Monthly Archives: April 2003

No, not the baseball player! TV personality Matsui Naomi (35) has ended her seven and a half year marriage to TV producer Okayama Takeshi (33). Her agency commented that they had been living apart for a year. Matsui’s hard work schedule — she is a regular on four different TV shows — and differences over their 6-year old son’s education were cited as factors.

• Singer/songwriter Yoshida Takuro (57) underwent emergency surgery this week to remove a tumor in his lung. The operation was a success and he is expected to make a full recovery, but a national tour planned to begin at the end of May has been postponed.

The new Monday 9pm series is a romantic comedy called “Tokyo Love Cinema”, starring Eguchi Yosuke (35) and Saizen Naomi (37). Siazen describes herself as the oldest (sainencho) heroine to occupy the prime-time slot. The show’s theme tune is “Koi Suru Futari” (Two People in Love), the first new song from Otaki Eiichi in five and a half years. Otaki is often called the “father of J-pop for all the hits he wrote for idols in the 1980s.

Kimura Takuya (30) has been voted the most popular man in Japan for the tenth year running. The survey polled over 14,000 people. The other four members of SMAP also made the Top 10. The full breakdown is: 1. Kimura Takuya 2. Fukuyama Masaharu 3. Nakai Masahiro (SMAP) 4. Sakaguchi Kenji 5. Kusanagi Tsuyoshi (SMAP) 6. Fujiki Naoto 7. Katori Shingo (SMAP) 8. Kinki Kids 9. Tsumabuki Satoshi 10. Inagaki Goro (SMAP).

• Japanese baseball fans went nuts when Matsui Hideki hit a bases-loaded home run in his first home game for the NY Yankees today.

US rock/hip hop band Limp Bizkit are looking to recruit a new guitarist to replace former member Wes Borland — and they must be Japanese. Other than that, anyone between the ages of 18 and 35 can apply. The deadline for audition applications is April 11th. Details can be found on the band’s Japanese site.

• They’re calling it “Japan’s Shortest Quiz Show” but it’s actually a 90-second commercial for home applicance maker Sharp. The “show” features a panel of celebrities and is hosted by Lasar Ishii (photo, 47). It’s so similar to a real quiz that it blurs the line between TV show and commercial and has attracted a lot of media attention.

• In a TV first, three TV Asahi “announcers” are to have starring roles in a drama. The late-night omnibus show (April 26th, 02:40am) will feature each of the announcers — Shomohira Sayaka (30), Nomura Masaki (27) and Tatsukado Airi (26) — in a separate story.

• The opening episode of the new “Astroboy – Testuwan Atom” animation series recorded an audience rating of 11.2%, very high for the Saturday 09:30am slot.

Tetsuwan Atom, better known abroad as Astro Boy, celebrates his birthday today, and with him being one of the most beloved of Japan’s animation characters, this is quite a big event. Originally created as a comic book hero in 1951 by legendary cartoonist Tezuka Osamu, the rocket-powered robot boy was the star of Japan’s first TV anime in the 60s. Atom’s official “creation” date was April 7, 2003 which became a kind of Japanese equivalent to Stanley Kubrick’s “2001.” There was a brief revival in the 80s before Tezuka’s death in 1989. Yesterday saw the first of a new 50-episode series on Fuji TV. Compared to the original, the new series has cut out scenes showing tobacco or alcohol as well as cutting down on violence. Tezuka’s central message was always simple and relevant: “Love everything that has life.”

Actor Kurata Yasuaki (57), who has appeared in something like 60 Hong Kong action movies, announced that plans for filming there in May have been cancelled due to the ongoing SARS scare. There have been no officially reported cases in Japan yet, though there are ‘rumors’.

• Sony Music duo Exceed (Iksi:d?) have broken up. I never heard of them but the news sites say they were popular, so… Made up of guitarist Kimura Ryo (28) and vocalist Kodama Kyo (23), they debuted in 1999 and had a hit with “I Will” the following year. Both members plan to pursue solo careers.

There’s a lot of demand abroad for the upcoming movie “Battle Royale II – Requiem” – and it’s not even finished yet. Started by the late Fukasaku Kinji and taken over by his son Kenta (30), the movie is a sequel to the father’s controversial 2001 hit. Contracts have already been signed to show the movie in five countries, including the UK and Russia. The first movie was shown in more than the 22 countries and made over $2 million. It is scheduled to open in Japan on July 5.

• Leading kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro (photo, 56) was slightly injured when hit by the mirror of a passing micro-bus while walking in the town of Kotohira, Kagawa Prefecture. He is set to go on with a performance in the town from today. He is the father of actor Shinnosuke, who has been in the news recently.

Fuji TV’s “News Japan” has won the 62nd Peabody Award for a report last year on Hepatitis C. The award is among the most prestigious awards for broadcasting and is considered the television equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize.

• Further sightings of kabuki actor Ichikawa Shinnosuke (25) and actress Yonekura Ryoko (photo, 27) together, this time in Kyoto, have the media speculating again about a relationship between the two. They are currently appearing together in NHK’s samurai drama “Musashi” and have a love scene in this Sunday’s show.

Matsui “Godzilla” Hideki got a hit and an RBI in his first at-bat for the NY Yankees. It was his only contribution to the Yankees’ 8-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays but the consensus in Japan was that he was off to a good start. Though the game aired from 8:30am on a weekday in Japan, one in three TV viewers in the Kanto area tuned in, a very high number.

• Okinawa pop group Speed are to get back together and play a series of concerts for the “Save The Children” charity. Since breaking up in 2000, the four members have pursued solo careers, playing together just once, also for charity in 2001.

• A cafe and gallery owned by minor personality Kawashima Amiru (25) was destroyed in a fire which broke out in a neighboring restaurant in Osaka. One woman died in the fire.

Actress Ryo (30) and Brahman vocalist Toshi-Low (28) tied the knot yesterday. They have been friends for seven years but became closer when Ryo’s brother became seriously ill last year. Rock band Brahman recently completed a tour of the UK and plan to continue touring abroad.

• Pink Lady, the hugely popular 70s “idols,” are to make a comeback after 22 years. They’ll release a new single in May and, starting from June, will play 120 concerts nationwide over the course of two years. Mii has been showing up quite a bit on the variety show circuit while the recently married Kei is coming out of semi-retirement. They both look good for 45!