Kyogen actor Izumi Motoya (32) is in trouble again. This time it’s the tax authorities that have him in their sights, as the company that represents his business interests is charged with hiding over ¥150 million in income. Accounting errors are said to amount to over ¥200 million, and the company is facing an additional tax bill of more than ¥100 million. While Motoya himself is a director of Izumi Souke, the company is headed by his overbearing mother Setsuko. She is said to have denied the existence of an “off the books” bank account, into which payments for theaterical and TV performances were made. The incident comes at a bad time for Izumi, as it follows the recent Supreme Court rejection of an appeal against his dismissal from the official Nohgaku Kyokai. The organization kicked him out following a series of cancelled performances, double-bookings and publicity stunts that were considered to have damaged the traditional art form, which dates back to the 14th century. He has since continued in the same vein, even recently taking part in full costume in a pro wrestling event.
• Suzuki Ami (24) has teamed up with Avex labelmate Otsuka Ai (23) to produce her latest single. ‘Amigo’ penned the lyrics for “Like a Love?”, while Otsuka was in charge of the music and arrangement. The pair became friends after they performed together in Avex’s annual “a-nation” festival last year.
• “Hysteric Summer 2006”, an outdoor music festival scheduled for the end of July in Fukushima Prefecture, has been cancelled due to poor ticket sales. Less than 10% of the total 15,000 tickets had been sold, despite the lineup including such fairly popular acts as Da Pump, Suzuki Masayuki (49), and Jay Walk. Organizers are refunding the costs of tickets sold.