For the first time ever, a classical recording is top of the Oricon singles chart. “Sen no Kaze ni Natte”, by tenor Akikawa Masafumi (39), was released in June of last year but got a huge sales boost from his appearance on NHK’s Kohaku Uta Gassen on New Year’s Eve. The song is based on an English poem of bereavement, that opens with the lines “Do not stand by my grave and weep, for I am not there, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow, I am the diamond’s glint on snow.” A different version of the song sung by Arai Michiru, who wrote the lyrics and music for Akikawa’s hit, has also made the charts. Meanwhile, taking up the No.2 and No.3 spots in the chart are new releases from 28-year veterans Chage & Aska. Chage takes the vocal lead on “Here & There”, while Aska is the frontman for “Man & Woman”.
• The 10-year-old daughter of talento Kazami Shingo (44, real name Ohshita Yoshihiro) was killed yesterday morning by a truck on her way to school. The accident happened when Oshita Emiru was walking to school in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward shortly after 8am. She was crossing a road just 130m from her home when a 3-ton truck turned into the raod and hit her. She suffered a fractured skull and was accompanied by her father to hospital, where she died later in the morning. The 22-year-old truck driver was arrested for professional negligent homicide. Kazami and his wife Naoko, a former Miss Japan, married in 1994. They had a second daughter in 2003. The family only last month suffered the death of Naoko’s younger brother.
• Comedienne Daita Hikaru (31) is getting divorced after just a year of marriage. She and writer Kitamoto Katsura (30) got married on January 16 2006, and Kitamoto wrote of their plans to split on his blog yesterday, a year and a day later. He didn’t state the specific reason, but it is widely believed to be Daita’s rumored extra-marital affair.