Yesterday I described the ailing Shimada Shinsuke as one of the hardest working men in Japanese showbiz. But the undisputed champion is Mino Monta (61), and it’s now official. The latest issue of Forbes magazine mentions Mino in an article related to its annual Celebrity 100. The local media has picked this up as though he were the first Japanese to appear in the list of the world’s top stars. Of course, he doesn’t enjoy anywhere near the global celebrity status of Tom Cruise, Tiger Woods or even fellow countryman Watanabe Ken. But his incredibly gruelling schedule, that sees him working ten regular shows and has him on air a whopping 35 hours a week, makes him the country’s highest-paid TV star. Forbes reports his annual income as $10 million, though that is probably just for the regular shows and doesn’t include book royalties and TV commercials.
• Hamasaki Ayumi (27) has reached a remarkable milestone. With her 40th sinle “Blue Bird” entering the Oricon charts at No.1 and having sold over 160,000 copies in its first week of release, she is the first solo artist to have sold over 20 million. The only other artists to manage that feat are B’z, Southern All Stars, Mr. Children and SMAP. All groups and all male, except for SAS keyboard player Hara Yuko. Hamasaki has also extended her own record of No.1 singles to 27, the most by any female artist (Matsuda Seiko is No.2 with 25 and unlikely to have too many more).