Lawyer and TV commentator Kawakami Kazuo (76) is married to singer Chiba Hiroko (61), according to the weekly magazine “Shuukan Shincho.” The magazine says the couple have been married since 2007. Kawakami’s first wife died of a brain hemorrhage in 2002. Kawakami is a Tokyo University graduate and a former public prosecutor at the special investigation department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office. While in that job, he was involved in investigating the infamous Lockheed scandal that rocked Japanese politics in 1976. He served for two years in the late 1980s as director of the Justice Ministry’s bureau of corrections and was renowned as one of the country’s top investigators until his retirement in 1991. He continues to run a law firm in Ginza, central Tokyo. Chiba, who made her singing debut in 1971, is known for such hits as “Orizuru” but also for her volunteer work at prisons and reform schools. The magazine has speculated that the couple’s romance was born out of their common interests. Kawakami’s office refused to comment.
• Doctors have ordered singer Utada Hikaru (26, profile) to take a break from her promotional work in the U.S. She was diagnosed with an acute peritonsillar infection, affecting her neck and throat, and was told not to travel or speak for at least two weeks. Her second album in the U.S. “This Is The One” went on sale yesterday and Utada was scheduled to appear in stores all across the country, from New York to Honolulu. She apologized to fans on her blog and said that the condition affects her once or twice a year, caused when exhaustion weakens her immune system. Yesterday’s issue of the weekly magazine “Josei Jishin” said they spotted her at a hospital in Tokyo last week, but a spokesperson for the singer said that was just for a routine checkup.