Yearly Archives: 2007

The gossip magazines finally have something to print about actor Enari Kazuki (22). According to today’s issue of weekly magazine “Josei Seven”, he and flautist Yumi (23) were recently spotted on a date. Though he is a veteran of sixteen years in TV dramas and variety shows, this is the first time he has been romantically linked. He became a child star at the age of six on the still-running TBS drama “Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari”. He and Yumi met last year when she was a regular panelist on the NHK show “Quiz Nihon no Kao”, hosted by Enari. Yumi is a graduate of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, while Enari is currently a senior in the Arts department of Seijo University.

• Popular newscaster Komiya Etsuko (48) has divorced for the second time. Her management agency revealed yesterday that she and her husband, TV production company director Kawashima Shouzaburo (38), split in mid-March. They had been married since 1994, but separated for some time since his extra-marital affair was exposed by a weekly magazine in 2001. Komiya shares her ¥200 million Tokyo home with her mother. She joined TV Asahi in 1981 and gained fame in 1985 as the first assistant newscaster to Kume Hiroshi on the popular “News Station”. She was married to a trading company employee from 1983 to 1989. One of the most popular newscasters among the middle-aged set, she is known as Etchan.

It’s being billed as Japan’s version of “We Are the World”. 44 of the country’s top celebrities and sports stars have given their time to a charity music project organized by top producer Suhou Shougo (31). They appear in the promo video for “end of the world”, a track on the maxi single “egg one” by indie trio “Sunny-side up”, and all profits will go to the Save the Children Japan NGO. Suhou put together the group with vocalists Tanabe Mai (23) and Takahashi Aimi (19). Among the many famous names appearing in the video are Wada Akiko, Koizumi Kyoko, Fujiwara Norika, Go Hiromi, Takahashi Katsunori, and Nanbara Kiyotaka. Also included in talento Kazami Shingo, who lost his 11-year-old daughter in a traffic accident just months ago. Each person simply holds up their own handwritten message to the children of the world. The project is exceptional in having such an impressive lineup of stars working free of charge with an indie group. The single is available from iTunes and other online music sites. The message cards are being put up for sale on Rakuten’s auction site.

• Kansai TV president Chiba Soichiro (63) has finally decided to bite the bullet. Three months after a scandal rocked his company, Chiba announced at a press conference in Osaka yesterday that he would demote himself to the level of non-representative company director. He will be replaced by Kataoka Masashi (64). The decision was made at an emergency board meeting earlier in the day. All board members will also lose their bonuses and several senior executives will have a 3-month pay cut. Chiba said, “We are carrying out our corporate responsibility following a rebuke from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and our broadcast of a program investigating the issue.” The scandal started when it was discovered that several elements of a January episode of the popular and long-running show “Hakkutsu! Aru Aru Daijiten II” had been faked. Further investigation turned up similar abuses on earlier episodes, the show lost its sponsor and was canceled.

• Talento Mieharu (40) yesterday married a 30-year-old company employee, named only as Yukiko. Real name Fujimoto Masanori, Mieharu is a member of the “Kin-chan Family”, celebrities under the tutelage of comedian Hagimoto Kinichi (66). His agency said they knew of his marriage plans but had not known the date.

• Tokio member Kokubun Taichi (32) spoke for the first time yesterday about his rumored split with singer aiko (31). “What you read is true,” he said about the revelation in February that the couple had split as long ago as last summer. “The reason? It just wasn’t meant to be. But I think we’re both cool with it.”

• Former “Shape Up Girls” member Kajiwara Mayumi (40) gave birth to twin boys yesterday. The babies were born by caesarean section. Kajiwara married a golf business entrepreneur in 2004. She was a member of one of several “sexy units” that were popular on TV until the mid 1990s.

Pop duo Kobukuro finally have a No.1 single, as “Tsubomi” topped the latest Oricon singles chart listing. Though sales of their “All Singles Best” compilation album hit the 2.5-million mark yesterday, their previous highest singles chart entry was “Kokonishika Sakanai Hana”, which got to No.2. The duo will kick of a 12-city nationwide tour at Hiroshima Green Arena on June 16. Meanwhile, on top of the album chart is Otsuka Ai (24) with her hits collection “Ai am BEST”.

• Baseball player Fujii Shuugo (29) has denied the rumors of romance with TV announcer Watanabe Mari (39). The story was published in yesterday’s issue of weekly magazine “Shuukan Post”, and said the two were spotted kissing in Fujii’s car near the Jingu Stadium, the home base of his Yakult Swallows team. Both celebrities issued statements yesterday saying they were just friends.

• NHK’s latest morning drama serial has got off to the worst possible start. Audience ratings for yesterday’s first episode of “Dondohare” were 14.9% in the Kanto region and just 14.2% in Kansai. The Kanto rating is the worst in the 43 years of Video Research’s statistics and a drop from the 16.9% of “Faito” in 2005. In Kansai, the rating was a drop from last year’s “Junjo Kirari”, which managed only 14.6%. And doing even worse are baseball’s Yomiuri Giants. They only managed to attract a Kanto audience rating of 13.1% for the live broadcast of their 2007 season opener against the Yokohama Bay Stars last Friday. This despite the fact that both teams are based in Kanto and the Giants once commanded annual ratings of over 20%. In Kansai, the opening game between the Hanshin Tigers and the Hiroshima Carp got a rating of 15.6%.

Popular model Tanami Ryoko (32) has married entrepreneur and playboy Nojiri Yoshitaka (34) earlier than expected. We reported here last month that the pair were planning to get married this summer, but they registered their marriage at the local municipal office yesterday. They are said to be looking for a new home in the capital and planning a wedding ceremony in the summer. Nojiri knows a thing or two about nuptial ceremonies, being the founder of the wedding planning company Take & Give – Needs. In 2005 he became the youngest president ever to have his company listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. He is a member of the so-called “Hills-zoku”, or Hills Tribe, the rich and famous people based in the Roppongi Hills complex in central Tokyo. He has had a string of widely publicized relationships with celebrities, including actresses Shaku Yumiko (28) and Umemiya Anna (34), as well as TV announcers Uchida Kyoko (30) and Takeuchi Emi (29). Tanami has been a model for magazines such as “JJ” and “Classy” and is considered a fashion leader for Japan’s OL’s (office ladies). She is also an actress, having made her movie debut starring in “Ame Yori Setsunaku” in 2005.

• The financial troubles of kyogen star Izumi Motoya (32) weren’t helped by his recent performances in Okinawa. Yesterday’s show at the National Theater Okinawa in Urasoe City, which has a seating capacity of 632, drew an audience of just 250. And with Saturday’s turnout of just 120 at a venue on the island of Ishigakijima that seats over 1,000, the brief tour was clearly in the red. There was media speculation that Izumi wouldn’t even pay the venue rental fee, though that was settled just before the weekend. We reported here last month on the seizure by tax authorities of Izumi’s home and office in Tokyo. His domineering mother Setsuko (64) insisted yesterday that they would fight the decision to the bitter end.

• Iijima Ai (34) has moved on to the next stage of her life. Officially no longer in showbiz as of March 31, she made a pre-recorded appearance on yesterday’s “Sunday Japon”, on which she had been a regular panelist. She bid farewell to her fellow regulars and denied the rumors of her future plans, such as starting an IT business or moving to New York. She admitted she had looked into the possibility of single motherhood via an overseas sperm bank, but had been unable to understand the English documentation. Her last appearance on the live show a week earlier had been planned as her grand farewell, but it was cut short by the earthquake on the Noto Peninsula.

• Former pin-up girl Matsuda Jun (29) announced on her blog at the weekend that she is engaged to the manager of a scuba diving service. She gave no details of plans for a wedding ceremony.

The latest movie project for actor Sanada Hiroyuki (46) sees him captaining a spaceship. In “Sunshine 2057” he plays the captain of a ship that sets out to re-ignite the dying sun 50 years into the future. The movie is directed by Danny Boyle, of “Trainspotting” fame, and written by Alex Garland. The pair teamed up previously on the movie adaptation of Garland’s novel “The Beach”. Sanada appeared at a PR event in Tokyo yesterday along with co-star Cillian Murphy (32), who praised the cooking and guitar skills that Sanada displayed during the making of the movie. Another major Asian name among the ensemble cast is actress Michelle Yeoh.

• British rock band The Police are coming to Japan for the first time in 27 years. Drummer Stewart Copeland (54) was in Tokyo yesterday promoting his documentary “Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out”. He announced that the band, recently reformed 30 years after their debut and 23 years after they split, will play dates in Japan next February. The shows will be at the tail end of their upcoming world tour, due to start in Vancouver on May 28.

The court battle has begun between legendary manga-ka Matsumoto Leiji (69, photo left) and songwriter Makihara Noriyuki (37, right). Their lawyers met yesterday at the Tokyo District Court with both parties prepared to fight the charges of plagiarism and libel. Back in October of last year, Matsumoto claimed that some of the lyrics to the song “Yakusoku no Basho” were lifted without permission from his famous manga “Ginga Tetsudo 999” (Galaxy Express 999). The phrase used is almost identical to the famous line which translates as, “Time does not betray a dream as long as the dream does not betray time.” Matsumoto said last year, “I’ve been using this phrase in speeches to cheer up young people for more than ten years. I don’t want to take the matter to court or anything, but I just want a sincere apology.” But Makihara’s agency deny any attempt at plagiarism and have called Matsumoto’s continued claims libelous, and are seeking ¥22 million in compensation. The next hearing will be held in mid-May. The “Ginga…” manga dates back to 1977 but many TV and movie spinoffs have been put out over the years. Recently, Matsumoto collaborated with French duo Daft Punk on the 2003 full-length anime feature “Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem”. The major club hit “One More Time” featured a video by Matsumoto.

• Also looking to fight it out in court is actor Hayashi Yoichi (65). He held a press conference in Tokyo yesterday to explain his case against Toto Maintenance. Back in January, the company carried out three days of work on the bathroom of his family’s 4LDK apartment in Osaka. But the whole apartment became filled with dust and family members came down with respiratory infections. Hayashi, his wife and four children have been living in hotels since.

• Yesterday actor Emori Toru (63) made his first public appearance since being hospitalized following a stroke a month ago. He attended the 70th anniversary celebrations of the Bungakuza theater company, with whom he had been rehearsing when he had a cerebral hemorrhage in 2005. His latest hospitalization forced him to drop out of a planned TV drama series and give up drinking, but he says he is suffering no after effects. He will begin rehearsal for a new theater production next month.

Ueki Hitoshi, one of Japan’s top postwar comedians, died yesterday morning of respiratory failure ata Tokyo hospital. He was 80. He worked up until last November, making a guest appearance in the movie “Maiko Haaaan!!!”, and his final public appearance was at the funeral of writer, talento and former Tokyo governor Aoshima Yukio in December. Aoshima wrote the lyrics for “Suudarabushi”, the best-selling song that launched the massively successful career of Ueki and the band Crazy Cats (photo, Ueki center). From 1961, the comic band made more than a dozen hit movies with vocalist Ueki playing an irresponsible salaryman in a Japan at the peak of its economic confidence. But Ueki could also play a serious role, as he did in Kurosawa Akira‘s “Ran” in 1985. In 1993 and 1999, he was officially recognized with purple-ribboned medals awarded for scholarly or artistic achievement. The Crazy Cats marked their 35th anniversary in 1990 with an appearance on NHK’s annual Kohaku Uta Gassen song spectacular, getting a top audience rating of 56.6%.

• Former Morning Musume member Kago Ai (19) has finally thrown it all away. Caught up in a second scandal she’s been dropped by her management and will retire from showbiz. The latest issue of weekly magazine “Shuukan Gendai” published a story about an overnight trip she took to Kusatsu Onsen resort with 37-year-old Ishimoto Haruo, a cafe owner. And to make matters worse, it included photos of her smoking (the age limit is 20) in Ishimoto’s car. Kago fessed up and, after consulting with her parents, her management at Up Front Agency decided to cancel her contract. Already confined to her Nara home since being caught smoking at the beginning of last year, she had only been allowed to return to work in Tokyo in January. Even then she was not allowed to perform and restricted to office work. Last month she expressed her desire to return to singing. With her baby face, Kago was one of the more popular members of Morning Musume and the Hello! Project, and was also active in spinoffs Mini Moni and the duo “W”, with fellow member Tsuji Nozomi (19).

Yesterday saw the unveiling of the official poster for the 13th movie by Kitano “Beat” Takeshi (60). “Kantoku Banzai”, due for release on June 2, is billed as an “ultra variety movie” and combines a whole host of cinematic and television styles. In that sense it reflects the multi-faceted nature of Kitano’s career – he has worked as an emcee in a strip club, a manzai comedian, a talk show and variety show host, a writer, an actor and a movie director. Asked about the new movie, he said, “People will either get it and be laughing all the way through or they’ll just be stumped.” Kitano has always pushed at the boundaries of taste and his latest project is bound to offend some. He sees it as being equal to or even better than the often ultra-violent movies that earned him international fame and respect but doubts that it will be seen that way. And he admitted he would be a bit embarrassed to show it at a film festival like Cannes.

Actress Nakatani Miki (31) was the only big Japanese winner yesterday at the first ever Asian Film Awards. The event was held last night in Hong Kong to coincide with the opening of the 31st Hong Kong International Film Festival. Nakatani won the best actress award for her starring role in “Kiraware Matsuko no Isshou” (Memories of Matsuko), based on Yamada Muneki’s novel of the same name and adapted last year as a TBS drama. She beat such prominent nominees as Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi and Miyazawa Rie, nominated for her role in “Bushi no Ichibun” (Love and Honor). The movie, the third in a trilogy of samurai dramas directed by Yamada Yoji, was nominated for best film but lost out to Korean hit “The Host”. That movie’s star, Song Kang-ho, beat out Watanabe Ken, who poignantly played a middle-aged Alzheimers sufferer in “Ashita no Kioku” (Memories of Tomorrow).

• The Tokyo home and office of controversial kyogen actor Izumi Motoya (32) has been seized by the tax authorities, it was revealed yesterday. According to the “Shuukan Bunshun” weekly magazine, the two-storey building in Itabashi Ward was seized last year following large scale local and national tax evasion. The Izumi Souke company, run by the actor’s domineering mother Setsuko (64), allegedly evaded some ¥150 million in taxes over five years. The company has appealed the imposed penalty.

The first details have been revealed of the next project for master animator Miyazaki Hayao (66). “Gake no Ue no Ponyo”, his follow up to 2004’s “Howl’s Moving Castle”, will be drawn entirely by hand and is scheduled for release in July 2008. An original story that draws on the classic tale of the Little Mermaid, it tells of the relationship between a mermaid princess who longs to be human and the 5-year-old Sousuke. The inspiration for the story came to Miyazaki in 2004 when he and Studio Ghibli employees took a company trip to a small town on the Seto Inland Sea. Miyazaki ended up spending two months in the town. The character of the young boy is said to be modeled after Miyazaki’s own son Goro (40), who made his directorial debut with last year’s “Gedo Senki” (Tales From Earthsea). The elder director is following his usual unorthodox style, and so far has drawn out a story board for about the first hour of the movie, with the remainder yet to be decided. Fans of the animator in Japan will be able to watch a rare documentary on his creative process on NHK’s “Professional” on March 27. The show documents the first several months of the development of his latest project.

• Actor Funakoshi Eiji died on Saturday night of a brain hemorrhage at a Shizuoka Prefecture hospital. He died on his 84th birthday. One of the leading actors of the Daiei movie studio in the 1950s, he made his real breakthrough in 1959’s “Nobi”, directed by Ichikawa Kon. After a career of some 200 movies and high-profile TV drama roles, he retired from acting in 1999. His eldest son is the actor Funakoshi Eiichiro (46).