Matsuura Aya (18) played a series of three concerts in Tokyo over the weekend, drawing a combined crowd of over 30,000 fans. It was the first time for a solo member of the Hello! Project, which includes Morning Musume and W, to fill a 10,000-seat capacity venue. In this case it was the Yoyogi No.1 Gymnasium, a venue left after the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. Among the performance “extras” were a 200m catwalk that took “Ayaya” close to fans, and a ride on a crane that lifted her 10m above them.
• Three members of pop unit globe appeared together in Tokyo on Sunday to promote an upcoming tour. Komuro Tetsuya (45) and wife Keiko (32) will tour for the first time since they got married two years ago, along with Marc Panther (34). The three first met on the same date ten years ago, when Komuro was judging an audition, Panther was the MC and Keiko was a young hopeful. She got so carried away with her audition that she fell off the stage. But that was the day globe was formed. Former X Japan member Yoshiki, who was a late addition to the group, is to rejoin after the 10th anniversary celebrations are finished.