Japanese Entertainment News & Info HERE! [part II]

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Oricon: beautiful lips
Mon, March 23, 2009 (3:09am EDT)



Oricon recently conducted a survey of 600 men, asking them which female celebrities they think have beautiful lips. #1 on the list was popular idol/talento Waka Inoue, followed by Aya Ueto (#2) and Satomi Ishihara (#3).

   1. Waka Inoue
   2. Aya Ueto
   3. Satomi Ishihara
   4. Yuri Ebihara
   5. Misaki Ito
   6. Angelina Jolie
   7. Keiko Kitagawa
   8. Haruka Igawa
   9. Haruka Ayase
  10. Ryoko Hirosue
      Maki Horikita

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Amuro, Denki Groove top Space Shower awards
Mon, March 23, 2009 (12:20am EDT)



On Sunday, the 2009 SPACE SHOWER Music Video Awards were presented. This year, Namie Amuro won Best Female Video for the second year in a row with "NEW LOOK." To top it off, she also picked up the newly established Best Artist award.



Best Video of the Year went to Denki Groove's "Mononoke Dance," which also earned them the prize in the Best Groove Video category. Meanwhile, RADWIMPS' "Order Made" took Best Rock Video and the fan-selected Best Your Choice.



Like Amuro, Motohiro Hata also achieved a repeat in the Best Male Video category with "Kimi, Meguru, Boku."

The full list of awards can be found in the forums.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Kazue Fukiishi looking for man to kick around and drink with

Saturday 21st March, 05:00 AM JST



TOKYO —

Actress Kazue Fukiishi, 26, was in a fighting mood this week at an event to promote her TV commercial campaign for a sports drink made in collaboration between Asahi Soft Drinks and Kagome. “Spo Vege,” a vegetable-based sports drink, will go on sale April 7. The commercial started airing on Friday.

Fukiishi demonstrated her athletic prowess on stage when she kicked “Ninjin-kun“—a character in the shape of a carrot—several times. Fukiishi later said: “I’d like a guy who would let me kick him, and then we can drink Spo Vege together afterwards.”

Source: www.japantoday.com

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Korean Western top contender at Asian Film Awards

Sunday 22nd March, 04:49 AM JST

HONG KONG —

A South Korean Western is the top contender at the third Asian Film Awards—a rare gathering of movie talent from China to Bollywood that will feature Oliver Stone and William Hurt as presenters.



Kim Jee-won’s “The Good, the Bad, the Weird” is up for eight awards in 13 categories, including best film and best director for Kim. Song Kang-ho, who won best actor at the 2007 awards, was nominated again, and co-stars Jung Woo-sung and Lee Byung-hun are contending for best supporting actor.

Kim and Jung are scheduled to attend Monday’s event, along with best director nominee John Woo, Japan’s Masahiro Motoki, star of the Oscar best foreign film winner “Departures,” and Chinese actresses Zhou Xun and Zhao Wei, both nominated as best actress.

Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra will receive The Nielsen Box Office Award presented by trade publication The Hollywood Reporter.

&#8220latoon” director Stone will present the best director prize. It wasn’t immediately clear which awards that Hurt and “The Last Emperor” star Joan Chen will give away.

Retired Taiwanese actress Brigitte Lin will make a rare appearance to present the Outstanding Contribution to Asian Cinema to veteran Hong Kong director Tsui Hark and his wife, producer Nansun Shi.

The winners were chosen by a panel of 13 judges chaired by former Bond girl Michelle Yeoh, who will also be on hand Monday.

Also competing for best picture are Chen Kaige’s Peking Opera biopic “Forever Enthralled,” famed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s &#8220onyo on the Cliff,” Woo’s Chinese historical epic “Red Cliff,” the Japan-Netherlands-Hong Kong family drama “Tokyo Sonata” and Indonesia’s “The Rainbow Troops.”

Woo and Miyazaki were also nominated for best director. The other nominees are China’s Feng Xiaogang for the romance “If You Are the One,” Japan’s Hirokazu Koreeda for “Still Walking” and Brillante Mendoza for the Philippine movie “Service.”

In the best actor category, Song is competing against China’s Ge You, Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, South Korea’s Ha Jung-woo and Japanese actors Motoki and Kenichi Matsuyama (“Detroit Metal City“).

Kumar was nominated for “Singh is Kinng,” a comedy about an Indian villager who travels to Australia to persuade a fellow villager-turned-gangster to return. Ha was named for the action thriller “The Chaser,” about a serial killer on the run.

Zhao and Zhou are competing in the best actress category against compatriot Jiang Wenli, Japan’s Eri Fukatsu and Sayuri Yoshinaga and India’s Deepika Padukone.

Zhao starred in the ghost thriller &#8220ainted Skin,” Zhou played a taxi driver searching for her missing boyfriend in “The Equation of Love and Death” and Padukone appeared in “Chandni Chowk to China,” about an Indian cook who travels to China.

Source: www.japantoday.com

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'Kawaii' cool girls fever grips Tokyo fashion shows

Sunday 22nd March, 07:09 AM JST



TOKYO —

Cool girls dubbed ‘‘kawaii’’ (cute) in Japanese caused much excitement at two recent sold-out fashion shows in Tokyo, each drawing some 20,000 young women as well as a throng of foreign media. The two shows were the Tokyo Girls Collection in which top models and TV personalities take turns showing off apparel generally popular with young women and the Shibuya Girls Collection, a similar fashion show mainly for teenagers.

Unlike traditional fashion shows for women’s wear, the models showcase relatively ordinary clothes that are on sale at shops such as those of the Uniqlo brand.

Yu Yamada and Marie were among the models drawing shrill cries of ‘‘kawaii!’’ from the audience when they unveiled clothing designed for this spring and summer on the stage of the Tokyo Girls Collection at Yoyogi National gymnasium on March 7.

The show first started in the summer of 2005 as a biannual event.

The following day at the same venue, popular TV personality Akina Minami entertained the audience, many of them teenage girls, who flocked to the Shibuya Girls Collection which is named a trendy Tokyo district.

The fever prompted interest more than 20 news organizations from other countries, including Italy, Sweden and other Asian states.

A 26-year-old office worker who came from Nagoya to the TGC show had no hesitation in expressing her excitement, saying, ‘‘This is my sixth time. I feel the show is getting better year by year.’’

She enjoyed the distinctive mark of the event that the models wear household brand clothes, such as Uniqlo, as it made her feel their coordination was more ‘‘real,’’ she said.

Source: www.japantoday.com

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Kanjiya feels 'lucky' after doing voice-over for Czech film

Monday 23rd March, 05:10 AM JST



TOKYO —

Shihori Kanjiya, a popular actress in Japan, said Wednesday she was excited to be doing a voice-over for a Czech-made stop-motion film using real dolls and toys as it was a new experience for her at a time when computer-aided animation films are in full swing. ‘‘I was very lucky as it was a fabulous and heart-warming film,’’ Kanjiya, 23, said during an event in Tokyo to promote the animated film ‘‘In the Attic’’ directed by Jiri Barta.

‘‘I found it a great thing to make this kind of film requiring long periods of work at a time when there are many films using computer graphics,’’ Kanjiya said. The film depicts an imaginary world in which a doll girl called Pomnenka, dubbed by Kanjiya, who is left in an attic, is abducted by a villain and then her friends—other discarded dolls and toys—rise up to rescue her.

Barta, 60, expressed his hope that his work will prompt many viewers in Japan to have second thoughts about modern ‘‘throwaway’’ society during a promotional event held on the sidelines of the Tokyo International Anime Fair.

‘‘Toys in an attic are not things that have been thrown away. You can play with them again if you breathe new life into them,’’ Barta said.

The Japanese distributor plans to start screening the 75-minute movie at Tokyo’s cinemas in the summer.

Source: www.japantoday.com

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'Idol' Akina Minami beats actor Dante Carver in iPhone game competition

Monday 23rd March, 07:09 AM JST



TOKYO —

Japanese ‘‘idol’’ Akina Minami beat U.S. actor Dante Carver in a recent promotional competition in Tokyo for a version of the popular video game ‘‘Metal Gear Solid’’ each using an iPhone handset. Minami successfully controlled the motion-sensing cell phone despite her decorated long nails, eliminating 16 ‘‘enemies’’ to finish one stage in the blink of an eye.

‘‘I had a very good time,’’ an excited Minami said, punching the air after playing the game, which has sold 26.5 million copies globally. Carver accepted his defeat gracefully, saying in fluent Japanese, ‘‘I also had a good time. It’s very easy to play this game.’’ Minami appears in a version of the game as herself, while Carver is a key person to promote cell phones of Softbank Mobile Corp, the carrier of iPhone.

Source: www.japantoday.com

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Maki Goto and TOHOSHINKI walk the walk for Japan Fashion Week

Tuesday 24th March, 05:56 AM JST



TOKYO —

Singer-model Maki Goto, formerly of Morning Musume, and Korean pop group TOHOSHINKI strutted their stuff at an event in Minami Aoyama this week to kick off the eighth “Japan Fashion Week in Tokyo.” Goto, 23, walked down the red carpet and told press: “I’m having a great time. As for the range, I like the items that are dark, cool, and look tough.”

Pop group TOHOSHINKI wore suits by popular brand “ato” and sang their single “Bolero” on stage. Their new album “The Secret Code” will go on sale on Wednesday.

Source: www.japantoday.com

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Nozomi Sasaki dances for her gum

Tuesday 24th March, 07:08 AM JST



TOKYO —

Model Nozomi Sasaki, 21, and actor Ken Sato, 20, have been signed up to do TV commercials for Lotte’s new gum Fit’s. During the TV commercial, Sasaki and Sato show their dance moves. Dancer Papaya Suzuki supervises their dancing, and Sasaki co-stars with comedian Naomi Watanabe who is a Beyonce impersonator.

Sasaki said, “I practised dancing for 90 minutes everyday for two weeks.” Sato added: “No offense to Ms Sasaki, but I just practiced dancing for 10 minutes the day before we made the commercial.”

Source: www.japantoday.com

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Yuko Takayama fights fire with poster campaign
Tue, March 24, 2009 (1:17am EDT)



SONPO has chosen its 2009 poster model for its long-running fire prevention campaign. This time, the lucky representative is 16-year-old model/actress Yuko Takayama, who recently starred in the movie "Sora e -Sukui no Tsubasa- Rescue Wings."

The poster campaign has featured many popular women in the past, including Seiko Matsuda, Aya Ueto, and Masami Nagasawa.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Yoshiki promises that X Japan's Tokyo Dome shows will go on
Tue, March 24, 2009 (2:36am EDT)



X Japan leader Yoshiki held a press conference on Monday, announcing that the band's Tokyo Dome concerts scheduled for May 2-3 will be going on as planned. Due to some reported trouble between bassist HEATH and his management agency, the group postponed two concerts in Korea earlier this month. They also delayed the ticket sales for the Tokyo Dome shows, leading to concerns that the shows would be canceled.

But Yoshiki reassured fans that despite the current complications, there will be no postponement of the Tokyo Dome concerts. Lottery ticket sales are starting on Wednesday, initially through Yoshiki's mobile site. He also announced another stop on X Japan's world tour, on May 30 at the Pan-Chiao Stadium in Taipei, Taiwan.

Yoshiki further revealed that his Violet UK project is doing the theme song for Kazuaki Kiriya's upcoming movie "Goemon" (in theaters May 1). The song is a ballad titled "ROSA." No release date for the single has been determined yet.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Jinnai-Fujiwara marriage officially over
Tue, March 24, 2009 (3:35am EDT)



Comedian Tomonori Jinnai (35) and actress Norika Fujiwara (37) are now officially divorced. The couple submitted their divorce papers on the 20th, and on Monday, the separation was legally accepted. Their marriage lasted a total of 1 year and 11 months.

Jinnai has already acknowledged that the cause of their divorce was his infidelity. On Tuesday, he appeared before the press at Yoshimoto Kogyo's Tokyo headquarters to publicly announce that they are officially divorced. He also accepted full responsibility for the breakup.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Miki Fujimoto, Tomoharu Shoji announce engagement
Tue, March 24, 2009 (10:35am EDT)



Former Morning Musume leader Miki Fujimoto (24) and comedian Tomoharu Shoji (33) are engaged to be married. Both of their agencies announced the big news on Tuesday.

Their relationship was first discovered in May 2007, which led to Fujimoto's graduation from Morning Musume. Now, after two years of dating, they have decided to tie the knot. They reportedly plan to register the marriage in July, but they have not yet determined a date for the wedding ceremony. There are no plans for a press conference regarding the announcement.

Fujimoto plans to continue in show business, but it is said that the home will be her priority.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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http://www.japan-zone.com/modern/pix/j/japan_repeat_as_wbc_champions.jpg

In the most tense and hard-fought game of the tournament, Japan beat arch-rivals South Korea 5-3 to retain their crown as World Baseball Classic champions. Team leader and batting phenom Ichiro was once again the key, getting on base time after time, stealing bases and finally driving in the winning two runs. Japan got strong support from right-handed starter Iwakuma Hisashi, who pitched seven and two-thirds innings and got the win. Down by a run from the third inning, the Koreans repeatedly allowed Japan's batters to get on base but managed to keep the run count at one apiece until the seventh and stayed just within reach of Hara Tatsunori's team. They drew level 3-3 with two out in the bottom of the ninth with an RBI off Darvish Yuu, sending their supporters - an overwhelming majority of the 54,846 fans - into a frenzy at Dodger Stadium. In just the second game of the tournament to go into nail-biting extra innings, it began to look like the Koreans might just have the edge. But Ichiro, whose batting form has been up and down over the last week, was once again inspired and gave Japan the lead for good with a two-run double of reliever CY Lim. Darvish then managed to strike out the side for the win.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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YUI returns with new "Fullmetal Alchemist" theme
Thu, March 26, 2009 (12:45am EDT)



Singer-songwriter YUI, who announced last August that she would be taking a much needed break, has announced her return with a new single. The news was announced on Wednesday, just one day before her 22nd birthday.



YUI's new song is an up-tempo tune titled "again." It has been chosen as the opening theme of the new "Fullmetal Alchemist" anime series, which starts on April 5. Ringtone distribution for the song begins on April 22, followed by a CD release on June 3.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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AKB48's Kashiwagi becomes a weather girl
Thu, March 26, 2009 (1:25am EDT)



Yuki Kashiwagi (17) of idol group AKB48 has been given a regular role as a weathercaster on the new TBS wide show "Hiruobi!" It is rare for a high school student to be chosen as a regular television caster.

"Hiruobi!" begins on March 30, airing weekday mornings at 11am. Kashiwagi will appear on the show on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Anime Central announces m.o.v.e.
Thu, March 26, 2009 (1:43am EDT)



The musical group m.o.v.e. has been announced as a guest for this year's Anime Central convention. With several anime tie-ins in the past, the group is popular in the anime community. They previously performed at Seattle's Sakura-Con in 2007.

Anime Central is being held in Illinois on May 8-10.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Utada's "Come Back to Me" video offered for free on iTunes
Thu, March 26, 2009 (2:40am EDT)

[img]http://aslcdn.celebuzz.com/archive/2009/01/29/utada.jpg[img]

The music video for Hikaru Utada's new song "Come Back to Me" is currently being offered for free on the iTunes Store. The song is the first single from Utada's new English album "This Is The One," which went on sale on March 14 in Japan and on March 24 digitally.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Oricon: dramatic lives
Thu, March 26, 2009 (3:36am EDT)



Oricon recently did a survey of 1,200 people about celebrities leading dramatic lives. 22-year-old actress Erika Sawajiri ranked 1st on the list. Her uncontrolled behavior has garnered her a lot of attention, making "dramatic" an appropriate description for her life.

Sawajiri made headlines in 2007 for her unprofessional conduct at the opening of the movie "Closed Note," where she responded to questions with brief answers such as "Not really..." A teenager from Osaka commented, "She gets a lot of attention from the media, makes bombshell statements, and got married." Another girl explained, "She does as she pleases. Normal people can't live the way she does."

Ranked second was Seiko Matsuda who, as an iconic idol of the 80s, went through two divorces and caused a lot of buzz in the entertainment world with both her public and private life.

In third was "Beat" Takeshi Kitano, who blasted through the manzai boom and ultimately established himself as a film director and actor, among other things. His life has been filled with many ups and downs, including a horrific motorcycle accident in 1994.

As the author of the autobiographical novel "Homeless Chugakusei," Hiroshi Tamura of owarai duo Kirin came in fourth. Ranked fifth was pop star Namie Amuro, who married young, had a child, and later divorced, but still managed to come back as a successful artist.

   1. Erika Sawajiri
   2. Seiko Matsuda
   3. Takeshi Kitano
   4. Hiroshi Tamura
   5. Namie Amuro

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Fuji TV adapts "Samayoi Zakura" jury manga
Thu, March 26, 2009 (2:22am EDT)

With Japan introducing the "saiban-in" (lay judge) system in May, Fuji TV is capitalizing with jury-related dramas. The network already announced the series "Majo Saiban" starring Toma Ikuta, but it also plans to air a one-shot drama based on the manga "Samayoi Zakura."



Originally serialized in the weekly magazine Manga Action, "Samayoi Zakura" is written by Mamora Goda ("Mori no Asagao"). In the drama adaptation, Atsushi Ito stars as Keiichi Aiba, a "net cafe refugee" who gets chosen as a juror in the trial of a 28-year-old NEET accused of killing three women.



The drama will be shot next month. Takashi Tsukamoto plays the role of the killer, while Rosa Kato plays a law student who is also selected for the jury. Fuji TV has tentatively scheduled the drama for this May.

Source: www.tokyograph.com