Rock duo B’z have truly established themselves as kings of the Japanese music world. Their latest album “Action” naturally went straight to No.1 on the Oricon charts. Their 13th consecutive chart topper and 21st overall means they share the record for most No.1’s ever with 70s folk singer Matsutoya Yumi. So B’z now hold or share the record in all of Oricon’s six major sales categories: most No.1 singles/albums; most million-selling singles/albums; most total single/album sales. Oricon say this is the first time in the company’s 40-year history that one artist has held all six records. The duo recently became the first Asian artists to be inducted into the Hollywood Rock Walk.
Meanwhile, Southern All Stars vocalist Kuwata Keisuke (51), who’s broken a few records of his own, is on top of the singles chart again. “Darling” is his third No.1 solo single of the year and seventh overall, giving him a share of the record with Boowy’s Himuro Kyosuke for most by a male group member as a solo artist.
• Comedian Nagura Jun (39) and talento Watanabe Marina (37) are parents for the first time, it was announced yesterday. Watanabe, a former member of the 80s teen idol group Onyanko Club, gave birth to a baby boy at a Tokyo hospital on Sunday and wrote about it on her blog yesterday. She and Nagura, a member of the trio Neptune, married in May 2005.
• A somewhat more belated birth announcement came yesterday from actress Matsushima Nanko (34), who revealed that she had her second daughter on November 10. The baby had been due at the end of December. This year, Matsushima had her first movie starring role in almost a decade in “Bizan”. She’s been working far less since she married actor Sorimachii Takashi (33) in February 2001 and says she is currently undecided about her future career.
• The long court battle over the estate of the late actress Miyako Chocho (1920-2000) seems to be at an end. The actress left about ¥260 million and a home in Osaka worth about ¥170 million, which her adoptive brother said would be turned into a museum. Her three step-siblings had been trying since 2002 to have the home sold.