Beautiful young actress Fukiishi Kazue (20) is to be the first woman to play superhero Ultraman, in this summer’s movie “Ultraman Cosmos vs. Ultraman Justice.” There have been many members of the Ultraman family, including one “bi-sexual” in the early 1970s, when both a man and a woman transformed into the hero.
• “Chijo no Hoshi”, the single by Nakajima Miyuki (51) has become a million-seller after 139 straight weeks in the charts. SMAP’s latest single broke that mark in less than a week.
• Okuda Miri (41), who divorced actor Sakai Masaaki two years ago, has remarried. Her husband is a 46-year old sports and fitness advisor.
• NHK and TBS have announced that their live coverage of the opening games of the J-League season will be cancelled if the expected US-led attack on Iraq begins this weekend.