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Japanese Entertainment News & Info HERE! [part IV]
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Sayuri Yoshinaga to take part in 'John Lennon Super Live' tribute
Thursday 09th September, 03:53 AM JST
TOKYO —
Actress Sayuri Yoshinaga will lend her voice to a performance in the 10th annual “John Lennon Super Live” tribute to the late singer. The charity event is scheduled for Dec 8 at the Budokan, marking the 30th anniversary of Lennon’s death. Yoshinaga, 65, who shared activities with Lennon in appealing for nuclear disarmament, received an invitation to participate from Yoko Ono, Lennon’s widow and event organizer.
Ono apparently felt that this year’s tribute should feature only the most fitting stars, as it marks 70 years since Lennon’s birth.
Source: www.japantoday.com |
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Actress Eri Fukatsu returns home after winning award in Montreal
Thursday 09th September, 03:03 PM JST
NARITA —
Actress Eri Fukatsu expressed joy Thursday about receiving the best actress award for her performance in the film ‘‘Akunin’’ (Villain) at the 2010 Montreal World Film Festival as she arrived at Narita airport near Tokyo.
‘‘It’s an award won by us all. I’m really glad,’’ the actress said to reporters who rushed up to her after her arrival. Fukatsu returned home from the festival along with the film’s director Lee Sang Il and actor Satoshi Tsumabuki, who played the main role in the movie.
Source: www.japantoday.com |
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Takashi Miike brings samurai film to Venice
Friday 10th September, 06:48 AM JST
VENICE, Italy —
Japanese cult director Takashi Miike says he remade the 1963 classic “Thirteen Assassins” to help Japan’s younger generation learn about the past.
The film is set about 150 years ago, toward the end of the samurai period. An esteemed samurai, Shinzaemon Shimada, played by Japanese superstar Koji Yakusho—best known to international audiences for his roles in “Babel” and “Memoirs of a Geisha”—calls on 12 other elite warriors to end the sadistic rule of Lord Naritsugu.
“I wanted the audience to realize that this story is not taking place in the remote past, but rather in a recent past when our great-grandparents lived,” the director told a news conference Thursday ahead of the film’s premiere in competition for the Golden Lion. “It is our story, the story of our everyday life. In Japan, contemporary history is something children do not know very well.”
The movie is a remake of Eiichi Kudo’s black-and-white classic of the samurai genre.
Stylish and intricately choreographed, the story line presents the noble ideals often associated with samurai, for example, when early in the film Shimada says the greatest honor he could achieve as a samurai would be to die a “noble death.”
“Fate smiles on me,” he says when the opportunity to face off against Lord Naritsugu comes his way.
The film also relies on Miike’s trademark use of violence. He also gives each samurai a distinctive personality, deepening interest in the characters.
The film comes to Venice competition with a strong production pedigree behind it. Jeremy Thomas, the project’s executive producer who met Miike in Venice a few years ago, worked on Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1987 Oscar-winning film “The Last Emperor.”
The film’s other executive producer, Toshiaki Nakazawa, was behind the film “Departures,” which won the best foreign film Oscar.
Miike was last in Venice with the 2007 film “Sukiyaki Western Django,” in which actor and director Quentin Tarantino had a cameo.
Tarantino, a big fan of Miike’s films, is president of this year’s jury, which will decide the winner of the Golden Lion on Sept 11.
Source: www.japantoday.com |
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Keiko Kitagawa hawks beer in TV ads for first time
Friday 10th September, 07:00 AM JST
TOKYO —
Actress Keiko Kitagawa, 24, will be appearing in a TV commercial for Asahi’s latest “happoshu” low-malt, low-tax beer. It is the first time she will appear in a commercial for an alcoholic beverage. “I tend to take it easy with a beer at home, rather than have wild nights out,” she said.
The commercials, which are scheduled to be broadcast from Sept 14, will give viewers a glimpse of Kitagawa’s private life as she relaxes at home with her “boyfriend” and enjoys a drink. “Sharing a drink with friends and partners, your loved ones, is one of the best ways to really deepen your relationships, I think.”
Source: www.japantoday.com |
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A-bomb piano played in New York, 1st time outside Japan
Saturday 11th September, 09:24 AM JST
NEW YORK —
A concert featuring a piano that survived the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima was held in New York on Friday evening, marking the first occasion for such an instrument to be played outside Japan. At the Church of St Paul and St Andrew, Japanese and American musicians played the Yamaha upright piano to promote the abolition of nuclear weapons.
The instrument will be played again Saturday at a memorial event for the ninth anniversary of the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The piano was in Naka Ward in Hiroshima City, about 1.8 kilometers from the epicenter, at the time of the bombing. Mitsunori Yagawa, 58, a piano tuner, became its owner about five years ago and restored it. He has since held concerts with it across Japan.
On Sept 17, another piano that also survived the atomic bombing, owned by Yoko Matsuba of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, will be played at a concert at the U.N. headquarters in New York.
Source: www.japantoday.com |
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Award-winning actress Fukatsu attends 'Villain' screening
Saturday 11th September, 11:31 AM JST
TOKYO —
The Japanese movie that earned best actress honors at the Montreal World Film Festival premiered Saturday, and Eri Fukatsu said it was ‘‘a day like a treasure’’ as she shared a memorable performance with the audience at a Tokyo theater.
‘‘It was an award we won through the efforts by everyone involved,’’ Fukatsu also said in a speech after showing up at the theater in the Roppongi district alongside director Lee Sang Il and actor Satoshi Tsumabuki, who starred in the tragic romance ‘‘Akunin (Villain).’‘
‘‘Hopefully this movie will go deep inside a number of viewers and be loved for a long time,’’ she added.
Fukatsu became the second Japanese actress to take home the best actress trophy after Yuko Tanaka, who won the prize in 1983 for her role in ‘‘Amagi Goe,’’ when the Montreal award winners were announced on Monday.
In ‘‘Akunin,’’ which was based on the novel of the same title by Shuichi Yoshida, Fukatsu plays the part of a young woman who runs away with a construction worker who inadvertently killed someone.
Source: www.japantoday.com |
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Comedian Kei Tani dies at 78 after accident
Sunday 12th September, 03:21 AM JST
TOKYO —
Japanese comedian and actor Kei Tani died Saturday after injuring his head in an accident at his home the previous day, people close to him said. He was 78.
Tani, a Tokyo native whose real name is Yasuo Watanabe, made his name in the entertainment industry in the 1950s as a trombonist of the comic-jazz band Crazy Cats who found far broader audiences with appearances in popular TV shows through the early 1970s.
Some of the buzzwords of the time he delivered with comical performances in those shows are still remembered by a number of contemporary Japanese. He later had a successful career as a theater and movie actor by playing a string of impressive supporting roles.
On Friday evening, Tani suffered a severe injury to his head on the stairs at his home in Tokyo and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead early Saturday morning.
He took his stage name from a pun on the name of American comedian Danny Kaye.
Source: www.japantoday.com |
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Yuna Ito to provide theme song for TV drama
Sunday 12th September, 05:26 AM JST
TOKYO —
Singer and actress Yuna Ito, 26, will provide the theme song for the NTV drama “Ogon no Buta.” It will be her first TV show theme song in four years. The program will air on Wednesdays from 10 p.m.
Previously, Ito provided the theme song, “Faith,” for 2006’s “On Fire” series.
The new drama is a good versus evil story about a financial examiner misappropriating funds. “I really hope that viewers enjoy both my song and the show,” Ito commented. The single will go on sale in November.
Source: www.japantoday.com |
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Oshio Trial Continues
September 07, 2010
The trial of former actor and singer Oshio Manabu (32) continues this week. Already charged and tried for drug offenses, he is currently on trial for his involvement in the death of 30-year-old Ginza hostess Tanaka Kaori. In August of last year, the two took MDMA (ecstasy) at the luxury Roppongi Hills apartment of a friend, but when Tanaka lost consciousness Oshio called his manager rather than the police or an ambulance. Against his manager's advice Oshio repeatedly refused to call for an ambulance, and it was 3 hours before medical assistance was finally requested, by which time Tanaka was beyond help.
Oshio's former girlfriends and manager were among the witnesses called to the stand as prosecutors built a case around an image of Oshio as pressuring others to use drugs. This flies in the face of his own claims of innocence and that he used but did not supply drugs. Izumida Yusuke (32), a friend of Oshio who has been given a 1-year prison sentence in a related case, said he supplied the MDMA pills that are believed to have killed Tanaka just two days before her death. In text messages between the two, the drugs were referred to as "amino acids." The trial at the Tokyo District Court is the first celebrity case to be held under the recently introduced lay judge system.
Source: ww.japan-zone.com |
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Making a Fresh Start
September 09, 2010
Three members of the popular female group AKB48 performed in Tokyo yesterday to mark the release of their debut single as the spinoff unit French Kiss. Made up of Kashiwagi Yuki (19), Takajo Aki (18) and Kuramochi Asuka (20), the trio performed "Zutto Mae Kara" at a movie theater before a special screening of a drama by the same title. During a stage interview, Kuramochi told the gathered 400 fans she had been scolded by her father, former pro baseball pitcher Kuramochi Akira (58), after her attempt to throw out the ceremonial opening pitch at Jingu Stadium on Tuesday.
Kane Aims to be the Asian Bond
Actor Kane Kosugi (35) says he hopes the new action role he has lined up will become the Asian version of James Bond. Provisionally titled "Silent Storm," the movie is a joint production between Japan, the US, South Korea and Hong Kong. "In a suit, he will look like a regular office worker. But he's actually a spy and kung fu expert. I want to create a strong hero figure using just the power of kung fu, without CG or wire action." The search is on for a director and scriptwriter, but Kosugi will the role of producer for the first time. He hopes filming will get underway this winter.
Kane, the son of famed Hollywood ninja Sho Kosugi, has been established on Japanese TV for a decade. Though he has appeared in several overseas productions, most recently working on location in China, he has yet to make a major breakthrough internationally. On the private side, he got married to a Hong Kong beauty (32) last November.
Source: www.japan-zone.com |
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Kikuma Yukino Passes Bar Exam
September 10, 2010
Former Fuji TV announcer Kikuma Yukino (38) has passed the bar exam at the second attempt. The Ministry of Justice yesterday announced the names of those who had passed the exam, which along with the exam for certified public accountants is considered the most difficult in Japan. Up to 2006, the pass rate was as low as 3% and in order to deal with a shortage of lawyers nationwide the exam system was revamped. The pass rate this year was a little over 25%, the lowest under the new system. At a reception to honor those who passed this year's exam, Kikuma said, "I learned that if you make the effort and do your best, good things will happen. I'm even more delighted than when I was recruited to enter Fuji TV!"
While still working on TV, she attended Omiya Law School but the intense schedule led to stress and health problems. She quit Fuji TV in 2007 to focus on her studies. After she failed the exam last year, she started getting up at 6am every day and putting in 16-17 hours of study a day before the exam in May. She will undergo legal training from November.
One of Kikuma's most famous episodes came while she was a presenter on the "Mezamashi Terebi" show in 1998. On the live show, she fell from a 5th-storey window while demonstrating emergency escape equipment and ended up in the hospital for three months. Another infamous case was where she was involved in an underage drinking incident with a member of the Johnny's Jimusho boy aidoru band NEWS.
Taylor Swift to Kick Off World Tour in Japan
Universal Japan announced yesterday that Grammy Award-winning country music singer Taylor Swift (20) is to start her first world tour in Japan next February. The first show in the 18-country tour will be on February 13 at the Osaka Castle Hall. That will be followed by two shows at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo and then another 80+ shows worldwide. Commenting on the plan to kick off the tour in Japan, she said, "It's my Valentine's Day present." Swift performed in Tokyo on Valentine's Day this year. Her 2008 debut album "Fearless" spent 11 weeks atop the US charts.
Source: www.japan-zone.com |
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NOISE POP MEETS J-POP IN A MUSICAL SCREENING OF 77 BOADRUM AS A SPECIAL WEEK OF NIGHTLY EVENTS CONTINUES AT NEW PEOPLE
September 9, 2010 by J!-ENT
J-Pop Week Offers 5 Nights Of Pop Culture Inspired Film, Fashion, Music And Anime Events That Culminate In J-Pop Summit Festival On Saturday September 18th
San Francisco, CA, September 9, 2010 – NEW PEOPLE teams up with Noise Pop, organizers of the leading independent music festival in the Bay Area, for a special theatrical presentation of 77 Boadrum on Thursday, September 16th at 7:30pm at VIZ Cinema. A pre-screening reception begins at 6:00pm, hosted by Shochu distiller Haamomii.
77 Boadrum is a documentary of the Japanese free-rock group the Boredoms’s astounding concert that took place July 7th, 2007 at 7:07pm in the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park in Brooklyn, NY and featured 77 drummers performing simultaneously. The film will be preceded by a music video screening of Cornelius’ Synchronized & Sensurround. General admission tickets for the film screening are $10.00.
The Boredoms are one of Japan’s most iconoclastic experimental musical acts. Formed in Osaka in 1986 by Eye Yamataka, along with frequent collaborator Yoshimi, the Boredoms acknowledge no limits of genre or form, there are no boundaries, and no ceiling on the possibilities of experience and expression. For more than 20 years, the band has redefined the concept of noise and experimentation within pop, punk, and psychedelic music.
For a pre-event reception beginning at 6:00pm, NEW PEOPLE will offer J-Pop gift bags and present inventive spirits and beverages provided by Bay Area Shochu distiller, Haamonii. Haamonii is a new low calorie Japanese spirit created from over 400 years of tradition that mixes like vodka but with far less calories and a very smooth, floral-inspired taste. Haamonii, which means harmony in Japanese, also won a gold medal from the Beverage Tasting Institute.
J-Pop Week continues at NEW PEOPLE every night through Friday, September 17th with a variety of events celebrating Japanese and Asian film, anime, fashion design, music and other forms of pop culture. Special gift bags containing a variety of fun premiums will be given to all ticket holders each night. Check www.J-Pop.com <http://www.J-Pop.com> for a complete list of nightly events.
The J-Pop Summit Festival 2010 takes place Saturday, September 18th in San Francisco’s Japantown and will present a variety of fun Japanese pop-inspired attractions including fashion shows, a theatrical film premiere, live art performances, and mini-concerts by some of Japan’s hottest bands. Innovative artists and companies from the Bay area and Japan will join in with an array of products for sale in open air displays on both sides of Post Street and a food court highlighting Japanese cuisine will further complement the celebration. Complete details are available at: www.J-Pop.com <http://www.J-Pop.com> .
VIZ Cinema is the nation’s first movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX®-certified sound system.
About Noise Pop
Established in San Francisco in 1993, Noise Pop started as a yearly festival of independent music that featured the best local bands the city had to offer. Over the last 16 years it has grown into a widely respected brand. Noise Pop prides itself on bringing exposure to emerging artists, many of whom have gone on to widespread acclaim, including the White Stripes, Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips, Death Cab for Cutie, The Shins, Bright Eyes, The Donnas, Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco) and Silversun Pickups. More info at: www.noisepop.com <http://www.noisepop.com>
About NEW PEOPLE
NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: www.NewPeopleWorld.com <http://www.NewPeopleWorld.com> .
Source: www.nt2099.com/J-ENT |
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Nana Eikura joins "Nobou no Shiro" cast as Kaihime
Tue, September 7, 2010 (6:30pm EDT)
 
In June, it was announced that directors Isshin Inudo and Shinji Higuchi are collaborating on a film adaptation of "Nobou no Shiro," starring Mansai Nomura (44). It has now been revealed that the movie's heroine will be played by actress Nana Eikura (22), who has never appeared in a jidaigeki work before.
The story casts Nomura as Narita Nagachika, a military commander during the Sengoku era who was known as "Nobou-sama." With an army of only 500 soldiers, he successfully defended against an attack on Oshi Castle by Toyotomi Hideyoshi's massive army of 20,000.
Eikura will be playing the part of the Kaihime, who was the daughter of the Narita clan's head, Narita Ujinaga. According to legend, Kaihime was a skilled warrior who was critical in the defense of Oshi Castle. To prepare for the role, Eikura underwent training in skills such as horseback riding and aikido.
"Nobou no Shiro" will open in theaters next year.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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"Onegai! Ranking" goes prime time
Tue, September 7, 2010 (9:11am EDT)
TV Asahi's popular variety show "Onegai! Ranking" is expanding into prime time, it has been announced. The show currently airs Monday-Thursday at 12:20am at night and on Friday at 12:50am at night. Starting in October, it will get an additional one-hour time slot on Saturdays at 7:00pm, under the title "Onegai! Ranking GOLD."
"Onegai! Ranking" premiered in October 2009, and has been presenting rankings in various topics since then. The show has received high audience ratings despite its late-night slot - the August 5 episode achieved an average of 9.0% in the Kanto region.
The regular hosts for Saturday will include comedy duo Bakusho Mondai and talento Eiji Wentz (24).
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Yukari Ichijo's "Pride" gets stage adaptation
Tue, September 7, 2010 (6:47pm EDT)
Yukari Ichijo's manga "Pride" is being adapted to the stage this December. The story, which follows two rival opera singers, was already adapted by director Shusuke Kaneko as a live-action film released last year, starring singer Stephanie and Hikari Mitsushima.
 
The stage version will have Rena Sasamoto (25) and Seiko Niizuma (29) starring as the two opera singers. Yoshihide Sasaki (22) and Kazuma Suzuki (41) will play supporting characters.
"Pride" will be performed at the Theatre Creation in Tokyo from December 1 to December 19.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Eiko Koike, Wataru Sakata sue newspaper
Tue, September 7, 2010 (7:26pm EDT)
 
Actress Eiko Koike (29), her husband and pro wrestler Wataru Sakata (37), and Koike's management agency have filed a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court against the company that operates the Sports Hochi newspaper. The suit claims that an article published by the newspaper in December was harmful to the couple's reputation. As a result, the plaintiffs are seeking 280 million yen in damages.
On December 11 of last year, Sports Hochi published an article claiming that Koike and Sakata were on the verge of divorce due to Sakata's large amount of debt. However, Sakata completely denied the rumors of divorce at the time, and he has since then continued operating his restaurant, which was said to be the source of his debt.
The first hearing in the case took place on Tuesday.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Post Last Edit by whitedove at 15-9-2010 17:11
Hitori Gekidan, Akane Osawa celebrate first child
Wed, September 8, 2010 (8:00am EDT)
 
Comedian Hitori Gekidan (33) and talento Akane Osawa (25) have just become parents. They sent a fax to the press announcing that Osawa gave birth to their first daughter at 3:13pm on Wednesday afternoon.
The girl, who weighed 3,380 grams at birth, was given the name Senka (??).
Gekidan and Osawa have been married since February 2009. Osawa plans to return to work as soon as possible.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Avex to cancel shareholders concert
Wed, September 8, 2010 (8:31am EDT)
Every year since it became listed on the stock exchange in 1999, Avex Group Holdings has held a special concert at its annual shareholders' meeting that features several of the company's top artists. However, the company announced on Wednesday that it will be ending that tradition after June 2011.
Avex cited several reasons for the decision, such as the increase in attendees leading to higher costs and difficulty in obtaining a venue. In 2008, the concert was moved to the Saitama Super Arena to accommodate roughly 15,000 attendees. Another reason for the decision is the problem caused by shareholders improperly selling their voting cards through online auctions. (The voting card is required as proof in order to get tickets to the concert.)
Avex is said to be considering other benefits for shareholders, such as priority ticket reservations for concerts by Avex artists.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Charts: Superfly, V6
Wed, September 8, 2010 (9:44am EDT)
Superfly topped the weekly album charts, with her two-disc release "Wildflower & Cover Songs: Complete Best 'TRACK 3'" selling 146,000 copies. Although officially labeled as a single, Oricon classifies it as an album for its rankings due to the number of songs included. As a result, Superfly is now the first female artist to achieve #1 with her first three albums since Mika Nakashima in 2003.
Koichi Domoto's "BPM" managed a close 2nd, selling 140,000 copies. British band Underworld reached #6, while INFINITY16 and Shinsengumi Lien entered the charts at #7 and #8, respectively.
On the singles chart, V6 took the #1 spot with their double A-side "only dreaming / Catch," which sold 57,000 copies. They now have a streak of 4 consecutive number-ones (24 total), and they have moved into 3rd place for the record of "consecutive years with a Top 10 single." With 16 consecutive years, they now trail only behind B'z and SMAP, who both hold the current record of 20 years.
Also in the top ten this week were new releases from Watarirouka Hashiritai (#2), Mai Kuraki (#4), BUCK-TICK (#7), miwa (#8), and SPEED (#10).
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Downtown's Hama-chan tackles law in new drama series
Wed, September 8, 2010 (6:19pm EDT)
Comedian Masatoshi Hamada (47), better known as "Hama-chan" of the duo Downtown, is going to star in his first drama series 2001. He will play a public prosecutor in "Kenji Onijima Heihachiro," set to start this October on TV Asahi.
In the drama, Hamada plays the titular Heihachiro Onijima, a 44-year-old man who becomes a public prosecutor due to an incident 6 years earlier, where his older sister committed suicide after being caught up in a political scandal. The unyielding Onijima fights to uphold his views of what is right as he takes on Japan's legal system.
The female lead, an elite public prosecutor who is the polar opposite of Onijima, will be played by actress Yuki Uchida (34).
"Kenji Onijima Heihachiro" will air on Friday nights at 9:00pm.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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