J-pop queen Koda Kumi (25) is to make a videotaped appearance on the Fuji TV show “FNN Super News” this afternoon to apologize for her recent verbal slip on live radio. Last weekend’s comment, an insult to women over the age of 35, has led to a loss of work and a self-imposed home confinement. For the music industry’s current biggest-grossing artist with a new album just hitting the shelves, that’s no laughing matter. Koda and her Avex label management have been busy with damage control, issuing written apologies via the media and online. It can only be hoped that in today’s TV appearance, Koda will avoid the self-indulgent tears that are so often used as a show of repentance. But it’s more likely that we’ll see the usual waterworks.
• Rock singer Ayanokoji Sho, vocalist of the band Kishidan, became a father this week when his wife had a baby girl. The couple, who he met in London, got married in December 2006 and held a large wedding reception last June with Glay and Utada Hikaru among the 300 guests. In the last couple of years, Ayanokoji has been performing mainly as his alter ego, DJ Ozma.
• Actress Tanaka Minako (40) announced this week that she is expecting her first child in June. She married actor Okada Taro (33) last year. Tanaka is currently filming the TBS drama “Mikon Rokushimai 2” and plans to attend a PR event on February 14.
• Former pro wrestler turned actress Noumi Kayo (31) and PaniCrew member Hourii (35), who married last April, are to hold their wedding reception in Tokyo later this month. They will then head off for a weeklong honeymoon in the Maldives. Noumi made the announcement yesterday at a PR event for a B-movie she is making with fellow former wrestlers including Cutie Suzuki (38) and Ozaki Mayumi (39).
• Romance has bloomed once again in the TV world, according to the latest issue of women’s weekly “Josei Seven”. Takeuchi Emi (31), a presenter on the late-night TV Asahi news show “Houdou Station”, and former Fuji TV announcer Sakurai Kenichiro (34) were spotted on a recent date in Tokyo. Both networks refused to comment on the story, saying it was “a private matter.” Sakurai has been working behind the scenes in Fuji’s sports department since he caused a traffic accident back in 2001. He married a company employee in 2002 but they split up last year.