feels that things will be more interesting if there are rival idol units, and he hopes that the competition will help the groups to improve.

Tsunku also plans to cultivate a new producer to follow in his footsteps. He wants a "second Tsunku" to handle NGP when he's busy with other work, such as Hello! Project.

NICE GIRL Project is expected to begin formal operations between April and July of 2008.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Rehouse Girl stars in "Someday's Dreamers" film
Mon, October 15, 2007 (3:35am EDT)

15-year-old Rio Yama$hita, who became the image girl for Mitsui Rehouse this past April, has been selected to star in her first film - an adaptation of the fantasy story "Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto," directed by Shun Nakahara.

"Mahou Tsukai" was originally a script written by Norie Yamada that won the Kido Prize Scenario Contest, organized by the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (also known as Eiren). It has been turned into a manga illustrated by Kumichi Yoshizuki, an anime series, and a novel. Both the manga and the anime are known by the English title "Someday's Dreamers."

The story revolves around the growth of a young girl (Yama$hita) who travels to Tokyo to train as a magic user. There appear to be some changes to the story's details, such as the girl's hometown (Hokkaido instead of Iwate) and name (Sora Suzuki instead of Yume Kikuchi).

Filming began on September 29 and is expected to wrap up at the end of this month. The movie has been scheduled for release in early summer 2008.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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"Galileo" premiere gets 24.7%
Tue, October 16, 2007 (2:17am EDT)



The first episode of "Galileo," starring Masaharu Fukuyama and Kou Shibasaki, aired on Monday night. The broadcast pulled in a 24.7% viewership rating, beating out last Thursday's premiere of "Iryu 2" (21.0%). Both shows are in the top three starts of the year, surpassed only by the winter series "Karei Naru Ichizoku" (27.7%), which starred Takuya Kimura.

"Galileo" is Fuji TV's first "Getsu 9" drama to break 20% with the opening episode since the first half of 2006, when the network aired "Saiyuki" (29.2%) and "Top Caster" (23.1%).

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Oricon: fashion leaders
Tue, October 16, 2007 (3:36am EDT)



With the advent of the fall season, Oricon decided to find out which celebrities are the current fashion leaders. 500 men were asked who they want to copy, and as expected, Takuya Kimura came out on top. Satoshi Tsumabuki was #2, ahead of the third-ranked Masaharu Fukuyama and fourth-ranked Tsuyoshi Domoto.

L'Arc~en~Ciel's hyde was #5. Joe Odagiri and Mocomichi Hayami were next on the list, followed by a three-way tie for eighth among Noritake Kinashi (Tunnels), Shun Oguri, and George Tokoro.



500 women were asked the same question, but only the top five answers were revealed. At #1, despite recent bad press, was actress Erika Sawajiri. The rest of the list were Miho Tanaka, Ayumi Hamasaki, Yuri Ebihara, and Rinka (tied for #5 with Aoi Miyazaki).

Current fashion leaders (among men):

1) Takuya Kimura (SMAP)
2) Satoshi Tsumabuki
3) Masaharu Fukuyama
4) Tsuyoshi Dohmoto (KinKi Kids)
5) Hyde (L'Arc~en~Ciel)
6) Joe Odagiri
7) Mokomichi Hayami
8) Noritake Kinashi (Tunnels)
9) Shun Oguri
10) George Tokoro

Current fashion leaders (among women):

1) Erika Sawajiri
2) Miho Tanaka
3) Ayumi Hamasaki
4) Yuri Ebihara
5) Rinka
5) Aoi Miyazaki

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Cornelius announces U.S. tour dates for January
Tue, October 16, 2007 (4:38am EDT)

Cornelius has scheduled five U.S. performances for January. The tour starts in Los Angeles on the 17th and continues on to San Francisco, Chicago, Washington D.C., and New York. See the MySpace page for more information.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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[PR] Puffy AmiYumi Announce Five-Date North American Tour This Fall
16th October , 2007 by KNDY in Japanese Entertainment News



Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura, otherwise known as Japan抯 sweetheart抯 Puffy AmiYumi have announced a five-date U.S. tour that will bring their electrifying live show and unique brand of J-Pop back to the states. Puffy AmiYumi will preview tracks from the upcoming honeycreeper LP on this string of dates, which is being called the 揾oneysweeper tour.擺/b]

You may have recently seen the girls modeling wide-leg jeans in the Annie Leibovitz-shot Gap campaign also featuring Sarah Silverman, Forest Whitaker and Selma Blair. Or you may know them from the hit Cartoon Network series Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, but it was Puffy AmiYumi抯 music that initially gained the band attention.

After reaching superstardom in Japan, their left-field, anything-goes take on J-Pop attracted the likes of indie icons Jon Spencer of Blues Explosion fame, Dexter Holland of the Offspring and Butch Walker, writer-producer for Avril Lavigne and Pink, who has also collaborated with Puffy AmiYumi for the new honeycreeper LP.

Puffy AmiYumi will no doubt give audiences a sweet taste of what honeycreeper has in store when they preview tracks on tour.

Don抰 miss Puffy AmiYumi抯 North American tour!

11/11    Vancouver, BC @ Richard抯 on Richards 11/13    Seattle, WA@ Moore Theatre 11/15   San Francisco@ Fillmore 11/16   West Hollywood, CA @ Key Club 11/18   Anaheim, CA@ House of Blues

Source: www.nt2099.com/J-ENT

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Higashiyama to star in "Farewell My Concubine"
Tue, October 16, 2007 (10:23pm EDT)



Noriyuki Higashiyama will take on his first onnagata role in a production of "Farewell My Concubine," directed by Yukio Ninagawa. He will star as Cheng Dieyi, with Kenichi Endo playing Xiaolou and Yoshino Kimura playing Juxian.

Performances will run March 9-31 at the Bunkamura Theatre Cocoon in Shibuya, then April 5-13 at Theater Drama City in Osaka.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Kaho stars in "Utatama"
Wed, October 17, 2007 (3:07am EDT)



Kaho is starring in a movie about a high school chorus group, titled []"Utatama." Directed by Makoto Tanaka, the film also features Gori and Hiroko Yakushimaru in major roles.

Other cast members include Rie Tomosaka, Kanpei Hazama, Hideo Ishiguro, Eri Tokunaga, Akiko, and Sayuri Iwata. The movie opens next spring.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Comedian Hirai teams up with idol Tsugihara
Wed, October 17, 2007 (4:49pm EDT)

Comedian Kenji Hirai and gravure idol Kana Tsugihara are collaborating to release a single next month. This is the second single for the "tone-deaf" Hirai (he released "Ookina Furudokei" last year), but it is Tsugihara's singing debut.

The high-spirited duet, titled "Futamawari Chigai no Love Song," is about an affair between a "choi-ero" manager (Hirai) and a "choi-waru" OL (Tsugihara). It goes on sale November 7.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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V6's Nagano returns as Ultraman Tiga
Wed, October 17, 2007 (10:29pm EDT)



Hiroshi Nagano of V6 will reprise his role as Ultraman Tiga in an upcoming Ultraman film, due out next year. The movie, tentatively titled "Daikessen! Cho Ultra 8 Kyodai," is being directed by Takeshi Yagi. Including Ultraman Tiga, eight Ultraman characters will appear, but the other seven have not yet been revealed.

Nagano last played the character in the 2000 film, "Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey."

"Daikessen! Cho Ultra 8 Kyodai" is scheduled to open next fall.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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X Japan to film PV on Aqua City rooftop
Wed, October 17, 2007 (11:51pm EDT)



X JAPAN is reportedly filming the PV for its new song on the 22nd, appearing together in front of fans for the first time in ten years. According to a source, the band will play on a giant stage on the roof of Aqua City in Odaiba, while a large monitor displays their performance. A helicopter will also be used for shooting the video.

The song, titled "I.V.," is being used as the theme for the horror film "Saw IV." It was written and composed by Yoshiki, and is said to include a previously unreleased guitar track by hide. No CD release date has been announced yet.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Broadcast dates for "Shabake," "Hanaikusa"
Thu, October 18, 2007 (5:34am EDT)



The official site for the "Shabake" drama special, starring Yuya Tegoshi, lists the scheduled broadcast date as November 24, from 9:00pm to 11:10pm.



Fuji TV still has no website available for the Mao Inoue-starring "Hanaikusa" special, but sources online are reporting that magazines and newspapers have listed the broadcast date as November 23 at 9:00pm.

Source: www.tokyograph.com