Rock unit B’z have tied up with Apple Computer to offer buyers of their upcoming greatest hits album a chance to download rare video footage of the band. “Pleasure II,” due for release on November 30, will include a prepaid card for the iTunes music download service in Japan. The card can be used to download one of four videos of live performances, the oldest of which dates back to 1999, when B’z played the Kyoto Kaikan No.1 Hall, a much smaller venue than any they have played in recent years. The most up-to-date of the videos was recorded at their Osaka Dome show just last month.
• Talento Konishi Hiroyuki (46) and his wife Kou (42) are headed for divorce. She is said to have applied to the Tokyo Family Court to initiate the arbitration procedure in September and is seeking ¥5 million in alimony and ¥100,000 per month in child support for each of their two sons until they graduate university. The couple have been married since 1989 but Konishi suddenly walked out on the family in 1998. He has not provided adequate support over the intervening years, leading his wife to start filing for divorce. In February Konishi notified her, through a lawyer, that he was suffering from kidney cancer and she postponed the proceedings. But following a full recovery, he has agreed to attend the arbitration at the end of this month. It will be the first time in almost two years for the couple to meet face to face.