Monthly Archives: March 2006

At yesterday’s Golden Arrow awards, the big winners were singer Koda Kumi (23) and actress Ito Misaki (photo, 28). The awards go to people who played the biggest role in several entertainment categories. The sexy Koda had a breakthrough year in 2005, with a string of consecutive Top 10 singles. The beautiful Ito is the new ratings queen, starring in two popular drama series during the year, “Densha Otoko” and “Kikenna Aneki”. She showed up to the awards in a suitably colored gold dress. There were five awards for the most prominent newcomers, including pop duo WaT, who made their pro debut just four months ago. WaT, made up of 20-year old toy boys Wentz Eiji and Koike Teppei, started out in 2002 playing in Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park every Sunday.

• Actress Yasuda Narumi (39) is to appear in her first TV drama in six years. “Saigo no Yakusoku”, a “human drama special” based on a true story, will air on Fuji TV on Apirl 4. Yasuda plays the wife of a sake brewer (Tachi Hiroshi) who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. In real life, she is the wife of comedian Kinashi Noritake (43) of the duo Tunnels.

• Rock band ARB is taking a break after 17 years, due to the tax evasion of singer and actor Ishibashi Ryo (49). The group formed in 1978 and broke up in 1992 when Ishibashi decided to pursue his acting career. They reformed in 1998 and have been active since, last year recording the team song for the Rakuten Golden Eagles when they became the first new baseball franchise in 50 years.

It was suddenly revealed yesterday that talento Sonomama Higashi (48) and actress Kato Kazuko (48) have been divorced since February 3. Kato held a press conference yesterday and said that her ex, currently studying politics at Waseda University, plans to return to his hometown in Miyazaki Prefecture and run for office. She told reporters that when he informed her of his decision last year, she said she refused to give up her life in Tokyo to support him and that he would have to go it alone. She retains custody of their two children and is receiving no financial support. The couple had been married for 17 years. A member of Kitano “Beat” Takeshi‘s troupe, Higashi has been caught up in extra-marital affairs and other scandals but Kato said that past events had nothing to do with the divorce.

• TV Asahi has announced that it has the rights tobraodcast 18 Yomiuri Giants baseball games in the upcoming season, down one from last season. Last year saw record lows in viewer ratings for what still remains “Japan’s team”. A TV Asahi director said they had originally planned a larger reduction in the number of live broadcasts but the fees are believed to have been dropped considerably, reducing the potential losses in sponsor revenues. How many games are actually broadcast in the latter half of the season will depend largely on whether the Giants are a factor in the pennant race this year.

• Actress Hasegawa Kyoko (27) is to have her first starring role in a drama series. She will star in “Oishii Puropozu” (Delicious Proposal), which starts on Sunday nights on TBS from April 23. In the romantic comedy “Hasekyo” will play a foul-mouthed but skilled chef at an Italian eatery bought out by a major restaurant chain and run by a rich kid manager, played by Koide Keisuke (22).