Inumaru Rin, the manga artist and essayist who created the popular NHK anime character Ojaru Maru, committed suicide in Tokyo on Sunday. She was 48. She jumped from the roof of her 14-story apartment building in Tokyo’s Musashino suburb. Residents of the 5-story apartment building next door heard a loud noise and called police, who found her body on the roof. She left a suicide note to her mother, saying “I can’t work”. Ojaru Maru, popular with young children since 1998, continues to be broadcast on the NHK Education channel. It’s the network’s second longest-running anime series.
• Sawajiri Erika (19) is the first actress in almost 12 years to make No.1 on the Oricon chart with her recording debut. She’s using the name Kaoru Amane, her character in the TBS drama series “Taiyou no Uta”, which is also the title of the single. She’s also the first artist in almost 19 years to top the charts using a character name. Meanwhile, second on the chart is “Tarako, Tarako, Tarako”, the theme song used in the latest Kewpie TV commercial. The song is sung by Kigurumi, a pair of elementary school kids who are the youngest artists ever to enter the charts in the Top 10.