It seems the ailment that bothering popular talento and pin-up girl Wakatsuki Chinatsu (22) is more serious than it seemed. As we reported here about ten days ago, she recently underwent checks at a hospital after suffering from stress and exhaustion. A regular on six TV shows and two on the radio, she had to suddenly cancel her recording of two Fuji TV horse-racing shows. She had been resting at home since the beginning of the month but her condition is said to have remained the same, and doctors have advised her to check into hospital for treatment of up to a week. The last couple of months of the year are the busiest for many celebrities, with a whole host of year-end special programs being recorded.
• Major record label Avex has announced that it is establishing a fully-owned Chinese subsidiary. The company that has such top stars as Hamasaki Ayumi and Koda Kumi on its books will be aiming to develop local talent from its new Avex China office in Beijing. The company begins operations from today.
• Actor Nakaya Noboru died at a Tokyo hospital of chronic lung disease on Thursday. He was 77. A veteran of stage, movies and TV, he was married to actress Kishida Kyoko from 1954 to 1978. He was a founding member of En, one of Japan’s leading theater troupes.
• Flamboyant comedian Michael (34) has been taking a break since the end of October. It turns out the reason is that he’s looking after his mother, who had a stroke in September. He made his showbiz debut in 1990 in the musical “Starlight Express” and later was a member of an idol group, a dancer and a choreographer before turning to comedy in 2002.