Monthly Archives: March 2005

Lawyers for disgraced former talento Tashiro Masashi (48) have withdrawn their appeal of his prison sentence at the Tokyo District Court. He will serve the three-and-a-half year sentence handed down in February. Tashiro was arrested last year for drug possession, the latest in a series of crimes that included other drug offenses and secretly filming up a woman’s skirt. The former singer was one of the best known faces on the variety show circuit until his life started falling apart after his first arrest in 2000.

• Fuji TV announcer Otsubo Chinatsu (38) is to quit the network this month to get married. She and her future husband, an employee at a foreign firm, will move to Europe, where he will be working.

• “Girl next door” former idol singer Suzuki Sachiko (36) has released a nude photo book. The complete image change follows her love scene appearance in a recent TV Asahi drama. Suzuki was one half of the pop duo Wink, which formed in 1988 and released 25 albums over a stellar 8-year career. Both Suzuki and former partner Aida Shoko (34) have become TV regulars.

Popular pin-up girl Morishita Chisato (23) has found her first romance with Yasu, vocalist of the rock band Janne Da Arc. Morishita made her debut as a race queen while a freshman at university. She became popular as a “gravure idol” and was voted Race Queen of the Year in 2003, but has recently been appearing more on TV variety shows. Janne Da Arc started in 1996 as a “visual kei” band and made their major-label debut in 1999 with the album “Red Zone.” They have released a total of five albums and 23 singles.

• The first PR event for the eagerly awaited new TV drama series starring heart throb Kimura Takuya (32) was held this week. “Engine,” the story of a racing driver and kids in an institution for the handicapped, will air on the Fuji TV network in the “golden time” of 9pm on Mondays. The heroine role will be played by Koyuki (28).

• Winner of the prestigious “Hair Coloring Award 2005” is young talento Becky (21).

The Tokyo High Court has dismissed a civil suit appeal filed by the wife of actor Watanabe Ken (45). Watanabe filed for divorce from his wife Yumiko (45) in September of last year, which she refused to accept. The divorce was granted by the Tokyo District Court. Watanabe battled with leukemia during the 1990s and entrusted his financial dealings to his wife, who proceeded to run up huge debts. The marriage was said to be in trouble in 2002. Watanabe is currently working on his next movie in Los Angeles.

• The cast has been announced for the US version of hit anime film “Howl’s Moving Castle.” The movie will feature the stellar voice talents of Christian Bale (31), Jean Simmons (76), Lauren Bacall (80), Billy Crystal (58), and Blythe Danner (62). The film is scheduled to open in the US in mid-June. It is still showing in Japan and curently holds the all-time No.2 spot in box office receipts.

• Hoshi Ruisu, of the popular 1980’s manzai duo Sento Ruisu (Saint Louis), died on Wednesday. He was 57. His comedy partner, Hoshi Sento died just last year, at the age of 56, of lung cancer.

Pop group V6 have taken the top three slots in the weekly Oricon DVD charts. The group, part of the Johnny’s Jimusho boy band empire, are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year and released the three DVDs simultaneously. They entered the chart straight at No.1, 2, and 3, the first time this has happened. The three DVDs are themed “Live,” “Dance” and “Ballads.”

• Meanwhile, top-selling rock band B’z (photo) have yet again seen their latest release go straight to the top of the singles chart. “Ai no Bakudan” (Love Bomb) makes it 34 in a row, a record stretching back to 1990.

• R&B singer Kubota Toshinobu (42) has recorded the Japanese theme song for the Hollywood remake of ” Shall We Dance?” His first single in 16 months, “A Love Story” will go on sale on April 27. The US movie stars Jennifer Lopez (34), who was recently in town to promote the movie and her new album, and Richard Gere (55), due to visit on March 30. Kubota has been based in New York since 1995.

Some 145,000 people turned out to cheer popular traditional entertainer Hayashiya Kobuhei (42) during a 5-hour parade along the 7km route from Ueno to the downtown district of Asakusa in Tokyo. He will officially become the 9th Hayashiya Shouzou, the highest ‘rank’ in the rakugo ‘family,’ on the 21st of this month. The succession to such names in the traditional arts is a big deal. The Shouzou name dates back to the Edo Period but has been ‘vacant’ for the last 24 years. &3149; Rock band Glay played what should have been the last gig of their 4-dome tour, during which they played to a total of 200,000 fans, at Tokyo Dome on Sunday. The 3-and-a-half-hour featured 26 tunes, covering all the hits of their 10-year career. Due to technical problems, their shows at Osaka Dome were cancelled and will be played at the International Exhibition Center in Osaka this weekend.

The initial line-up for this summer’s Fuji Rock Festival has been released. Organiser Smash Corp. announcd a playlist that includes Aqualung, The Beach Boys, Beck, The Black Velvets, Cake, The Coral, Dinosaur Jr., Eddi Reader, Fatboy Slim, Foo Fighters, The Go! Team, Juliette & the Licks, Los Lobos, The Magic Numbers, Mercury Rev, The Music, The Pogues, Sigur Ros, and Steel Pulse. Fuji Rock will take place July 29-31 at the Naeba ski resort in Yuzawa, Niigata prefecture. Creativeman Productions will announce the first artists for Summer Sonic Festival, which will take place in Osaka and Tokyo on August 13-14, on March 14.

Fuji Rock Festival 2005

Summer Sonic Festival 2005

Veteran entertainer Katsura Bunshi died yesterday of liver failure at a hospital in Mie Prefecture. He was 74. He was one of the leading performers of rakugo, the traditional form of comic storytelling. Rakugoka sit in seiza on stage and use minimal props to relate stories handed down over the generations. The fifth rakugoka to hold the name Bunshi, he won many awards and was decorated by the government with the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1997 and the Order of the Rising Sun in 2003.

Suginami Ward in western Tokyo is often called the center of the anime universe, and now it has its own museum to prove it. Suginami Anime Museum opened on March 5 in an unimposing municipal building in a non-descript residential suburb. But with dozens of Japan’s most famous anime companies (including Studio Ghibli, Sunrise, Toei Animation to name just a few) within just a few miles radius, Suginami really is “anime central.” During the first month, the museum is holding a “Gundam World” event, with exhibits and screenings of the classic TV series.

• Speaking of popular anime, the voice of Wakame-chan in the long-running TV series Sazae-san is to change for the first time in 29 years. Nomura Michiko (65), who is the second voice actor to do the part, will be replaced by Tsumura Makoto (35) from April. Tsumura narrated the voice of Tetsuwan Atomu (Astro Boy) in last year’s revival TV series.

Talented actor Fujiwara Tatsuya (23) gave a press conference on Wednesday at the Lincoln Center in New York for this summer’s stage production of Ninagawa Yukio’s “Kindai Nohgakushu” (Modern Noh Plays). The production, based on a work by the late Mishima Yukio, will be part of the Lincoln Center Festival 2005, and will be held at the Rose Theater on July 28-30. Fujiwara, perhaps best known abroad for his starring role in the two Battle Royale movies, spoke to the press in shaky English, adding with a smile “I practiced all night…but I don’t know if it worked.” Ninagawa is Japan’s most famous theater director, who has also worked extensively on the world stage, including many original Shakespeare productions.

• The Artist of the Year award at the 19th Nihon Gold Disc Awards went to Orange Range. The awards are based on annual CD sales, and the 6-man group took the top prize after a year where they sold over 4.5 million singles and albums. Their album “Musiq,” which went on sale in December, sold almost 2.4 million copies and they had four No.1 singles. The award for top foreign band went to the defunct Queen, whose greatest hits album “Jewels” sold almost 1.8 million copies. Guitarist Brian May accepted the award in a video message.

Actor, comedian and director Kitano “Beat” Takeshi (photo, 58) became a grand-father yesterday when his daughter Shouko (22) gave birth to a baby girl. Somewhat embarrassed by his new elderly status, Takeshi says he wants the child to call him “Beat-kun” rather than “ojii-san” (Grandad), adding that he now really is an “ero-jijii” (dirty old man).

• Another comedian celebrating a birth is Nanbara Kiyotaka (40) of the duo U-chan Nan-chan. His wife Shizuko (34) gave birth to their first child, a baby boy, at a Tokyo hospital yesterday. The couple, who have been married for 12 years, have named their son Yuusei.

• Former NHK TV producer Isono Katsumi (48) admitted in court yesterday that he had embezzled ¥160 million from his former employer. He said his criminal activity started in the early 1990s when an affair with a fellow NHK employee became expensive. He conspired with a former university classmate, who was president of an entertainment company, and others to pay for fictional TV programs. He used the money to take overseas trips and buy luxury goods and gifts for his girlfriend.

The media were even more keen than usual to cover the final qualifying for the 2005 Miss Universe Japan beauty pageant. The reason was the participation of Nishimura Miho (23), girlfriend of Livedoor president Horie Takafumi (32), whose battle with Fuji TV for control of radio broadcaster NBS has been all over the media for the last few months. But due to the increased attention, pageant organizers restricted media access. And the end result? Former Kirin Beer poster girl Nishimura failed to qualify.

• March 8 was designated “Samba no Hi” at Tokyo Dome as actor Matsudaira Ken (51) continued to milk the popularity of his “Matsuken Samba” boom. The actor best known for his TV drama role as the Abarenbo Shogun has undergone a huge transformation since his divorce from actress Daichi Mao at the end of 2003. Dressed in a sparkling lame gold kimono and samurai makeup, he’s now strutting his stuff on his first ever national concert tour. His “gyara” or appearance fee, has reportedly increased from ¥5 million to ¥8 million a pop.