Though he was far from his peak condition, Miyazaki Prefecture governor Higashikokubaru Hideo (50) drew perhaps the strongest crowd support at yesterday’s Tokyo Marathon. The former Takeshi Gundan comedian has been a strong runner for years, and had a personal best time of just under 3 hours and 6 minutes in 2004. But his hectic political and TV promotional schedule have left him with little time to train. A live TV appearance late on Saturday night meant that he ran the race on four hours sleep. He finished three quarters of an hour behind Diet member Suzuki Muneo (60) and five minutes after Tamabukuro Sujitarou (40) of the comic duo Asakusa Kid, a fellow Gundan member running the race for the second year. The best celebrity time was by actor Wada Masato (28) who finished one second under 2 hours and 58 minutes, while diminutive comedian Neko Hiroshi (30) also managed to finish in a respectable time of just under 3 hours 49 minutes. A dozen NTV announcers finished the race, started on a chilly morning by Tokyo governor Ishihara Shintaro (75), in times ranging from about 4 and a half hours to almost 7 hours. A total of 32,426 people entered the race.
- Wada Masato (28, actor) – 2 hrs 57’59”
- Neko Hiroshi (30, comedian) – 3 hrs 48’57”
- Okushi Erika (27, talento) – 3hrs 50′ 54″
- Suzuki Muneo (60, politician) – 3hrs 57′ 11″
- Suzuki Takashi (33, NTV announcer) – 4hrs 27′ 33″
- Tamabukuro Sujitarou (40, comedian) – 4hrs 37′ 44″
- Higashikokubaru Hideo (50, politician) – 4hrs 42′ 27″
- Nishioka Sumiko (33, comedian) – 4hrs 45′ 35″
- Kawada Hiroki (35, comedian) – 6hrs 27′ 48″
- Katsumata Kunikazu (42, talento) – 6hrs 34′ 04″
- Cunning Takeyama (36, comedian) – 6hrs 49′ 09″
- Matsuno Akemi Takeyama (39, talento) – 6hrs 49′ 09″
• Yamada Yoji (76) failed again to win the Golden Bear at the 58th Berlin International Film Festival, but Japanese features took several other lesser awards. Young countryman Kumasaka Izuru (32) took the event’s Best First Film award for his movie, “Asyl – Park and Love Hotel”. The jury said it was reminiscent of Kurosawa Akira’s classic “Ikiru” and that the film’s imagery had both “power and beauty”. Kumasaka was dressed in a parka and jeans as he accepted his award and €50,000 prize, which he said will finance his next project. Other awards went to “Megane” (Ogigami Naoko, Manfred Salzgeber Prize) and “United Red Army” (Wakamatsu Koji, NETPAC Prize and CICAE Prize). Yamada’s “Kaabee” (Kabei – Our Mother) was well received by local press but less so with critics. Star Yoshinaga Sayuri (62) had wanted to see her director lifted in the do-age victory celebration, but Yamada himself looked to the future, saying he wants to do more films set in postwar Japan. Meanwhile, Shochiku has confirmed the release of Kaabee in 17 countries.
• Though he doesn’t usually perform solo, Nadagi Takeshi (37) became the first comedian to repeat as winner of the R-1 Grand Prix on Saturday, winning ¥5 million in the annual contest for one-man comedy. A member of the Yoshimoto five-member comedy group Plan 9, Nadagi became popular last year with the “Dylan and Catherine” routine that he does with romantic partner Tomochika. The characters are based on the Japanese dub of the “Beverly Hills 90210” TV show.