The Golden Week holiday has come to an end. Here are some of the stories from the last few days.
• On Monday, a ceremony was held to commemorate the “shichkaiki” (7th anniversary of a death) of X Japan guitarist Hide (photo). The traditional buddhist ceremony is actually held six years after someone’s death. The ceremony was held at the Hide Museum in Yokosuka City, and 18,000 fans waited in a line that stretched 2km to pay their respects. Also in attendance were band members Yoshiki (38) and Pata (38). Notably absent was bandmate Toshi, who has been recently caught up in child abuse accusations.
• Mini Moni played their last gig at the Saitama Super Arena on Monday. Leader Mika (19) is off to study in the US.
• Singer Noguchi Goro (48) and his wife Mitsui Yuri (35) became parents for the second time. Mitsui gave birth to their first boy at a Tokyo hospital on Monday.
• It was revealed this week that comedian Horiuchi Ken (34) of the trio Neptune had emergency surgery in late February following the discovery of testicular cancer. The loss of a testicle is the same fate suffered by fellow funny man Tanaka Yuji (38) of the duo Bakusho Mondai in 2000.