“Ikiru” (To Live), directed in 1952 by the legendary Akira Kurosawa (photo), and three other Japanese movies have been selected among the “All-Time 100 Movies” by Time magazine. “Ikiru” was also chosen as the best movie of the 1950s. The other Japanese movies to make the list, which didn’t actually rank the movies, are 1953’s “Tokyo Story” by Yasujiro Ozu and “Ugetsu” by Kenji Mizoguchi, and “Yojimbo” (The Bodyguard) by Kurosawa from 1961. Needless to say, the list was dominated by Hollywood epics including “Casablanca” (1942), “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962), “The Godfather, Parts I and II” (1972 and 1974) “Schindler’s List” (1993) and “The Lord of the Rings” (2001-2003).
• Kinjou Ayano (27), the pianist in the female duo Kiroro, is married and three months pregnant. She married a 31-year old restaurant “producer” yesterday. Her partner, vocalist Tamashiro Chiharu (28), got married just last month. The duo will play a series of five dates across the country in August and September, finishing up in the hometown of Okinawa.
• The band Day After Tomorrow announced that they’re going to put the band on hold and the three members will go solo. Guitarist Kitano Masato (30) has recently been in the news due to his romantic involvement with Sayaka (18), daughter of pop diva Matsuda Seiko. It’s thought that he might be planning to write songs for her and help her develop her career, possibly on the Avex label. The other band members are vocalist Misono (20) and keyboard player Suzuki Daisuke (26).