The Japanese entertainment world has a new “hot couple”. Actress Amami Yuki (photo, 36) and musician Kikkawa Koji (38) ongoing romance was revealed today by the Sports Hochi newspaper. It reported that the pair, who have known each other for ten years, started getting serious last autumn. Amami says they are not considering marriage, but reporters predict wedding bells. Kikkawa started as an actor and rock musician in the mid-1980s. He formed the group Complex with guitarist Hotei Tomoyasu in 1988 and pursued a solo career through the 90s. In 1985, Amami graduated top of her class from the school run by the all-female Takarazuka theater troupe. She rose to the rank of top “male” star in record time and quit the troupe at the height of her popularity in 1995. She’s now a regular on TV, stage, movies and commercials.
• Popular young enka singer Hikawa Kiyoshi (26) cancelled recent shows in Tokyo after coming down with a throat infection.
The latest musical offering from Okinawa (that has produced Amuro Namie, Speed, Mongol 800 and current hot act Orange Range) is pop duo D-51. They make their official major debut this week with “Top of the Summer” but have already been featuring on radio and TV “powerplay” spots nationwide thanks to a serious push by their label, Pony Canyon. The tune is being used as the ending of the Fuji TV pop show “Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ. The duo is made up of Yasu (22), who hails from Naha, and Yu (20) from Ginowan. In May they had 17 record labels fighting for them.
Popular comedy character Gorie has been chosen as the Mascot Girl for the Hawaiian island of Oahu, and last night’s “One Night Rock ‘n’ Roll” was a one-hour special mostly filmed in Hawaii. Created by Gori (32) of the comedy duo Garage Sale and a regular feature on the Wednesday night Fuji TV show, Gorie has become a cult figure particularly among high school girls and young women. “She” has even appeared on the cover of popular teen fashion magazines. The Okinawan duo are one of three comedy pairings on the “One-Nai” team, and play several female characters on the show, despite the fact that both are dark and swarthy. The cross-dressing and other outlandish characters are nothing new in Japanese comedy, but “One-Nai” has managed to anger viewers with their more controversial humor, such as making fun of baseball legend Oh Sadaharu. Of course it’s hard know if the controversy is real or just a publicity stunt.