Less than a month after she took over as leader of Morning Musume, Fujimoto Miki (22) has announced that she is going to quit the group. The Up Front Agency says her role as leader, a job she took over when Yoshizawa Hitomi (22) left on May 6, officially came to an end yesterday, June 1. Japan Zone reported here just a week ago about her romance with comedian Shoji Tomoharu (31), and it seems that the revelation in weekly gossip magazine “Friday” is behind her decision. She plans to continue as a singer, a return to the solo career she had for a year from 2002. Takahashi Ai (20) has stepped into Fujimoto’s shoes and is the 6th leader of the group.
• Actor Ishidate Tetsuo died of an acute arterial aneurism at his home in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture yesterday morning. He was 64. he first became popular in the early 1970s following the drama “Okusama wa 18-sai”. He also played the father role to child actress Sugita Kaoru in another hugely popular series “Papa to Yobanaide”.
• Talento Watanabe Marina (36) announced yesterday that she is four months pregnant. She and comedian Nagura Jun (38), leader of the popular trio Neptune, married in May 2005. A former member of the 80s idol group Onyanko Club, at 15 she held the record for the youngest singer to debut at No.1 on the Oricon chart, a record she held until 2001.