Recently-crowned Miss Universe Mori Riyo (20) has been in the media spotlight since her return to Japan. She arrived at Narita Airport the day before yesterday and was greeted by dozens of reporters. Yesterday, 11 TV cameras and 150 reporters turned out at her press conference at a Tokyo hotel. She wore a black and white dress and a diamond and pearl tiara said to be worth $250,000. As the first Japanese to win the crown in 48 years, she is in huge demand from the media and has already filmed her first commercial endorsement, for aesthetic company TBC, and has been inundated with interviews. When asked if she had changed in her month and a half away from Japan, she said that she hadn’t but everything around her in Japan had. Asked what she had missed, she replied talking with her family and miso soup! She comfortably answered questions in English from foreign media, saying that in the future she hopes to follow in her mother’s footsteps and open an international dance school. She soon heads back to New York, where she took part in a recent Japan Day event, and her schedule for the coming year includes traveling to some 25 countries and taking part in charity events for causes such as AIDS.
• Good news for fans who haven’t been able to get tickets to see popular rock band L’Arc En Ciel. They announced yesterday that they have 6 different releases coming up before the end of the year. Starting with their next single, “My Heart Draws a Dream”, on August 29 they will releases three singles, a new album and two live DVDs over a 5-month period. The group revealed the news as they opened their nationwide hall tour at the Yokosuka Arts Theatre. Though they could easily sell out a stadium tour, vocalist Hyde said the band decided they wanted to perform with less distance from their fans. Yesterday 2,000 of those fans enjoyed a 21-song set that included no less than nine new songs. L’Arc have been one of the outstanding bands in the J-Rock scene for most of their 16-year history.