Japanese Entertainment News & Info HERE! [part IV]

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Hiroki Narimiya, Takeshi Kaga face off in "Burnt by the Sun"
Mon, January 10, 2011 (8:01pm EST)



Actor Hiroki Narimiya (28) was recently revealed to be starring in a biographical drama about the late singer Yutaka Ozaki. On Monday, another starring role for Narimiya was officially announced, this time in Japan's first production of the stage play "Burnt by the Sun."

Narimiya's last stage role was four years ago, when he worked with Shun Oguri in William Shakespeare's "As You Like It." Now, he will be tackling "Burnt by the Sun," Peter Flannery's stage adaptation of the 1994 movie of the same name by Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov. That movie won many awards, including the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.



The story is a tragic human drama set around the time of Joseph Stalin's Great Purge. Narimiya plays the protagonist Mitya, a former pianist and White Army veteran seeking revenge against the Red Army officer Kotov, played by Takeshi Kaga (60). For Narimiya, the role will be his first requiring him to play the piano on stage.

Tamiya Kuriyama is directing the play, which will be performed at the Galaxy Theatre in Tokyo from July 24 to August 9. Performances in other cities will follow.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Nami Ichinohe to tie the knot next month
Mon, January 10, 2011 (9:06pm EST)



Actress and talento Nami Ichinohe (29) is getting married next month to a 34-year-old businessman, it is being reported. According to Sankei Sports, the two were introduced to each other by a friend four years ago, and their initial friendship later turned into a romance.

Ichinohe said that it seems like she proposed first. Last October, when the man asked her what she wanted as a birthday present, she replied, "An engagement ring." They decided that they will register their marriage in February on the anniversary of their relationship, and they will also hold a wedding ceremony with their relatives and friends.

Ichinohe entered show business in 1999 and was named as part of Fuji TV's Visual Queen of The Year in 2000. She has appeared in many television dramas, including "Kokoro" in 2003 and "Dollhouse" in 2004. She said that she will continue with her career after the wedding.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Aoi Miyazaki, Masato Sakai play couple again in "Tsure ga Utsu ni Narimashite"
Mon, January 10, 2011 (6:51pm EST)



Aoi Miyazaki (25) and Masato Sakai (37) will co-star in a movie version of "Tsure ga Utsu ni Narimashite," directed by Kiyoshi Sasabe. The two will play a married couple, bringing them together on screen for the first time since the 2008 taiga drama "Atsuhime," where they also played husband and wife.

"Tsure ga Utsu ni Narimashite" is based on a manga series by Tenten Hosokawa (41) that has sold over 600,000 copies. The story humorously retells Hosokawa's own experiences with her husband, who suddenly fell into depression. The couple battled the illness for a year and a half before the husband recovered. In 2009, NHK adapted it as a 3-part miniseries, starring Norika Fujiwara and comedian Taizo Harada.

In the movie version, Miyazaki plays the lead as manga artist Haruko Takazaki, modeled after Hosokawa. Sakai plays the husband Mikio, who fights the depression over the span of three years, helped by a pet iguana. Haruko's parents will be played by Kimiko Yo (54) and Ren Osugi (59).

Filming started on January 9 and is expected to finish in early February. The theatrical release is planned for fall of this year.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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AKB48's Atsuko Maeda mans police call center

Wednesday 12th January, 10:00 AM JST



TOKYO —

Atsuko Maeda, 19, from popular idol group AKB48 this week visited a police emergency call center to publicize “110 day,” a day on which the public is reminded of the number to call in the event of an emergency. She took a mock emergency call from a witness to a robbery in order to experience the routine of a call center employee.

She calmly asked, “Is anybody injured? How many suspects were there?” to gauge the situation before passing the information on to a nearby patrol car.

When asked about her impressions of the experience, Maeda replied, “You’ve got to ask the right questions and get the information to officers as quickly as possible, and that it is not as easy as it sounds.”

Source: www.japantoday.com

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2nd Generation Actors Wed       
January 12, 2011



Actor Nishina Masaki and actress Takigawa Hanako officially tied the knot yesterday, they announced on their blogs and by fax to the media. Nishina (28) is the eldest son of actor Matsukata Hiroki (68) and actress Nishina Akiko (57), while Takigawa (22) is the daughter of the late actor Achiha Shinsuke (1940-2007) and actress Takigawa Yumi (59). The younger couple's relationship was first reported in January of last year when they traveled to Guam, and they announced their engagement back in October.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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Tutorial's Mitsunori Fukuda hospitalized for pancreatitis
Tue, January 11, 2011 (10:49am EST)



Comedian Mitsunori Fukuda (35), of the popular duo Tutorial, is currently in the hospital, his agency Yoshimoto Kogyo announced on Tuesday.

On Monday night, Fukuda began experiencing stomach pains and was taken to the hospital after work to have it examined. He was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis and was immediately admitted as a patient.

Fukuda is expected to remain in the hospital for at least a week, though the date of his return to work will depend on his doctor's advice.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Tsubakiya Quartette reveals they disbanded at end of last year
Tue, January 11, 2011 (11:12am EST)



Rock band Tsubakiya Shijuusou, also known as Tsubakiya Quartette, announced on their official website that they disbanded at the end of last year, after their countdown concert on December 31 at Zepp Sendai. The band apologized for the late announcement, but offered words of gratitude to the fans and other people who have supported them throughout the years.

Vocalist and guitarist Yuji Nakada explained that the decision to disband had already been made by the members around the summer of last year. He said that it was a natural decision with no particular reason, as the band felt that the time to break up had come. He also explained that the band definitely didn't want to do a final "breakup tour," so they had continued their activities as if they would still be moving forward.

Tsubakiya Shijuusou formed in 2000 as a three-member band, and they officially added guitarist Takuro Yasutaka as a fourth member in 2006. They made their major label debut the following year, but Yasutaka later left in March 2010.

Nakada and drummer Ryota Kodera stated that they plan to continue with their musical careers, while bassist Takashige Nagata will be leaving music in pursuit of something else.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Comedian Yakan Nabe announces engagement
Tue, January 11, 2011 (7:16pm EST)

Comedian Yakan Nabe (40) is getting married this summer. Nabe personally announced the news during a guest appearance on a radio show on Tuesday morning. According to his management agency, Nabe's girlfriend is a 32-year-old woman who served as a DJ and director of a community radio show that Nabe hosted between 2006 and 2009.

After Nabe left the radio show in February 2009, he and the woman gradually started dating. The two plan to do their marriage registration and their wedding ceremony around this summer. The woman has apparently left her job, and the couple are already living together in Tokyo.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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RAG FAIR announces hiatus
Tue, January 11, 2011 (7:39pm EST)



The six-member band RAG FAIR, known for leading the a cappella boom in recent years, will be going on hiatus at the end of March. Although the group plans to reunite sometime in the future, the members will be working on solo careers starting in April.

RAG FAIR formed in 1999 and made their major label debut in December 2001, making this their 10th anniversary year. In June 2002, they took the top two spots on the single sales rankings, and that same year they were invited to NHK's Kouhaku Uta Gassen, further fueling the a cappella boom.

About a year ago, the group discussed their future and decided to each pursue separate paths for now, though their specific plans have not yet been revealed. However, it appears that they will continue holding their popular live entertainment stage show Non Stop Hour, but in a different format. They last held it in the fall of 2010.

Before their planned hiatus, they have a tour scheduled from February 19 to March 20 taking them to Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Mangaka Noboru Takahashi turns Shonannokaze into comic
Tue, January 11, 2011 (7:53pm EST)



Music group Shonannokaze is being turned into comic form, courtesy of manga artist Noboru Takahashi ("Mogura no Uta"). The manga will be published in an upcoming issue (on sale January 31) of the weekly magazine Big Comic Spirits.

Shonannokaze released a new single on January 12 called "BOMBERMAN." When Takahashi heard the song, he was inspired with an idea, and he contacted Shonannokaze about drawing them in a manga. The collaboration will be the first of its kind in the 30-year history of Big Comic Spirits.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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AKB48 play themselves as students in "Sakura Kara no Tegami" miniseries
Tue, January 11, 2011 (7:02pm EST)



Members of idol group AKB48 are going to star in a short television miniseries titled "Sakura Kara no Tegami ~AKB48 Sorezore no Sotsugyou Monogatari~." The show will consist of 17 episodes aired on 9 consecutive nights, from February 26 to March 6.



AKB48 will be playing themselves as 3rd-year high school students getting ready to graduate. One day, their homeroom teacher, played by Takaya Kamikawa (45), suddenly announces that he has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and only has three months left to live. As the students each begin reflecting on how to change their own lives, they come to understand the significance of "graduation."

Each of the episodes will be its own story, building up to the climactic final episode. The main cast will consist of Yuko Oshima, Atsuko Maeda, and the rest of the "media senbatsu" team (decided at last year's senbatsu), while the "under girls" and other AKB48 members will also appear as supporting cast. It is reported that all of the AKB48 members will make an appearance.

The drama's main theme song will be "Sakura no Ki ni Narou," whichb AKB48 will release as their next single on February 16.

The first episode will be 30 minutes long, and the last episode will be 60 minutes long, but the 15 episodes in between will each be 10 minutes long. In total, the drama has a running time of 4 hours. According to Mantan Web, the broadcast schedule will be:

Episode 1 - February 26, 11:55pm
Episode 2-4 - February 27, 11:55pm
Episode 5-7 - February 28, 11:58pm
Episode 8-10 - March 1, 11:58pm
Episode 11-13 - March 2, 11:58pm
Episode 14 - March 3, 12:38am
Episode 15 - March 4, 1:28am
Episode 16 - March 5, 12:50am
Episode 17 - March 6, 10:30pm

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Yoshimi Tokui stars as former yankee in live-action movie "Bakugyaku Kazoku"
Tue, January 11, 2011 (8:32pm EST)



Yoshimi Tokui (35), one half of the comedy duo Tutorial, has landed the starring role in "Bakugyaku Kazoku: Bakugyaku Family," a movie adaptation of the "Bakugyaku Kazoku" manga by Hiroshi Tanaka ("BADBOYS"). The film will also feature a supporting cast of Kento Hayashi, Sadao Abe, Tetsuji Tamayama, Nao Omori, Kazuki Kitamura, ARATA, and Mitsuko Baisho.



Tokui previously starred in his own short film "nijiko," as well as the feature-length film "Tengoku wa Mada Tooku" with Rosa Kato.

"Bakugyaku Kazoku" originally ran in Weekly Young Magazine from 1994 to 2004. The story follows a group of former teenage delinquents who are now much older but still consider themselves a family. Tokui plays Tetsu, a former gang leader now working in construction, while Hayashi plays his son Shuhei.

The film is being directed by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri ("Freesia," "Kaitanshi Jokei") and is scheduled for release in November.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Sayaka Kanda gives father her blessing for new relationship

Thursday 13th January, 03:30 AM JST



TOKYO —

Actress Sayaka Kanda, 24, says she is fine with her father actor Masaki Kanda, 60, who recently announced a relationship with television personality Rie Hasegawa, 37.

Kanda, whose mother is 1980s idol singer Seiko Matsuda,said: “I didn’t throw a 60th birthday party for my dad this year because I thought they might be spending it together and I didn’t want to get in the way. At first, I suppose I was thinking about it selfishly and I felt a little like I’d been replaced, but I realized that no-one can take away the precious childhood memories we shared together. Now I give them my blessing. If they decide to marry, I’ll be behind them.”

Kanda is about to appear in “Les Miserables,” along with co-star Yuichi Harada, 28. The two were at a launch event for a series of commemorative coins engraved with characters from the book. Gold and silver French-style coins worth 80,00 yen were displayed at the event to publicize the forthcoming musical stage adaptation of the well-known story.

“Les Miserables” will open at The Imperial Garden Theatre in Tokyo from April 21.

Source: www.japantoday.com

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Chinese cartoonist wins Japan's Int'l Manga Award

Thursday 13th January, 05:04 AM JST

TOKYO —

Chinese cartoonist Xiao Bai won the top prize in this year’s International Manga Award contest hosted by the Japanese government to honor artists abroad, while French, Spanish and Thai authors bagged runners-up awards, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.



The gold award went to Xiao’s comic ‘‘Si loin et si proche’’ (So far, so near), which was published in Belgium in 2010. The work features a Chinese first-year female college student Xiao Tian, who encounters her son arriving from the future.

The recipients of the silver award were Olivier Martin and Sylvain Runberg from France, Enrique Fernandez from Spain and Verachai Duangpla from Thailand.

The winners will receive their trophies at a ceremony in Tokyo in February or March. They will not be given a monetary prize but awarded with a 10-day stay in Japan during which they will meet with Japanese cartoonists and visit publishing companies, according to the ministry.

The ministry received 189 entries from 39 countries and territories worldwide for the award. Among them, 24 each came from Thailand and Brazil, 14 each from Belgium and Spain and 11 from Kazakhstan.

The International Manga Award was established in May 2007 under the initiative of Foreign Minister Taro Aso, who later became prime minister and is known to be a manga aficionado. The prize is intended to help promote Japanese pop culture.

Source: www.japantoday.com

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'Breathless,' 'Akunin' chosen best films released in Japan in 2010

Thursday 13th January, 06:53 AM JST



TOKYO —

The Korean film ‘‘Breathless’’ and the Japanese film ‘‘Akunin’’ (Villain) were chosen as the best films released in Japan in 2010, movie magazine publisher Kinema Junposha Co announced Wednesday.

Yang Ik June, who directed ‘‘Breathless,’’ also wrote the script and starred in, edited and produced the film depicting the struggles of a man at the bottom of a social pyramid and a female high school student. He was given the best director award for foreign films as well.

‘‘Akunin,’’ directed by Lee Sang Il, depicts a love story of a woman who flees with a murderer she met through an online dating service. Japanese actor Satoshi Tsumabuki and award-winning actress Eri Fukatsu star in the lead roles.

Lee won the best director and best screenplay awards under the Japanese film category.

The awards ceremony will be held in Tokyo on Feb 20, according to the publisher.

Source: www.japantoday.com

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Japan's First 3D Drama Series



A PR event was held in Tokyo yesterday for the country's first 3D TV drama series. "Tokyo Control," which focuses on the air traffic controllers who maintain order in the skies above the capital, will air on the Sukachan 3D169 cable/satellite channel from January 19. But perhaps in an indication of the experimental nature of 3D television or the show's production costs, it will air every other Wednesday night. It stars Kawahara Ayako (39) and 3D veteran Tokito Saburo (52), who appeared in last year's "The Last Message Umizaru," the last in a series of action movies about the Japan Coast Guard. At yesterday's event, Tokito joked, "I've established my position as the 3D actor guy. Using this opportunity, I've set up the Japan 3D Actors Association, with myself as the chairman!" He expressed his confidence in the new show by saying, "I think it's even better than Avatar."

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Charts: Kana Uemura, Ikimono Gakari, AKB48
Wed, January 12, 2011 (11:44am EST)



Still enjoying a boost from her appearance at the Kouhaku Uta Gassen, singer Kana Uemura topped the weekly single charts for the second week in a row with her song "Toilet no Kamisama," selling 23,000 more copies. The last single to top the charts in back-to-back weeks was Mr.Children's "HANABI" in Spetember 2008, while the last one by a female artist was Hikaru Utada's "Flavor of Life" in March 2007.

However, the last time that a single was #1 for two straight weeks more than a month after its release was in May 2003, when Naotaro Moriyama achieved it with his hit song "Sakura."



Idol group AKB48 also managed to keep four singles in the Top 10, for the second week in a row. They have also set a new record by having 11 singles in the Top 100 without any re-releases. When counting re-released singles, only three other artists have had more: Southern All-Stars (44) in 2005, Yumi Matsutoya (16) in 1989, and L'Arc~en~Ciel (15) in 2006.



On the album charts, Ikimono Gakari's best album "Ikimono Bakari ~Members BEST Selection~" returned to the #1 spot with close to 40,000 copies sold. The album already held the top spot for two consecutive weeks when it was released last November, and now the album has regained it 8 weeks later. The last album to re-rank at #1 was DREAMS COME TRUE's "DO YOU DREAMS COME TRUE?" in 2009, but that one returned to the top after only 2 weeks.

Although very few artists put out new releases during the first two weeks of the year, one new album did enter the Top 10: Golden Bomber's "Golden Hour Shimohanki Best 2010." It sold more than 21,000 copies to place #3 on the charts.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Aiha Higurashi reveals members of new band THE GIRL
Wed, January 12, 2011 (12:01pm EST)



Last November, vocalist Aiha Higurashi announced that she had suspended activities for her band LOVES., while revealing that she would be launching a new band called THE GIRL. The other members have now been unveiled: drummer Naoko Okamoto of Tsubaki, and bassist Tabasa Hayashi of SCARLET.

Higurashi had planned to name the members of the band earlier, but she delayed the announcement after Tsubaki declared their hiatus in December, due to lead singer and guitarist Noriyasu Isshiki being diagnosed with a brain disorder.

THE GIRL will hold their first concert on February 20 in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo. The event will also have other bands performing, including Crypt City.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Hibari Misora tribute concerts to be held next month
Wed, January 12, 2011 (12:22pm EST)



For the first time, tribute concerts are going to be held for the legendary singer Hibari Misora, who passed away on June 24, 1989, at the age of 52. The concerts are part of an event called "Hibari 7 Days: Film, Talk & Live," being held from February 18 to February 27 (the 7 days are not all consecutive).

The concerts will feature different artists each day, including Izumi Yukimura, Saori Yuki, Shinji Tanimura, Nana Mizuki, Sonoda Band, Kei Ogura, Mari Natsuki, Ataru Nakamura, Yasushi Akimoto, and Jero.

Artist Tadanori Yokoo (74), who has long been a fan of Misora, also created a portrait of her that will be used in posters for the event.

The event is being held at the Setagaya Public Theatre. More details are available on the official website.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Aqua Timez announces new album and first Budokan concert
Wed, January 12, 2011 (6:09pm EST)



The band Aqua Timez has just scheduled their first concert at Nippon Budokan, it has been learned. The concert will be held on August 24, the anniversary of their 2005 indies debut mini-album "Sora Ippai ni Kanaderu Inori" that launched them to fame.

Aqua Timez also announced that they will be releasing their 4th full album, "Carpe Diem," on February 16, almost two years since their last one. The album includes the song "Mayonaka no Orchestra," which is being released as a single on January 26.

After the album's release, the band will go on a nationwide tour, which will end with the show at Nippon Budokan. Details for the tour have not yet been announced.

Source: www.tokyograph.com