Monthly Archives: April 2009

Contrary to her image of having no love life, comedienne Kuwabata Rie (33) is getting married, it was revealed on Monday. Her future husband, who’s an employee of a car parts manufacturer in Chiba prefecture, proposed to her on the new NTV show “Majotachi no 22ji” last night. The bespectacled half of the duo Kuwabata Ohara, the comedienne has been in the spotlight in the last year due to her promotion of Core Rhythms and a book she published based on her success with the fitness/diet program. She slimmed down from 63kg to 56.5kg after practicing the rigorous dance program for six weeks. She said back in February that she was taking part in “go-kon” (mixer parties) once a month in the hope of finding a romantic partner. But actually she met her fiance 12 years ago when they worked at the same part-time job. Their relationship hit the rocks once but they started dating gain three years ago. On last night’s show, her comedy partner Ohara Masako (33) revealed that she recently split up with her boyfriend.

• Once step ahead in the marriage race is NTV announcer Yamamoto Maiko (30), who got married yesterday to a 31-year-old director in Fuji TV’s drama department.

• Sadder news about a couple of other middle-aged celebrities of yesteryear. Former NTV announcer Ogiwara Hiroko died of cancer on Sunday. She was 54. And former talento Shimizu Yukiko was found to have committed suicide yesterday. She was 49. The body of a woman was found in the Omikami cemetery in Oyamacho, Shizuoka Prefecture yesterday afternoon and personal ID found on the body was that of Shimizu, whose father is buried in the cemetery. Police gave the cause of death as suicide from hydrogen sulphide poisoning. Shimizu debuted in 1977 after winning the “Star Tanjo” audition show. She went on to appear in many variety shows, dramas and movies. Her management agency said she quit in March 2006 in order to look after her ailing mother.

Happy news for Dreams Come True musician Nakamura Masato (50). It was announced yesterday that his wife, former High and Mighty Color vocalist Onaga Maki (21), is expecting their first child. No date was given, but Nakamura is expected to make a formal announcement on his blog today. The couple married in June of last year and “Maakii,” as she is known to fans, said at the time that she would quit the music business. She joined the existing heavy metal band Anti Nobunaga – made up of fellow Okinawa natives Sassy, mACKRz, Gasuto, Meg and Yuusuke – in 2004 and they changed their name. The following year the made their major label debut with the hit single “Pride,” which was the opening theme for the popular anime series “Gundam Seed Destiny.” During Onaga’s three and a half years, the band released 14 singles and five albums and they performed in the U.S. in 2006-07. The band auditioned for a new female vocalist at the end of last year. Dreams Come True (profile), made up of Nakamura and vocalist Yoshida Miwa (44), are one of J-pop’s most popular and successful acts.

Popular model Tominaga Ai (26) formally acknowledged her recent divorce on her blog yesterday. The split between Tominaga and her Paris-based patissier husband was revealed in a gossip magazine back in early March but she insists that there were aspects to that article that were completely untrue. She didn’t clarify the details behind the divorce, saying only that she and her husband had been through things that many couples have to face. She refuted claims made in the magazine article such as that the couple had fought because of the large gap in their earnings, or that Tominaga had been forced by her husband to make a humiliating “dogeza” (prostrate on the floor) apology at a party. But she did apologize to fans and people in her industry that she hadn’t told them earlier about what was going on in her personal life. The couple married in 2004 and had a son the following year. Tominaga, who is one of the few Japanese supermodels established on the international fashion circuit, returned to work in 2006.

Former Indonesian first lady Dewi Sukarno (69, profile) may not be my cup of tea but I have to hand it to her – she knows how to stick up for herself. After her recent comment criticizing Japan’s “over reaction” to the North Korean missile launch on April 5, a member of an “uyoku” (right wing ultra-nationalist) organization decided to broadcast from one of their infamous black sound trucks outside her home in Shibuya, Tokyo on Sunday morning. Dewi-fujin, as the Japanese native is popularly known, clearly took offense and decided the best form of defense was attack. She launched a few missiles of her own – three flower pots, to be exact – from a second-floor balcony and caused some damage to the truck. This of course led to a face off during which her camera is said to have been broken. Police from the local Shibuya station are looking into the matter. Sukarno was working as a teenage bar hostess in Ginza when she was swept away to become one of the many wives of first Indonesian president Achmed Sukarno in 1959. She returned to become a popular face on the Japanese variety show circuit in the mid-1990s.

Singer Okamoto Shin was found dead in his Tokyo home yesterday afternoon, on the very day that friends had planned a major birthday celebration. A spokesperson for the Takinogawa police station said that they were called by a friend of Okamoto, who visited his home in Kita Ward after being unable to contact him only to find the singer dead in his bathtub. The police are investigating the cause of death but they believe it was from natural causes. Okamoto was to turn 60 today, an important milestone celebrated in Japan as “stop-ed-meds.com,” and friends had planned to hold an early birthday party in Yokohama last night. Fellow members of the popular 60s rock band the Jaguars expressed their shock at the sudden death of the band’s vocalist, though he had been having health problems for several years. Drummer and band leader Miya Yukio (65) said, “When I met him a year or two ago, he said he wasn’t well. I asked him to take better care of himself. But I can’t believe he died before me.” Lead guitarist Okitsu Hisayuki (62) said he hoped to perform a memorial concert for his friend of 40 years. After their debut single, “Kimi ni Aitai” became a million seller in 1967, the Jaguars were one of the biggest bands of the short-lived and highly commercial Group Sounds scene. Like most of the major GS acts, they split in 1971 but they did get back together again briefly a decade later. Okamoto performed a concert in February 2008 to celebrate his 40 years in showbiz.

Plaudits have been coming in from the show business for the latest feat by baseball superstar Ichiro (35, profile). The Seattle Mariners leadoff batter equaled the record for career hits by a Japanese player yesterday, with the record holder Harimoto Isao (68, active from 1959-81, photo right) watching in the stands. And with typical aplomb, Ichiro’s 3,085th, 7th-inning hit was a grand slam home run that helped seal an 11-3 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Angels. What made it even more remarkable was that it was his first game of the season after a bleeding stomach ulcer had landed him on the disabled list for the first time in his Major League career. The win propelled the Mariners to 7-2, the best record in the majors and a far better start than expected after their recent terrible seasons. Ichiro was already riding a huge wave of popularity after helping Japan defend their title at the World Baseball Classic last month. Regarded as the best batter of his generation, Ichiro has many celebrity friends and they all wanted to congratulate him on yesterday’s achievement. Enka singer Ishikawa Sayuri (51), whose “Amagigoe” plays every time he steps up to the plate, said, “I heard the news during rehearsals and started clapping. And to do it with a grand slam home run – he really is loved by the baseball gods.” Veteran actress Mori Mitsuko (88) said, “He has set the kind of records that you need to live to my age to reach. I’m just honored to be living in the same time as him. Long time friend and enka singer Koda Shin said, “He’s really aging well, isn’t he? As younger men, we used to go to yakiniku restaurants or karaoke. Now he’s an inspirational team leader.”

• Singer Inagaki Junichi (55) announced yesterday that he got remarried last year. He and his bride (45) tied the knot at a shinto shrine in Kyoto in October and held a reception in Tokyo last month. Inagaki’s first wife died in 2006.

It looks like comedian Kimura Yuichi (46) might be gearing up for marriage number four, according to a weekly magazine. Today’s issue of women’s mag “Josei Seven” says Kimuni is in a relationship with fledgling actress Nishikata Ryo (28). She is currently appearing in the movie “Nisesatsu,” which opened on April 11 and is the directorial debut for Kimura. After the official launch event last week, the cast and staff went out to celebrate. Nishikata and Kimura were later spotted returning to his Tokyo apartment. He left for work early the next morning, while she was in and out of the apartment during the day. Of course it’s only three years since he got hitched to actress Henmi Emiri (32), a marriage that lasted all of two years. They split in April last year, leaving Kimura with three divorces under his belt. The new movie is also the debut for Nishikata as an actress. She formerly worked as a plasterer and broke into showbiz as a regular on the Akashiya Sanma-hosted variety show “Koi no Karasawagi” in 2002-03. She then switched to modeling and appeared in several TV commercials and music videos before auditioning for the movie role last year.

Earlier stories:

Kimura, Henmi Wed (Jan 11, 2006)

Kimura Yuichi, Henmi Emiri Split (Apr 16, 2008)

Actor Nakamura Shunta (31) has been released with a suspended indictment following his recent drug arrest. The son of actor Nakamura Masatoshi (58) and actress Igarashi Junko (56) was nabbed by police in Tokyo on April 4 for possession of marijuana. But the Tokyo District Court decided that as it was a first offense, the amount of the drug was small, and perhaps most importantly he showed the required remorse, he would not be prosecuted. On his release yesterday afternoon, he bowed deeply to reporters outside the Takaido police station and muttered a one-word apology, “Sumimasen” (sorry). He was then bundled into a waiting car by his managers and lawyer, who said he plans to formally apologize at a press conference in the next few days. His parents did not visit him during his 10-day detention, but they issued a statement yesterday. “We heard that he received leniency and was released. His lawyers tell us that he is both physically and mentally drained by the incident. We will give him some time and then talk with him about he should repent, apologize and get on with his life.” Masatoshi, who is also president of the management agency that handles him, originally said he would see that his son gave up show business. His name has been taped over on posters promoting the movie “Kondo no Nichiyobini,” which opened last Saturday, though his scenes have not been cut.

Earlier story:
Nakamura Shunta in Drug Arrest (Apr 6, 2009)

• Details still haven’t emerged as to what exactly talento Kitano Makoto (50) said on air to get himself into so much trouble. But his Shochiku Geino management agency and the Asahi Housou network have resigned from the Japan Association of Music Enterprises as a result. Shochiku has also taken internal disciplinary measures against several employees. JAME has said that the problem is not just Kitano’s remarks about a particular individual. They said that, during the more than 20 years that his “Makoto no Seinendan” show has been on ABC radio, he has a history of inappropriate and slanderous remarks. They filed a formal complaint with the two companies in March. JAME has about 100 talent agencies and 40 broadcast networks among its membership. A popular and well-known celebrity, Kitano has been dropped from all of his regular TV and radio shows and his show business future is in doubt.

Earlier story:
Kansai Comics in Trouble Again (Apr 13, 2009)

• Meanwhile, more trouble over at TBS. The network was ordered to compensate a man identified without permission during a live morning show in January 2007. The Mino Monta-hosted “Asa Zuba!” show included a live segment on a murder scene where a Tokyo woman had killed her husband and dismembered his body. The face of the man who sued the network was clearly visible during the broadcast and he was identified as a garbage truck driver. At the Tokyo District Court, he sought ¥11 million in damages from TBS and Mino, claiming that the unwanted exposure had led to his son being bullied and forced to change elementary schools. The court ordered TBS to pay ¥1.2 million but said that Mino bore no responsibility.

An online matchmaker has announced Japan’s most popular celebrity marriage choices for this year. For its annual rankings of the stars people would most like to marry, Match.com interviewed 500 people between the ages of 22 and 44 in and around Tokyo (so to be fair, the survey is slanted towards the tastes of the capital). On top of the male rankings was actor and singer Fukuyama Masaharu (40, top left), who is always at or near the top in polls of the country’s most popular bachelors. In second place was young actor Mizushima Hiro (25), who only this month announced his engagement to singer Ayaka (21). Filling out the top 3 was actor Tustsumi Shinichi (44). The number one female catch was actress Ayase Haruka (24, bottom left), whose main appeal seems to be her “iyashikei” (soothing, therapeutic) smile. It helped her hold off the challenge of somewhat more established actresses Ueto Aya (23) and Nakama Yukie (29).

Second-tier celebrity Ogasawara Masaya (33) has been arrested for having sex with an underage schoolgirl. Tokyo Metropolitan Police said they arrested the comedian at the Tachikawa police station on April 12, though the crime dates back to June of last year. Ogasawara is said to have met the 16-year-old high school student through a mobile game website and, though he knew she was underage, had sex with her at his home in the Tokyo suburb of Suginami. He has admitted to the offense and is to be sent to the Tokyo District Court today. Though one of the lesser known comedians in the Yoshimoto Kogyo (profile) stable, Ogasawara appeared quite regularly on the variety show circuit. Before entering Yoshimoto’s training school in 2002, he practiced the family business of fortune telling in his hometown of Sapporo and he used that background in his comedy after graduating from the school in 2004. As in the case of comedian Yamamoto Keiichi, who was arrested for rape in 2006, a return to show business is unlikely.

Earlier story:

Yamamoto Rape Case Continues (Aug 30, 2006)

Actress Miyazawa Rie (36, profile) and her new husband recently held their wedding ceremony and reception away from the media glare, according to today’s issue of weekly magazine “Josei Jishin.” The couple registered their marriage in February and Miyazawa is expecting her first child in June. She has appeared in public over the last couple of months but made no mention of any wedding plans. According to the magazine article, the event was held in Tokyo and mainly a family affair. The only celebrity said to have attended was actor Sanada Hiroyuki (48, profile), who starred alongside Miyazawa in the hit 2002 movie “Tasogare Seibei” (Twilight Samurai).