Popular boy band News finished their first national tour with two shows at Yokohama Arena yesterday. The 8-member singing and dancing group played to a total of over 170,000 screaming teenage fans during the 14-show tour. They will also tour again this summer in a show called “Summary 2005” alongside fellow Johnny’s Jimusho youngsters Ya-Ya-Yah. The group’s debut album “Touch” has made No.1 on the latest Oricon weekly charts, as have all three singles released from the album.
• Actress Takigawa Yumi (54) and her daughter, talento Takigawa Hanako (16), gave their first “joint performance” yesterday. They appeared at a PR event for Lotte’s Ghana chocolate, held ahead of Mother’s Day on May 8. Hanako is curently appearing in the latest Ghana TV commercial.
• The mother of talento Carouselle Maki (63) died of heart failure in a Hokkaido hospital yesterday, surrounded by her nine sons and daughters. Maki was in the news most recently following the successful official registration of her female name, several years after she underwent a sex change operation.
• Former NFL player and variety show darling Bob “The Beast” Sapp (30) is to make his Hollywood debut in June. Sapp, who was ever-present on Japanese TV until last year and is now officially a K-1 fighter, has a small part as a villain in “Elektra.” The movie is about the heroine from the 2003 Ben Affleck turkey “Daredevil” and stars Jennifer Garner. Sapp has also finished shooting on a remake of the 1974 movie “The Longest Yard.”