Japanese Entertainment News & Info HERE! [part IV]

whitedove

Maki Tamaru in relationship
Thu, December 16, 2010 (8:12pm EST)



Actress Maki Tamaru (32) is currently in a relationship, says this week's issue of FRIDAY. Last month, Tamaru was seen entering a restaurant with a handsome man, and afterwards the two went back to the same apartment building. The magazine also published photos of the pair at a cafe on a different day.

The man is said to be a company employee who is five years older than her. Someone close to Tamaru said that the two were introduced to each other by a friend and have been dating for about one month.

Tamaru's agency said that it would not comment on her private life.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

X Japan does theme song for Osamu Tezuka's "Buddha"
Thu, December 16, 2010 (8:42pm EST)



Rock band X Japan is providing the theme song for an animated film based on Osamu Tezuka's manga "Buddha." The song, titled "Scarlet Love Song," is a ballad written by band leader Yoshiki. It will begin playing in theaters on December 23 when the movie's trailer premieres.

"Tezuka Osamu no Buddha -Akai Sabaku yo! Utsukushiku-" is planned to be the first film in a trilogy based on "Buddha." Directed by Kozo Morishita, the movie features a voice cast that includes Sayuri Yoshinaga, Masato Sakai, Junko Takeuchi, and Hidetaka Yoshioka.

"Scarlet Love Song" will reportedly be included on X Japan's album planned for release next spring. "Tezuka Osamu no Buddha" will open in theaters on May 28, 2011.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Riisa Naka stars in mobile drama "Party wa Owatta"
Thu, December 16, 2010 (9:00pm EST)



Riisa Naka (21) will play the heroine in a new mobile drama series on BeeTV, titled "Party wa Owatta." Her male co-stars will be Hiroki Narimiya (28), Kento Nagayama (21), Sousuke Takaoka (28), Kento Hayashi (20), and Keisuke Koide (26).



Naka plays Toake, a successful manga artist who, despite her beauty, has no boyfriend due to her busy career. A friend invites her to a party full of good-looking men, and she begins to imagine romances with each of them.

The drama is being directed by filmmaker Isao Yukisada ("Parade," "Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu"). This is Yukisada's second mobile drama, having worked on the "Onnatachi wa Nido Asobu" series that was distributed through BeeTV earlier this year. That show got a total of 13 million downloads, and it was later screened in theaters as a single movie.

Monkey Majik will sing the drama's theme song, titled "Yume no Sekai." 25 five-minute episodes are planned, starting on February 1.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Sunday 19th December, 02:11 PM JST



NEW YORK —

Conductor Seiji Ozawa on Saturday concluded his last of three programs this week at Carnegie Hall, leading the Saito Kinen Orchestra as part of the New York concert venue’s Japan festival.

Wielding the baton for the night’s entire program, Ozawa showed he had made a full recovery from surgery earlier this year, conducting Britten’s ‘‘War Requiem’’ for about 90 minutes without intermission.

The concert was also joined by choir members including those from Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture in Japan. The Japanese city hosts music festivals regularly in the name of the orchestra that started in 1984 on an ad hoc basis by assembling Ozawa and other musicians trained by cellist and conductor Hideo Saito.

For the first two programs, the 75-year-old reduced his planned roles at the JapanNYC festival due to chronic backache and conducted the orchestra only for the second part of each—Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 on Tuesday and Berlioz’s ‘‘Symphonie Fantastique’’ on Wednesday.

In his place, conductor Tatsuya Shimono, 40-year-old resident conductor of Tokyo’s Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, led the first half of the programs.

Ozawa was diagnosed in January with an early stage of esophageal cancer. After undergoing surgery, he significantly limited his concert engagements, partly resuming conducting only in late July.

He serves as artistic director of Carnegie Hall’s first Japan festival, a two-part citywide event to explore the country’s arts and culture featuring more than 65 performances and exhibitions at the hall and 22 partner venues in New York.

The first part of the festival will run through December and the second part will take place in March and April 2011.

Source: www.japantoday.com

whitedove

Hiroshi Tachi, Yumiko Shaku to star in NHK period drama

Monday 20th December, 03:07 AM JST



TOKYO —

Hiroshi Tachi, 60, and Yumiko Shaku, 32, will star in next year’s NHK period drama “Onmitsu Happyakuyacho” (Edo Espionage). The pair and co-star Tsutomu Ikeda, 32, attended a PR event this week to publicize the drama.

“Hiroshi taught me a lot about relationships and about what men think of women my age,” Shaku said. Tachi then explained, “Don’t say ‘I love you’. Don’t say you can cook. Don’t say you’re faithful. Those are the three sentences that drive men crazy.”

When asked to comment on the recently announced relationship between Masaki Kanda, 59, and TV personality Rie
Hasegawa, 37, Tachi said: “I met them on Dec 14 at a commercial shoot and they seemed really happy. Kanda’s still young at heart.”

“Onmitsu Happyakuyacho” will be broadcast Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m., starting Jan 8.

Source: www.japantoday.com

whitedove

An AKB Christmas       
December 20, 2010



Aidorugroup AKB48 are everywhere these days. Yesterday they were named as the new "image characters" for major travel agency HIS. Wearing colorful cabin attendant-style uniforms, they perform a variation on their hit single "Aitakatta" in a new series of TV commercials that promote overseas travel. The first CM will air from December 27. The New Year is one of the busiest seasons for Japanese to travel outside the country, particularly to resort destinations such as Hawaii, Guam and Saipan.

AKB48 were also the most successful female artists this year in terms of sales. They took the top two spots - and four in the Top 10 - in Oricon's rankings of the best-selling singles of 2010, based on sales from almost 40,000 stores across the country. The October release "Beginner" was the top seller at over 950,000 copies, while Setember's "Heavy Rotation" was at No.2 with 713,000 sold. They are the first female artists to take the top two spots since Princess Princess in 1989 and the first aidoru group since Pink Lady in 1978.

Meanwhile AKB48 member Sakano Yumi (19, photo right) has been chosen as one of the celebrities who looks best in a wedding dress. At an event in the capital yesterday, she wore a dress and accessories valued at ¥700 million for the first "Japan Wedding Best Dresser Awards." Sakano, who was chosen in the "aidoru" category, said she hopes to marry by the age of 30 and would love to have her wedding in Hawaii. Marie (23) was selected to represent Japan's models, while Minami Akina (21) was chosen in the talento category.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove

2010 Was Another Arashi Year       
December 20, 2010



Johnny's Jimusho aidoru group Arashi are still the country's biggest selling pop artists. For the second year running they have topped Oricon's rankings of the best-sellers of combined music and video content, based on sales from almost 40,000 stores across the country. The group had combined sales of almost ¥17.2 billion, an increase of ¥2.5 billion from last year's total. They are the first Johnny's act to top the rankings in two consecutive years, and the first artist to do so since Inoue Yosui (62) did it in 1974-75. Arashi also ranked top in a record seven different categories.

2010 was a big year for Arashi in many different ways. In September they became the first act to play 4 consecutive nights at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in central Tokyo; their ongoing national tour is their biggest yet, with 16 shows for 860,000 fans; members of the group have been active in a wide variety of TV shows, commercials and movies; their CD "Boku no Miteiru Fuukei" is the only album to sell more than a million copies this year; their concert DVD "Arashi Anniversary Tour 5 x 10" had a record-breaking first run of 477,000 copies; all six of their singles released during 2010 made the annual sales ranking Top 10. And to top it all off, the group will be emcee for the first time for NHK's annual "Kohaku Uta Gassen" concert on New Year's Eve.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove

34th Japan Academy Prize winners announced
Fri, December 17, 2010 (10:25am EST)



The winners of the 34th Japan Academy Prize were announced on Friday. Sang-il Lee's "Akunin" received the most awards, with a total of 15 awards in 13 categories. One of the most notable winners is 6-year-old actress Mana Ashida, the youngest ever to win one of the newcomer awards.



Most of the categories have five "Excellent" recipients, and one in each category will be chosen for the "Best" awards, to be revealed at the presentation ceremony on February 18.

Picture of the Year:

Akunin
Otouto
Kokuhaku
Kokou no Mesu
13 Assassins

Animation of the Year:

Colorful
Karigurashi no Arrietty
Eiga Doraemon: Nobita no Ningyo Daikaisen
Meitantei Conan: Tenkuu no Lost Ship
One Piece Film: Strong World

Director of the Year:

Tetsuya Nakashima (Kokuhaku)
Izuru Narushima (Kokou no Mesu)
Takashi Miike (13 Assassins)
Yoji Yamada (Otouto)
Sang-il Lee (Akunin)

Screenplay of the Year:

Masato Kato (Kokou no Mesu)
Daisuke Tengan (13 Assassins)
Tetsuya Nakashima (Kokuhaku)
Yoji Yamada / Emiko Hiramatsu (Otouto)
Shuichi Yoshida / Sang-il Lee (Akunin)

Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:

Tsurube Shofukutei (Otouto)
Shinichi Tsutsumi (Kokou no Mesu)
Satoshi Tsumabuki (Akunin)
Etsushi Toyokawa (Hisshiken Torisashi)
Koji Yakusho (13 Assassins)

Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:

Shinobu Terajima (Caterpillar)
Eri Fukatsu (Akunin)
Takako Matsu (Kokuhaku)
Hiroko Yakushimaru (Kondo wa Aisaika)
Sayuri Yoshinaga (Otouto)

Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:

Renji Ishibashi (Kondo wa Aisaika)
Akira Emoto (Akunin)
Masaki Okada (Akunin)
Masaki Okada (Kokuhaku)
Koji Kikkawa (Hisshiken Torisashi)

Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:

Yu Aoi (Otouto)
Kirin Kiki (Akunin)
Yoshino Kimura (Kokuhaku)
Yui Natsukawa (Kokou no Mesu)
Hikari Mitsushima (Akunin)

Outstanding Achievement in Music:

Koji Endo (13 Assassins)
Grand Funk (BECK)
Isao Tomita (Otouto)
Joe Hisaishi (Akunin)
Meina Co. (Kondo wa Aisaika)

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography:

Shoichi Ato / Atsushi Ozawa (Kokuhaku)
Koichi Ishii (Hisshiken Torisashi)
Norimichi Kasamatsu (Akunin)
Nobuyasu Kita (13 Assassins)
Shinji Chikamori (Otouto)

Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Direction:

Susumu Takakura (Kokuhaku)
Noritaka Chihara (Hisshiken Torisashi)
Kazuhiro Iwashita (Akunin)
Yoshiya Watanabe (13 Assassins)
Koichi Watanabe (Otouto)

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction:

Towako Kuwashima (Kokuhaku)
Yohei Taneda / Ryo Sugimoto (Akunin)
Hidefumi Hanatani (Ooku)
Yuji Hayashida (13 Assassins)
Toshiyuki Matsumiya (Sakuradamongai no Hen)

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Recording:

Kazumi Kishida (Otouto)
Mitsugu Shiratori (Akunin)
Yasushi Tanaka (Hisshiken Torisashi)
Jun Nakamura (13 Assassins)
Masato Yano (Kokuhaku)

Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing:

Iwao Ishii (Otouto)
Tsuyoshi Imai (Akunin)
Yoshiyuki Koike (Kokuhaku)
Chieko Suzaki (Hisshiken Torisashi)
Kenji Yamashita (13 Assassins)

Outstanding Foreign Language Film:

Avatar
Inception
Invictus
Toy Story 3
The Hurt Locker

Rookie of the Year:

Mana Ashida (Ghost: Mou Ichido Dakishimetai)
Momoka Ono (Kinako: Minarai Keisatsuken no Monogatari)
Riisa Naka (Zebraman: Zebra City no Gyakushu, Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo)
Kento Nagayama (Soft Boy)
Shohei Miura (THE LAST MESSAGE: Umizaru)
Takahiro Miura (RAILWAYS)

Special Award from the Chairman:

Umetsugu Inoue (director, died February 11 at the age of 86)
Tanie Kitabayashi (actress, died April 27 at the age of 98)
Takeo Kimura (art director, died March 21 at the age of 91)
Keiju Kobayashi (actor, died September 16 at the age of 86)
Katsumi Nishikawa (director, died April 6 at the age of 91)

Special Award from the Association:

Ryuzo Ueno (sword fights)
Hiroshi Kuze (sword fights)
Ryoji Matsumoto (decoration)
Nobuo Yajima (special effects)
Teruyo Nogami (Kurosawa-gumi production manager)

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Aoi Nakamura to star in stage play "Curry Life"
Fri, December 17, 2010 (10:58am EST)



Teen actor Aoi Nakamura (19) has landed a starring role in a stage play called "Curry Life." This is his first theater role since 2006, when he debuted as an actor in "Denen ni Shisu."

"Curry Life" tells the story of five cousins who graduated from culinary school. After their grandfather dies, they take up the task of recreating the curry that he often made. They travel to the United States, India, and Okinawa in search of delicious curry, and they discover their own selves along the way.

The rest of the cast will be announced at a later date. Kenta Fukasaku ("Battle Royale II: Requiem," "XX") will direct.

"Curry Life" is scheduled to be performed in Tokyo on May 14-22, 2011.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

TV Asahi's Yuko Yajima engaged
Fri, December 17, 2010 (11:11am EST)



Yuko Yajima (28), an announcer for TV Asahi, is getting married next spring, it has been learned. Her fiance is a 44-year-old employee at one of TV Asahi's associated production companies. He currently is the producer and general director for the network's show "Chii Sanpo," which Yajima regularly appears on.

A source familiar with the situation said that Yajima and the man began dating after meeting through that show, which Yajima joined in 2007.

Yajima has been with TV Asahi since 2005. Her other shows include "Yajiuma TV!" and "Zatsugaku King." It is reported that Yajima is not pregnant, and she plans to continue working as an announcer.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Comedy duo Audrey ranks #1 in TV appearances in 2010
Fri, December 17, 2010 (11:42am EST)



Nihon Monitor has compiled a ranking of the top television celebrities of 2010, measuring the number of shows that they appeared in between January 1 and November 30 of this year. The popular comedy duo Audrey was #1 on the list with 507 appearances, averaging roughly 1.39 shows per day. #2 was comedian Koji Kato, with a total of 470 shows.

The rankings cover only broadcasts in Tokyo on the networks NHK, NTV, TBS, Fuji TV, TV Asahi, and TV Tokyo. Group appearances and individual appearances were counted separately. Reruns were not counted, and announcers and journalists were excluded from the list.

1. Audrey
2. Koji Kato
3. Bibiru Oki
4. Satoko Oshima
5. Taka and Toshi
6. Hannya
7. Becky, Terry Ito (tie)
9. Hiroiki Ariyoshi
10. Monta Mino
11. Kendo Kobayashi
12. Ai Haruna
13. Fruit Punch
14. Jicho Kacho
15. Hideyuki Nakayama
16. Tamori
17. Maomi Yuuki
18. Junior Chihara
19. Summers
20. Beat Takeshi

Only four of the top 20 are female: Satoko Oshima, Becky, Ai Haruna, Maomi Yuuki. After them, the top ranking female celebrities are Suzanne, Tomochika, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, Masami Hisamoto, Mari Yaguchi, and Emiko Kaminuma.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Chihiro Onitsuka's suspected attacker was previously convicted, served prison sentence
Fri, December 17, 2010 (1:19pm EST)



More details about the assault on singer Chihiro Onitsuka (30) were revealed on Thursday, as the trial against her suspected attacker opened at the Tokyo District Court. The defendant, Yusuke Komiya (39), was arrested in September after he allegedly inflicted multiple serious injuries on Onitsuka. During the trial, it was learned that he has been convicted for violence before and has even served prison time.

According to the statements made on Thursday, Onitsuka and Komiya had been dating for a very short time after meeting at a toy store in early August. Komiya, who is currently unemployed and has no permanent address, began living with Onitsuka, but he gradually became unhappy with her.

On the morning of August 18 at around 6:00am, Komiya returned after a night of drinking to the apartment, where Onitsuka was sleeping. He is said to have pulled the bed covers off her and slapped her across the face. Onitsuka slapped him back, making him angrier and leading him to beat her more viciously.

The prosecution claimed that Komiya's attack included slapping her several times on the face, kicking her once in the side, knocking her down onto the floor, and gouging her in the eyes. Her resulting injuries included bruises on her face and fractures in her cheekbones and ribs. Overall, her injuries took approximately one month to fully heal.

After Komiya stopped and fell asleep, Onitsuka sneaked out of the room and had the apartment manager notify the police. Before the police could arrive, however, Komiya wrecked her apartment wall, door, and computer, then fled from the apartment. He was finally arrested a month later at a hotel in Tachikawa, Tokyo.

During the court hearing on Thursday, Onitsuka's affidavit regarding the traumatizing incident was read aloud. In it, she stated that she has lost her trust in men and has become afraid of being near them.

Komiya partially denied the allegations against him, claiming that he only slapped her once and did nothing more than that. He further stated that he has no knowledge of how Onitsuka suffered a broken rib.

More information on Komiya's background was revealed during the hearing. After dropping out of college, he worked a series of jobs, such as at a restaurant, as a clothing seller, and as a model. Although he has never been married, it is said that he has one child.

Most importantly, it was pointed out that Komiya has 5 prior incidents of violence on his criminal record, and he served an 18-month prison sentence that ended in November 2007.

In addition, it was revealed that Komiya is being prosecuted for a separate incident of assault that occurred earlier this year. On March 28, at around 4:50am, Komiya was in a convenience store in Shimokitazawa. Another man spoke to him, and Komiya responded by suddenly hitting him several times, then taking him for a ride in a taxi before further beating him on the street.

That man suffered a fracture in his left chest, facial bruises, and other injuries. Komiya has completely denied the allegations, saying that he has absolutely no recollection of the incident and has never met the victim.

The second hearing in Komiya's trial for the assault on Onitsuka will be held on February 7.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Boyz II Men releasing cover album of Japanese songs
Sat, December 18, 2010 (2:11am EST)



Details have been released regarding Boyz II Men's upcoming album "COVERED -Winter-," which contains covers of 9 popular Japanese songs. The album was first listed on retailer websites a couple months ago, but the tracklist was not known at the time.

The songs being covered are:

"Missing" - Toshinobu Kubota
"First Love" - Hikaru Utada
"Yuki no Hana" - Mika Nakashima
"Itoshi no Ellie" - Southern All Stars
"Saigo no Ame" - Yasushi Nakanishi
"EVERYTHING" - MISIA
"Sen no Kaze ni Natte" - Man Arai
"WINTER SONG" - DREAMS COME TRUE
"Heavenly White" - EXILE

The album is being released on December 22, 2010. Boyz II Men also has plans for an original album commemorating their 20th anniversary, tentatively set for release in summer or fall 2011. They will also perform a 4-concert tour in Japan in November 2011.

UPDATE: Boyz II Men has also launched an official website in Japanese. Samples from the album are available on a special page.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Announcer Tsubasa Nagano to leave Fuji TV
Sun, December 19, 2010 (8:36am EST)



Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks player Seiichi Uchikawa (28) and Fuji TV announcer Tsubasa Nagano (29) held their wedding at a church in Tokyo on Saturday. On the same day, Nagano announced that she will be leaving the network next spring in order to focus on home life.

Uchikawa and Nagano already registered their marriage on March 24 of this year. They began dating about one year earlier.

Nagano joined Fuji TV as an announcer in 2003. She currently is a regular on "FNN Super News," but she will leave the show at the end of March 2011, just before baseball season begins in April. The upcoming season will be Uchikawa's first one with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, whom he signed with after leaving the Yokohama BayStars during this offseason.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Oriental Radio comedians get first starring movie roles in "Tsugaru Hyakunen Shokudo"
Sat, December 18, 2010 (1:44am EST)



Comedy duo Oriental Radio are starring in their first movie. "Tsugaru Hyakunen Shokudo" is based on Akio Morisawa's novel of the same name about a family running an eatery in a city in the Aomori prefecture for four generations, spanning an entire century.

Oriental Radio member Atsuhiko Nakata (28) will play Kenji, the first generation owner of the eatery, while his partner Shingo Fujimori (27) will play Yoichi, the fourth generation owner. Both have appeared in minor film roles and provided voice-overs for animated films, but this movie will be their first time playing lead characters.

  

The duo's supporting cast includes Saki Fukuda (20) as a childhood friend and love interest of Yoichi, plus Masato Ibu (61) as Yoichi's father and the third generation owner of the shop.

"Tsugaru Hyakunen Shokudo" is being directed by Kazuki Omori, who is best known for several films in the "Godzilla" series. The movie will premiere on April 2, 2011.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Ryuhei Matsuda takes on first lead drama role in "Douki"
Sun, December 19, 2010 (7:57am EST)



Ryuhei Matsuda (27) has finally been given a lead role in a television drama, after having starred in more than a dozen films during his 12-year careeer. He will play a policeman in WOWOW's drama special "Douki," adapted from a novel by popular writer Bin Konno (55).



Matsuda plays a cop searching for a former colleague (Hirofumi Arai), who joined the police force at the same time but was suddenly given a disciplinary dismissal and is now suspected of being a serial killer.

The screenplay is being written by Yuichi Fukuda ("Tokyo DOGS," "33-pun Tantei") and directed by Yu Irie ("SR: Saitama Rappers"). The supporting cast includes Naoto Takenaka and Chiaki Kuriyama.



"Douki" is scheduled for broadcast on February 20, 2011.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Relationships forbidden for Tomomi Itano of AKB48

Tuesday 21st December, 03:57 AM JST



TOKYO —

Tomomi Itano, 19, of AKB48, model Marie, 23, and TV personality Akina Minami, 21, all attended the Tokyo Bridal Festa 2010 Wedding Best Dresser Awards in Tokyo recently. Itano turned up, draped in 700 million yen worth of jewelry for the occasion, telling the audience, “I’m pleased to have been able to wear the kind of wedding dress every girl dreams of. I’d like to get married some day too.”

However, Itano then revealed that romantic entanglements are forbidden for AKB48 members. When asked by Marie, “Aren’t you looking for Mr Right?” Itano responded, “We’re not allowed to look.”

She then added, “Marriage isn’t forbidden though, so I’d like to get married before I’m 30.”

Minami spoke of her own strong desire to marry, saying, “When I was at school, I thought I’d be married at 20. I really hope to be married in the next 5 years.”

Source: www.japantoday.com

whitedove

Asagi Named as the "Other Woman" on Twitter       
December 21, 2010



Talento Asagi Kuniko (46, photo left) is at the center of perhaps the first Japanese celebrity scandal to break out on Twitter. Late Sunday night a post on the Twitter account of talento Omomo Miyoko (45, photo right) named Asagi as having had an affair with her ex-husband (49). Omomo and her husband divorced in November 2009 but the reasons were never discussed publicly. Omomo's management have declined to comment on the report, telling the media that she is currently resting overseas and not expected back in Japan until early next week. Asagi is scheduled to make a regular appearance on the TBS morning show "Hiruobi" tomorrow, so the media will be watching for any mention of the story.

The first tweet that drew attention to the story was on Sunday night when Omomo said that her happy event of 2010 was joining Twitter and connecting with new people. But the shocking event was when she learned of Asagi's affair with her ex, a director at a TV production company. The couple married in 2003, thanks largely to Omomo's relentless pursuit and marriage proposal. Asagi is also a divorcee. She married musician and old friend Matsumoto Akihiko (47) in 1994 and they had a daughter soon after. But differences between the two led to divorce in March 2006.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove

Sakura-Con 2011 Announces Guests Berryz Kobo

December 20, 2010 by J!-ENT



ANCEA is pleased to announce Berryz Kobo as musical guests for Sakura-Con 2011, April 22-24 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, Washington. All girl super group Berryz Kobo originally hails from Hello! Project and consists of Saki Shimizu, Momoko Tsugunaga, Chinami Tokunaga, Maasa Sudo, Miyabi Natsuyaki, Yurina Kumai and Risako Sugaya. With 7 Albums and 24 singles to their credit, Berryz Kobo’s first North American appearance is a dream come true for many fans.

Berryz Kobo had their debut single, “Anata nashi dewa ikite ikenai” on Girls Day (March 3rd) in 2004,  and have been consistently impressing fans ever since.  There are many highlights to their 6+ year history, including their 2005 Oricon top 10 hit “Special Generation”. In 2007, Berryz Kobo gave sold out performances in the Saitama Super Arena (20,000 seats), becoming the youngest band to perform in this arena with an average age below 14 years. One year later, they won the Best Newcomer Award at the Asia song Festival in South Korea and then the Nihon Yuusen Taishou Award for their cover song of “Dschinghis Khan”. In March 2010, Berryz Kobo was the first all girl Japanese group to perform in Bangkok Thailand. Their latest single “Shining Power”, released on November 10th is an ending theme for the anime “Inazuma Eleven”. Berryz Kobo are excited to perform in the USA for their international fans!!


Berryz Kobo appear courtesy of Up Front Agency and Japanfiles.com


Official Site


http://www.helloproject.com/berryzkobo/index.html
Official Berryz YouTube Channel?Berryzchannel?


http://www.youtube.com/user/berryzchannel

whitedove

Choshinsung's Yokohama Arena concert to be screened in 3D next spring
Mon, December 20, 2010 (9:02am EST)



Korean group Choshinsung (known in Japan as Choshinsei) held a press conference and fan event on Monday. They announced that their concert at the Yokohama Arena on Tuesday, December 21, will be screened in theaters next year as a 3D movie.

Specific details are currently unavailable, but the screenings are expected to be around the end of March.

The group also announced that they will release a best album titled "SUPERNOVA BEST" on January 26.

Source: www.tokyograph.com