Young kabuki actor Nakamura Shichinosuke (21) has said that he will not appear in the official productions to mark his father Kankuro’s succession to become the 18th Nakamura Kanzaburo. The decision is a kind of self-punishment following the young actor’s drunken punch-up with a police officer last month. Kankuro is one of the most famous and popular kabuki stars and his succession is a very big event in the traditional theater world. There will be a series of productions held at the Kabuki-za theater in Tokyo’s Ginza from March to May. Shichinosuke has suggested that he may take part in the latter half.
• A Korean-Chinese remake of the famous 1991 Fuji TV drama “Hyaku-ikkai no Puropozu” (101 Proposals), with popular Korean actress Choi Ji Woo in the lead role, is to air on the Sky perfect satellite network in April. The original series, which starred Asano Atsuko (43) and Takeda Tetsuya (55) and had an incredible audience rating of 36.7%, will also be re-broadcast.