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MY LITTLE LOVER couple divorces
Wed, January 2, 2008 (5:23pm EST)



MY LITTLE LOVER vocalist akko and music producer Takeshi Kobayashi got divorced on New Year's Day, it was learned on Wednesday. The two were first reported to be discussing a divorce last May.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Porno Graffiti's Okano to marry
Wed, January 2, 2008 (5:44pm EST)



Akihito Okano, the vocalist of rock band Porno Graffiti, announced to his fan club that he will be getting married soon. His partner is a woman in her 20s, but no name or other details were revealed. They intend to register their marriage during this month.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Second half of Kohaku gets 2nd lowest ratings in history
Wed, January 2, 2008 (3:26pm EST)

NHK's annual Kohaku Uta Gassen had 32.8% ratings for the first half of the show, rebounding from last year's 30.6%, which had tied for the lowest ratings ever. On the other hand, the show's second half had ratings of 39.5%, replacing last year's 39.8% as the second lowest in history.

The numbers in the Kansai region showed strong improvement over last year. The two halves had reached historical lows with 28.5% and 37.6% ratings, but they rose to 33.2% and 39.5% this time around.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

sads

memang sah ada yang meraung jap lagi

whitedove

dah ada dah pun kat thread PG tu

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Charts: The Kohaku Effect
Mon, January 7, 2008 (5:36pm EST)

At the start of each year, the singles sales charts sees a rush of older songs that regained in popularity due to performances at Kohaku Uta Gassen. This year the "Kohaku effect" was in full force, taking over the top three spots.



SMAP's "Dangan Fighter" likely needed no help from its Kohaku appearance, as it retained its #1 spot from two weeks ago. Masato Sugimoto's "Waremokou" jumped up four spots to #2, while Masafumi Akikawa's "Sen no Kaze ni Natte" climbed back into the top three.

Other songs that got a significant boost included Kobukuro's "Tsubomi" (from #46 to #15), Toshihide Baba's "Start Line ~ Atarashii Kaze" (from #141 to #40), Mika Nakashima's "LIFE" (from #94 to #59), and Ataru Nakamura's "Tomodachi no Uta" (from #144 to #63).



On the albums chart, Kobukuro stayed on top with "5296," which sold 455,000 copies over a two-week span. It barely edged out Ayumi Hamasaki's "GUILTY" (432,000 copies), which was at a disadvantage since it just went on sale on New Year's Day.

In #3 was EXILE's "EXILE LOVE," selling 315,000 copies. This puts its total sales at more than 1.23 million, making it the group's third million-seller. It is the first album to sell a million since Kumi Koda's "Black Cherry" reached that milestone in June of last year.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Odagiri starring in Kim Ki-duk film
Thu, January 3, 2008 (5:43am EST)



The starring cast of Korean director Kim Ki-duk's next film, "Bi-mong," has been revealed. Joe Odagiri will team up with popular actress Lee Na-young for the movie, which explores an intersection between dreams and reality.

The story involves a man (Odagiri) who dreams that he causes a car accident. He discovers that an actual accident occurred at the place in his dream, and the police trace it to a woman with a sleepwalking disorder (Lee).

Filming starts in Korea on the 4th and is expected to finish later this month. Odagiri alluded to the film during his press conference last week regarding his pending marriage to actress Yu Kashii.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Oricon: funniest film
Thu, January 3, 2008 (6:02am EST)

Oricon conducted a survey of a thousand men and women that asked, "Of all the movies you've seen so far, which one made you laugh the most?"

Men and women both ranked Koki Mitani's "The Uchoten Hotel" (also known as "Suite Dreams") as #1. The movie also ranked first across all surveyed age groups, except among those in their 30s, who listed the movie as #2.

Overall, #2 was "Maiko Haaaan!!!" and #3 was "Trick." They were followed by two American films, "Home Alone" and "The Mask."

Funniest film:

1) The Uchouten Hotel
2) Maiko Haaaan!!!
3) Trick
4) Home Alone
5) The Mask

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Mimura takes on rakugo in Nakahara flick
Thu, January 3, 2008 (4:04pm EST)



Actress Mimura is starring in Shun Nakahara's "Rakugo Musume," due out this summer. This is her first lead movie role since "One Missed Call 2" in 2005.

The story is based on Toshiya Nagata's novel of the same name about a woman struggling to establish herself in the male-dominated world of rakugo. Mimura plays the protagonist Kasumi, while Masahiko Tsugawa plays her master.

Filming took place about half a year ago. To play her part, Mimura trained under rakugoka Kyotaro Yanagiya for about a month prior to filming.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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YUI sings theme for Kaho drama
Thu, January 3, 2008 (4:39pm EST)



Singer-songwriter YUI is providing the theme song for the TV Asahi drama series "4 Shimai Tantei Dan," which stars teen actress Kaho. The song, "Namidairo," is YUI's first to use a title in Japanese, though it is still romanized.

Described as a ballad with a painful melody, "Namidairo" goes on sale as a single on February 27. The drama series starts on January 18.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Koyuki's sister Yayoi joins her at Avex
Thu, January 3, 2008 (5:10pm EST)

Singer Yayoi, the older sister of actress Koyuki, has signed a contract with record company Avex. Last July, Koyuki joined Avex's new talent management agency.

Yayoi made her singing debut in 2004 with an album titled "SUNRISE," released through BMG Japan. She is now attached to Avex's tearbridge production label, and will release her first single on March 5, titled "Togirenai Ai no Message." Yayoi wrote the lyrics, set to music composed by Kunio Tago.

"Togirenai Ai no Message" is being used as an insert song in the TBS drama series "Daisuki!!," which begins airing on the 17th.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Hiroki Uchi to star in Fuji TV mini-drama
Thu, January 3, 2008 (3:05am EST)



Former NEWS member Hiroki Uchi is making his return to the small screen with a lead role in a Fuji TV drama mini-series. Titled "Isshun no Kaze ni Nare," the show will air for four consecutive nights at 11:00pm, starting on February 25.

The drama is based on a novel by author Takako Sato that was published in 3 volumes in 2006. Last year, it won the Honya Taisho and the Eiji Yoshikawa Cultural Prize. It was also turned into a manga illustrated by Tsuyoshi Yasuda that is currently being serialized in Kodansha's Magazine Special.

The story revolves around a high schooler who enters the world of track and field.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Uchi, Kusano no longer "trainees"
Thu, January 3, 2008 (3:30pm EST)



During the press conference for the recently announced Fuji TV drama "Isshun no Kaze ni Nare," it was revealed that Hiroki Uchi and Hironori Kusano have officially graduated from their "trainee" status within Johnny's Jimusho.

Both Uchi and Kusano were removed from their groups and demoted to trainees after being caught for underage drinking. They finally returned to action in last year's musical "PLAYZONE."

"Isshun no Kaze ni Nare" marks Uchi's graduation from being a trainee. Johnny's currently plans for him to go forward with a solo career. Meanwhile, Kusano is still attending Hosei University, but preparations are being made for his own full-fledged return. No definite plans have been announced yet.



At the press conference, it was also revealed that Saki Fukuda will co-star with Uchi in "Isshun no Kaze ni Nare," and Ryo Nishikido will make a guest appearance.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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News Week at Tokyo Dome
[January 10, 2008]



Johnnys Jimusho idol group NEWS played their first solo Tokyo Dome concert in front of  55,000 fans yesterday. The show featured the group arriving on stage from the 30m-high ceiling in a gondola; a fountain that measured 50m wide, 8m tall and used 50 tons of water; and a surprise appearance from their "sempai" Kondo Masahiko (43) and Question?, his backing band made up of members from Johnnys Jr. The first of two shows, it was the first time for a Johnnys concert to be held at Tokyo Dome on a weekday. The shows were added to the schedule for their NEWS Pacific Winter Tour due to popular demand. The group performed 35 songs, including the latest single "Weeeek" and the first live version of "Taiyo no Namida", from their second album "Pacific" and due for release on February 27. The group are back in top gear after the loss of two members punished for underage drinking: Uchi Hiroki (21) in July 2005 and Kusano Hironori (19) a year ago. Having started out with nine members in 2003, they are now down to six. The youngest two, TegoshiYuya and Kato Shigeaki turned 20 last year and will be celebrating their coming of age this month. Kondo is in the 28th year of his career but this was the first time for him to appear as a surprise guest for a junior group. He performed his latest single, "Mezamero! Yasei", which is released later this month.

source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove

hmm...kalau NEWS tu laju je la media report...K8 wat first Tokyo Dome con last year takde pun report...

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The Numbers Are In
       
January 03, 2008

We reported yesterday on the various "Kohaku" highlights on New Year's Eve, and now the official audience figures are in. The second half of the show, always more popular than the first, managed a slight improvement on last year's record low of 37.6% but was still the second-lowest ever at 39.5%. Remember that this is in comparison to the show's heyday when over 80% of households nationwide tuned in. Admittedly, the nations public network hasn't seen a figure over 80% since 1972, and the 50% barrier was broken in 1989, the first year of the current Heisei Era. And with NHK being a non-commercial network, the figures are more a matter of pride than a financial concern. But with a battered reputation, pride is about all NHK has left and some very big names, including top rock names B'z and Yazawa Eikichi, had been bandied about for the latest show and when they failed to sign up, the worst was feared. In the end, the decision to focus more on the songs and some free publicity surrounding a few of the celebrities on the show probably saved the ratings from hitting an all-time low.

Meanwhile, on the other networks: "K-1 Premium 2007" on TBS got an audience of 14.7%; NTV's comedy-variety show "Downtown no Gaki Tsukai ya Arahende!!" managed 12.4%; "Yoiko Mujinto

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SMAP sets ratings high for Kohaku
Sat, January 5, 2008 (4:00pm EST)



Audience ratings for the individual artists at the 58th Kohaku Uta Gassen were announced on Friday. SMAP achieved 43.9%, the highest of the 56 acts that performed on the show. This is their 3rd consecutive year with the highest ratings.

The ratings for the whole show peaked at 46.1% near the end when SMAP sang their hit "Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana," joined by the rest of the Kohaku performers.

Among the artists, the second-highest ratings came during Yo Hitoto's performance (42.7%), though Masafumi Akikawa, Dreams Come True, and Akiko Wada all came close at 42.2%.

Akira Terao had the best of the first half with 38.3% ratings, followed by Ayaka Hirahara and Kaori Kozai with 36.8% each.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Musical Academy member hospitalized last month
Sat, January 5, 2008 (5:01pm EST)



It was revealed on Saturday that Shingo Machida, a member of Johnny's Jr. group Musical Academy, was hospitalized last month.

He began feeling ill during an airplane flight to Osaka on December 22, and he was quickly admitted to a hospital. He was diagnosed with pharyngitis (sore throat) and rhabdomyolysis, an illness which can be fatal due to acute renal failure. He underwent treatment and was discharged on the 26th, but has not participated in any performances since then.

Machida is scheduled to return to work on Sunday for the opening of Koichi Domoto's musical "Endless Shock."

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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HALCALI to release in France, U.S.
Sat, January 5, 2008 (5:22pm EST)



Pop duo HALCALI will make their official entry into France and the U.S. this year. The move is fueled by the popularity of their song "Tip Taps Tip," which has reached audiences overseas through the anime series "Eureka Seven."

HALCALI's most recent album, "Cyborg Oretachi," is hitting stores in France on January 24. The duo will perform at Qin Elysees in Paris on the 26th, then in Cannes on the 28th. They previously performed in Paris last July for the Japan Expo.

In May, HALCALI is reportedly performing at a Japanese culture event in Chicago. (The specific event was not named, but it is likely Anime Central.) A CD release has also been decided for the U.S.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Singer Nakanishi married again
Sat, January 5, 2008 (5:38pm EST)



Singer Keizo Nakanishi remarried at the end of last year, it was learned on Friday. His wife is lyricist Yuri Takaku, who wrote the song "Boyoyon Koshinkyoku" (composed by Nakanishi) for the NHK children's show "Okaasan to Issho."

Nakanishi previously married actress Saya Takagi in 1998, but they divorced in 2000.

Source: www.tokyograph.com