High King is the latest pop unit to be launched from the Hello! Project ensemble. Made up of Morning Musume‘s Takahashi Ai (21) and Tanaka Reina (18), Shimizu Saki (16) of Berryz Kobo, °C-ute’s Yajima Maimi (16), and Maeda Yuuka (13), chosen from the Hello! Project Egg apprentice program, they will make their debut with the single “C/C (Cinderella Complex)” on June 11. Producer-guru Tsunku (39) said the members were chosen for their ability to dance and belt out dancable R&B numbers, adding, “As they’re girls they should really be ‘High Queen’ but it didn’t have enough punch.” He said their debut has a faster beat than anything he’s produced so far, using a triple rhythm like that in the Beatles “All My Loving.” High King is the 83rd pop unit formed from the dozens of starlets that make up Hello! Project, of which there are currently 21 groups and solo artists.
• TV writer Tsukada Shigeru has died at the age of 82. He was the man behind such major postwar TV hits as “8-ji Dayo! Zenin Shuugo” and “Yoru no Hitto Sutajio.” He started his career in 1945 when he joined the major Toei movie studio.
• Oshio Manabu (30) is getting his career back into gear. He dropped out of a promising acting career a couple of years ago to focus on music. But this week it was revealed that he has signed a contract with major record label Avex. No specific details were given about his plans, but it’s thought that he’s aiming to act in Hollywood. He spent his elementary school years in Los Angeles and regularly spends time there with his wife, actress Yada Akiko (29) and their six-month-old son. The couple married in November 2006. Avex has been recruiting more top acting talent recently, including kabuki star Nakamura Shido (35) and actress Koyuki (31).
• Actor Fujita Makoto (75) is said to be doing well in his fight with esophageal cancer. Doctors reduced the level of his radiation therapy last week. He is able to leave hospital at the weekends and recently spent the Golden Week holidays at an onsen resort.
• In its 25th year, the science fiction anime “Macross” is enjoying something of a boom. “Diamond Crevasse”, the ending theme for the latest series “Macross Frontier” has entered the Oricon singles chart at No.3, as did the opening theme, “Triangular,” on its release in April. The franchise was created by by Shoji Kawamori of Studio Nue in 1982 and has included three TV series (TBS), three movies, four OVAs, and 2 manga series.
• Baseball star Aoki Norichika (26) and TV Tokyo sports announcer Ohtake Sachi (24) are romantically involved. The two are said to have started dating at the beginning of the year. Aoki, an outfielder for the Yakult Swallows, has been one of Japan’s best hitters over the last few seasons and has woin several batting titles but is currently with the farm team recovering from a torn muscle.
• Watari Kazuhisa (30), vocalist and pianist of the group Fuumidou, got married at the end of April, it was revealed yesterday.