Former Morning Musume member Konno Asami (20) is rejoining the Hello! Project fold. She quit Momus in July of last year to pursue her dream of studying at Keio University. Last December she passed the entrance exam for the Environment and Information Studies department of the prestigious school and started studying at the Fujisawa campus in April. But she announced yesterday that she is to rejoin the Gatas Brilhantes H.P. futsal team as goalkeeper and will take part in the upcoming CD debut by ten of its members. Including other former Momus members such as Yoshizawa Hitomi (22) and Ishikawa Rika (22), the group will release “Narihajimeta Koi no Bell” on August 22. The single is also the theme tune for Cirque du Soleil’s circus show “Dralion”. The combination of pop idols and futsal may seem a strange one, but it has been a marketing success and Gatas is one of the strongest teams. Though she says her priority is her college studies, Konno wants to enjoy both worlds as much as possible. She will also join the Hello! Project nationwide tour starting in Nagoya on July 15.
• An armed man forced his way into the Akasaka management office of Kawashima Naomi (46) on June 13 demanding to see the popular actress. The man, described as 46 years old and unemployed, wielded a box cutter and threatened agency staff. But he was soon taken into police custody and no one was injured. Kawashima was not in the office at the time.