Popular actor Shiina Kippei (39) and actress Yamamoto Mirai (29), daughter of fashion designer Yamamoto Kansai (60), held their wedding ceremony on Thursday. The couple, who registered their marriage last September, were wed at Saint Mary’s church in Tokyo’s upscale Azabu district. The reception was held at the Tokyo Teien Art Museum and was attended by over 150 celebrities and friends.
• Kyogen actor Nomura Mannojo died suddenly at a Tokyo hospital on Thursday of neuroendocrine cancer. He was 44. He was a member of the 300-year old Izumi school of kyogen. Both his father and grandfather were designated as “living national treasures”. He had been scheduled to take on his grandfather’s Nomura Manzo title next January.
• Actress Fujiwara Norika (32) met with U.N. Secretary general Kofi Annan in New York this week. During an event to promote an exhibition of her photos, Norika presented Annan with a copy of her book “Afghanistan Smile”. The book features photos of children she met in the war-torn country last summer.