Monthly Archives: November 2004

Former Diet member Nakamura Atsuo (64) is to return to his acting roots. The man that many know simply as “Monjiro”, after a TV character he made famous in the 1970s, will play legendary samurai Takeda Shingen in an upcoming TV Tokyo period drama. The 10-hour show “Kunitori Monogatari” will air on January 2. It’s been six years since Nakamura did any acting, when he appeared as a ninja in the 1998 Fuji TV-backed movie “Fukuro no Shiro.” He is best known in the west as the star of the 1970s TV series “The Water Margin.” He was elected to the House of Councillors in 1998 but dropped out of politics after failing in a re-election bid this year.

Korean soap opera star Bae Yong Joon (32), known in Japan simply as “Yon-sama,” is rumored to have broken up with his “cho bikei” (extremely beautiful) girlfriend. The reason cited by a Korean sports newspaper was his extremely busy schedule, not only in his home country but also in Japan, where he is the most visible face of the current Korean boom.

• Minor actors Kawano Taro (44) and Ikuina Akiko (36) received equally minor injuries in a traffic accident yesterday. They were returning from a location in Yamaguchi prefecture by taxi van when the accident happened.

• Actor Ogishima Shinichi died of cancer at a Tokyo hospital last Thursday. He was 58. His final performance was as a guest star in a “Mito Komon” episode last November.

Producers of the movie “Toukou no Ki” held a press conference to discuss recent revelations of threats from actor Hagiwara Kenichi (54). Hagiwara, known by the nickname “Shoken,” was originally cast to play the lead in the movie, but after problems during filming in August 2003, he was removed and replaced with Nagashima Toshiyuki. Contracted to work 8-hour days, Hagiwara’s behavior had been “abberant”: his speaking voice was shrill, he shouted at director Negishi Yoshitaro and co-star Akiyoshi Kumiko, and even hit an assistant director. Staff were said to have been scared to work with him. He is said to have telephoned producer Okada Yutaka – it was to be their third film together – in June of this year and demanded that he be paid his ¥15 million appearance fee in full, threatening to disrupt the film’s release. At an unrelated press conference last month after he caused a traffic accident, Hagiwara denied having made the call. But a recording exists and producers have filed a criminal case against him.

The latest trial of Tashiro Masashi (48) started yesterday. He is being tried on charges of marijuana and amphetamine use while on probation for an earlier drug offense. He was arrested in September while driving in Tokyo with a woman named as Fukui Setsuko (38). She claimed he convinced her that sex would be better on drugs and that she hadn’t been able to refuse for fear of angering him. The former musician and variety show star has seen his life fall apart in the last few years. It started when he was caught filming up a woman’s skirt at a train station in 2000. He was later arrested for peeping into a man’s bathroom and again for drug possession. He was given a 2-year sentence, suspended for 3 years, in 2002. In the meantime, he also caused a traffic accident in June. He is expected to have to serve a prison sentence this time around.

Things are gearing up for Christmas already. Pin-up girl turned TV personality Megumi (photo, 23) has been chosen as the celeb for a 24-hour Nippon Housou charity radio show on Christmas Eve. She did a promo event for the show dressed in a suitably revealing Santa suit.

• The emcees have been named for this year’s NHK “Kohaku Uta Gassen” (Red-White Song Contest) spectacle on New Year’s Eve. The show will be hosted by “Saturday Sports” presenter Horio Masaaki (49); the White team will be presented by Abe Wataru (37) and the Red team by Ono Fumie (36). It’s the fourth year in a row that the jobs have both gone to NHK presenters. The show which in the past was the main event in the nation on New Year’s Eve has seen rapidly falling audience ratings. Organizers will be hoping for some prize names to add to this year’s lineup to try and salvage the show from the record low figures of recent years.

Comedian Tokoro Joji (49) has been fined for speeding on the Wangan Expressway in Tokyo. He says he is normally a safe driver but went 50kph over the 80kph limit because he was late for work.

• Actress Mifune Mika (22) has given birth to a baby girl. The daughter of the late screen legend Mifune Toshiro has been married to rock singer Takahashi Joji (46) for more than six years. They have named the baby Renon, because it sounds like Lennon (as in John).

• Nippon Ham outfielder Shinjo Tsuyoshi (32), who had a brief career in the major leagues, attended his first Hollywood movie premier on Tuesday. The Disney action-adventure flick National Treasure opened at the Pasedena Civic Auditorium and Shinjo was there with his wife Shiho (33), a former TV personality.

• Production has started in Thailand on the new movie starring Yagira Yuya (14), who won the best actor award at this year’s Canne Film Festival. In “Hoshi ni Natta Shonen” (Little Randy and Shining Boy), he plays an elephant herder. His mother will be played by actress Tokiwa Takako (32). The movie is scheduled to open next summer.

Olympic judoist Inoue Kosei (26) has been romantically linked with pin-up girl Higashihara Aki (photo, 21). The two met in the summer of 2003 when Inoue was a guest on the popular Fuji TV fighting sports show “SRS”, for which Higashihara is the “visual queen.” She made her debut as a campaign girl for Asahi Beer. Inoue was a hot favorite for a gold medal in the 100kg class at the Athens Olympics, but was one the few Japanese judoists to come home empty handed.

• Kano Mika (36) has made her singing debut. One half of the “gorgeous” Kano Sisters, she is now calling herself Super Beauty Mikarin and teams up with the Cutey Monsters on a CD whose title is “cute” beyond belief – or translation. She has recently been appearing in CG form on a popular kids program, from which the song originated. Her dance moves in the promo video were choreographed by Papaya Suzuki.

Actress Hazuki Riona (photo, 29) has finally found a bit of happiness. On Sunday morning, she gave birth to a baby girl, her first child, and says she’s the happiest she’s ever been. She’s been through a lot in the last few years – an affair with actor Sanada Hiroyuki (44), rumors of a relationship with baseball star Ichiro (31) and a very brief marriage to a sushi chef in Hawaii. She married a real estate company employee in February, but was already three months pregnant when she announced it in April.

• Model Saki (17) has released her first photo book, her debut as a “geinojin.” The main reason for the media spotlight is that she is the daughter of actor and former champion boxer Akai Hidekazu (43). She says she plans to meet her father next week for the first time in 12 years. Her parents split in 1991.

Korean-born pop star BoA held her first event with her fan club in Tokyo over the weekend, to celebrate her 18th birthday on Friday. 3,000 fans turned out to hear an acoustic version of her new single “MeriKuri” (an abbreviated form of Merry Christmas). There was also news of her playing a concert in Korea at the end of this month. To make it an even bigger event, she will be teaming up with the queen of J-pop, Hamasaki Ayumi (26), who’ll be playing in Korea for the first time. And next spring will see an Asia tour that will include BoA’s first solo live concert in her home country.

• “Chi to Hone” (Blood and Bones), the new film starring Beat Takeshi (57) and Suzuki Kyoka (36), opened nationwide at the weekend. It was also announced that the film will be shown in the U.S. and the U.K. next year. The first starring role in 14 years for Takeshi in a film he hasn’t directed himself is of a Korean who comes to Japan to seek his fortune in the 1920s. Suzuki plays his much-abused wife. The film is directed by Sai Yoichi (55).

• In sports, hats off to 24-year old Tabuse Yuta, who has made a strong start as the first Japanese player to get into the NBA. The new 1.73m point guard for the Phoenix Suns was something of a legend in high school in Japan.

During the week, the ex-husband of TV personality Umemiya Anna was given a suspended two-year sentence for running an illegal gambling operation. Chiba Takashi (34), listed as unemployed, is said to have made about ¥72 million profit in just three months from the baccarat club in Roppongi. The couple married in 2002, when Umemiya was already several months pregnant. The publicity-hungry and spoiled daughter of actor Umemiya Tatsuo, proudly showed off her expensive engagement ring, but with her equally expensive lifestyle and her new husband’s dubious resume, the marriage was never going to last. In fact, it lasted less than two years. They had a daughter, who now lives with her mother.

• On the subject of shotgun weddings, F-cup pin-up girl Kitagawa Tomomi (25) has announced that she married a 23-year old company employee during the summer and is expecting his baby in January.