Talk about romantic musical chairs! The latest romantic interest for kabuki actor Ichikawa Ebizo (29) seems to be actress Takaoka Saki (34), according to the latest issue of weekly women’s magazine “Josei Jishin”. The pair were spotted last week taking a romantic evening walk hand in hand under the blooming cherry blossoms along the Meguro River in Tokyo. Ebizo had just returned the day before from a kabuki performance in Paris, which was attended by ex-girlfriend Yonekura Ryoko (31). Arriving back in Japan separately, both denied that there was any rekindling of the flame between them. Ebizo broke up just recently split with his girlfriend of three months, actress Sato Eriko (25), a breakup that she clearly took badly. He also has a history with actress Miyazawa Rie (34) and in 2003 fathered a child with a former pop singer. Takaoka is no romantic slouch either. One reason for her 2004 divorce from actor Hosaka Naoki (39) was said to be her extra-marital affairs. And the split was followed by a fling with married kabuki actor Nakamura Shido (34), which led to his divorce from actress Takeuchi Yuko (27).
• 200 fans turned out to greet American R&B singer Beyonce (28) at Narita Airport yesterday. She’s in town to kick off her first solo world tour with a show at the Tokyo Dome tonight. That’s followed by two nights at the Osaka Dome (April 11-12) and a final show at the Aichi Prefecture Gymnasium in Nagoya on April 14.
• U.S. movie fans will want to watch for the name NorA (yes, that’s how it’s spelled). The 22-year-old actress makes her debut this week in “LoveDeath”, directed by Kitamura Ryuhei and due to open here in Japan on April 12. But she already has her first Hollywood movie lined up. “Midnight Meat Train”, which is also Kitamura’s first U.S. project, starts filming in a week and is scheduled for U.S. release in the autumn.