Monthly Archives: June 2009

In an ongoing case of celebrity stalking, a youth was arrested today for the theft of a mobile phone belonging to a 14-year-old idol singer. The youth has not been named by police as he is a juvenile, but he is described as an unemployed 17-year-old from Saitama city. The object of his attentions is Morimoto Ryutaro, who is the youngest member of the 10-member Johnny’s Jimusho group Hey! Say! Jump. The Saitama youth has been a fan of Morimoto’s for some time, and last December the singer’s parents were so concerned about his behavior that they consulted police. Yesterday Morimoto asked the youth to meet with him in a “family restaurant” in his hometown of Yokohama in an attempt to persuade him to stop the harassment. He told police that after their meeting, at around 11:45pm, the youth ran off with Morimoto’s mobile phone. The youth has denied the accusation.

X Japan leader Yoshiki continues to draw large crowds as he brought the promotion of his recently published biography to Tokyo yesterday. X Japan is known for the fanaticism of its fans, and over 1,000 of them turned out at the Maruzen bookstore in Marunouchi and the Tsutaya store in Shibuya. The visits had been announced on Yoshiki’s mobile website the day before and some fans waited outside stores overnight. In return they got up close and personal with the star and received signed copies of the book and posters. A planned visit to the Kinokuniya bookstore in Shinjuku was called off due to security concerns. The media used the term “near panic” to describe scenes at the two events that were held, but it seems to be standard to hype anything connected with X Japan. Written by Komatsu Narumi and simply titled “Yoshiki/佳樹,” the book reveals the kanji for his given name for the first time and includes photos from his childhood. The book has already sold over 200,000 copies (which, while impressive, pales in comparison to sales of the latest Murakami Haruki novel). Yoshiki was accompanied yesterday by Komatsu and publisher Kadokawa Tsuguhiko, who said he hopes to publish Chinese and English translations of the book.

Male fans of popular model Ebihara Yuri (29) will be disheartened to hear that she has acknowledged her romance with musician Ilmari (34). Appearing at a fashion PR event in Tokyo, she made the first public statement about her relationship with the member of hip hop group Rip Slyme. “More than his looks, I was attracted to his personality…but he is handsome!” She said they had only recently started dating. The couple were spotted together last month on a visit to a shinto shrine in Ebihara’s home prefecture, Miyazaki, along with her parents. Yesterday’s event was her first public appearance since that news appeared in the weekly magazine “Friday.” When asked if the visit to the shrine, famous for “tying people together,” indicated marriage plans, she blushed and said, “If all goes well.” Popularly known as Ebi-chan, she is one of the three top models associated with the magazine CanCam. The other two are also in high-profile relationships – Yamada Yu with actor Oguri Shun and Oshikiri Moe with Yomiuri Giants pitcher Nomaguchi Takahiko.

There’s been a little bit of kabuki history being made over at the Kabukiza theater recently. The June Grand Kabuki features the stage debut of young Matsumoto Kintaro, who at four years of age is the youngest ever actor to perform the dramatic “renjishi” (father and son lion dance) that is a highlight of the show. Usually it features a father and son and it is traditionally the first performance by the young actor. To add to the historical significance of Kintaro’s debut, his grandfather also joined the act. It was the first time three generations have performed the dance on stage, and after last night’s performance they met with reporters. His father, Ichikawa Somegoro VII (36) said, “I have to suppress my deep emotions and tears of pride as a father and keep scolding him till we get to the final curtain call.” Grandfather Matsumoto Koshiro IX (66) said, “Twenty-five straight days of doing the keburi must be both physically and mentally tough for him,” referring to the kind of kabuki headbanging with the long hair of the lion’s mane. On weekdays the young actor goes from his nursery school to the theater. Real name Fujima Itsuki, this production marks his official adoption of the stage name Matsumoto Kintaro IV. The Grand Kabuki runs until June 27 and is part of the farewell to Kabukiza, which is due to be demolished next spring. A new theater is scheduled to open in 2013.

• Management for comedian Uchimura Teruyoshi (44, profile) announced yesterday that his wife recently gave birth to their first child. They have named their baby daughter Kokone. One half of the popular duo Uchan Nanchan, Uchimura was considered one of Japan showbiz’s biggest playboys until he married former TV Asahi announcer Tokunaga Yumi (33) in April 2005. She was already married when their romance first became public two years earlier.

The weekend saw news of two tragic deaths on the periphery of the showbiz world. It was revealed on Saturday that fashion model Sumire died last week of a brain hemorrhage. A popular model with the young women’s fashion magazine “Koakuma Ageha,” she was just 21. Unable to reach her last Wednesday, a member of her management agency visited her Tokyo apartment and found her dead. Police are treating it as death from natural causes. Sumire had complained of headaches and poor health on her stop-baldness.net, which she last updated on June 3.

Also on Saturday, pro wrestling legend Misawa Mitsuharu died in a freak ring accident. He was 46. He and his fellow Noah troupe members were on tour in Hiroshima Prefecture, and Misawa was taking part in a tag bout as the evening’s main event. He was partnered with Shiozaki Go in a match against Bison Smith and Saito Akitoshi. About 25 minutes into the bout, shortly after 8:30pm, Saito lifted him from behind and threw him in a “back drop” (back suplex) maneuver. Misawa was immediately knocked unconscious and didn’t respond to heart massage from fellow wrestlers or the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) device. Paramedics arrived after about 10 minutes and he was rushed to hospital, though he is believed to have died in the ring. Misawa debuted in 1981 and became popular as the second man to wear the famous Tiger Mask. He was one of the best and most popular pro wrestlers throughout the 1990s until a split with All Japan Pro Wrestling led him to go it alone in 2000. Many top names went with him and they formed Pro Wrestling Noah, which became one of the biggest and most highly regarded promotions in the sport. Misawa remained active until his death and was GHC Heavyweight Champion as recently as last year.

Popular actor Eguchi Yosuke (41) took a tumble from his motorbike this week and will need two months to recover from his injuries. Was he out on the wide open highway, or maybe doing some motocross? Nope, he was making a left turn out of a gasoline station. According to a statement yesterday from the Yoyogi police station in central Tokyo, Eguchi was leaving a Shell station on Wednesday evening when he suddenly braked to avoid an oncoming bicycle. He managed to avoid a collision, but bore the weight of his 246kg, 1100cc Kawasaki Z1-R. The cyclist was unhurt, while Eguchi suffered multiple fractures to his left collarbone and ribs. He has been hospitalized and is expected to be immobilized for about three weeks. A police motorcyclist commented on the incident, saying “We do a training maneuver to learn how to fall over with the bike, but it’s very frightening. Some people get crushed beneath the bike. Eguchi-san did well to avoid the collision, but it’s no surprise he suffered broken bones.” The accident causes a serious headache for Fuji TV, as Eguchi is the star of the upcoming medical drama series “Kyumei Byoutou 24-ji,” which is heading into its fourth season. The series airs from July 7, so some serious last-minute adjustments are being made to the filming schedule. Eguchi was visited in hospital by his wife, former idol singer Moritaka Chisato (40), and their two children.

• Romance has bloomed between Nochi (20), of the technopop trio Perfume, and Horie Atsushi (30), guitarist and vocalist with rock band Straightener, according to today’s issue of weekly gossip magazine “Friday.” After drinking with friends, the pair were spotted going back to her apartment. Nocchi, real name Omoto Ayano, and her group made a big breakthrough with last year’s hit single “Polyrhythm.”

Yoshimoto (profile) comedienne Minowa Haruka (29, photo right) is getting back to work this weekend after her recent medical scare. One half of the manzai duo Harisenbon, she is never the most healthy looking person at the best of times and this is often used in her comedy. But things became more serious when she was hospitalized with tuberculosis in early April. As the disease is highly contagious, Yoshimoto and the TV networks went into a bit of a panic over whether she might have passed it on to her co-workers or TV studio audiences. As it turned out, the problem had been contained, but Minowa remained in hospital until May 29. She has since been resting at home and will return to work on Sunday, when she will rejoin the lineup of a TBS variety show.

• Model Fujii Lena (24) yesterday acknowledged her romantic relationship with musician Issa (30). Appearing at a PR event for her bridal fashion brand L et Lena, the so-called “charisma model” giggled happily as she answered questions from reporters. Photos of the couple were published in last week’s issue of weekly gossip magazine “Josei Seven.” Issa, of the dance pop group Da Pump, has previously been linked with actress Shibasaki Kou (27) and talento Abiru Yu (22). Asked for a comment, management for Issa simply said, “He’s an adult so we leave his private life up to him.”

• Also acknowledging their relationship this week were young talento Kinoshita Yukina (21) and not so young but popular comedian Fujimoto Toshifumi (38). “Fujimon,” as he’s popularly known, is one half of the manzai duo Fujiwara. Kinoshita has played on her bad girl past and straight-talking style to build her fan base.

Police investigators today visited the offices of Avex Entertainment and Tokyu Malls Development over a guerrilla marketing event in Shibuya in April. The appearance by J-pop diva Hamasaki Ayumi (30) in front of the popular 109 department store in central Shibuya, announced in advance only to those involved and a small number of Hamasaki’s fans, was to launch her autobiography and the “Next Level” album. She visited three CD stores in Shibuya before her arrival at 109 around 3pm. She didn’t sing and was on stage for only about three minutes, but the crowd quickly grew to about 8,000 people and caused traffic jams. About 70 security personnel worked to a possible crowd panic and no injuries were reported. The legal problem is that organizers did not apply for official police approval for the event and could face charges under the Road Traffic Act. A similar publicity stunt in Shibuya pulled by singer Go Hiromi (53) in 1999 led to six people being prosecuted.

SMAP member Katori Shingo (32, photo left) is to make his return to the stage – on Broadway no less. Well, actually off Broadway, but the local media has been reporting it as the first time for an original Japanese stage production to play New York’s famous theater district. Katori will star in the musical comedy “Talk Like Singing,” written and produced by the prolific Mitani Koki (47, photo right). The supporting cast includes Kabira Jay (46), whose mother is American, and Horiuchi Keiko (38), a veteran of such musicals as “Cats” and “West Side Story.” The musical director is Konishi Yasuharu (50), a former member of the J-pop pioneers Pizzicato Five, who wrote and produced Katori’s million-selling single “Shingo Mama no Oha Rock” in 2000. The production is scheduled for 13 shows, November 12-22 at the 850-seat Skirball Center, New York University. Japanese audiences will have to wait until next year to see the show at home. Katori last acted on stage 12 years ago, but in the meantime he has appeared in a slew of big-budget movies and TV dramas as the five members of SMAP have ascended into the ranks of Japan’s most marketable celebrities. He has worked with Mitani several times before, including the NHK taiga drama “Shinsengumi.”

• Management for Tomizawa Takeshi (35) yesterday announced that the comedian got hitched back in April. They described his new bride as a 30-year old ippanjin native of Tokyo. Tomizawa is the boke half of manzai duo Sandwichman, who made their big breakthrough when they won a comedy Grand Prix event in 2007. His comic partner Date Mikio (34) recently announced that he is engaged to marry freelance TV announcer Kumagai Maiko (38) in July.

• Young singer Aoyama Teruma (21) has recorded the theme song for the Japanese release of the movie “Hachiko: A Dog’s Story.” “Wasurenai yo” will be heard at theaters across the country from June 13. Directed by the renowned Lasse Hallstrom and starring Richard Gere and Joan Allen, the movie is a Hollywood adaptation of one of the most famous stories in contemporary Japan. It tells of a professor who brings his Akita dog with him when he moves to prewar Tokyo. The strong bond between the two continues even after death, with the faithful dog waiting for the return of his master outside Shibuya station every evening for ten years. Today a famous statue stands in that same spot and it has become a popular meeting place. The story has been adapted several times for both the big and small screen in Japan, and the new movie will be released here as “Hachi, Yakusoku no Inu.”

J-rock band Glay (profile) performed a last-minute free concert for thousands of fans in Yokohama yesterday. With the temperature rising to a balmy 27 degrees, 15,000 fans gathered at Nipponmaru Memorial Park and enjoyed the strange juxtaposition of a rock band and an old sailing ship. The port of Yokohama is currently celebrating the 150th anniversary of its opening, and it’s 15 years since Glay debuted. Those numbers probably have as much to do with the reported head count as accuracy. Glay are also scheduled to play two shows at the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama in mid-August, with a combined audience of 150,000. Yesterday’s show, the band’s first free live concert in five years, was only announced at 8am. They performed five songs, including “I Am XXX” from their new album, “The Great Vacation Vol.1” to be released on Wednesday. The Nipponmaru, launched in 1930, was used as a training vessel until its retirement in 1984.

Japan’s rock supergroup B’z (profile) have been named to the lineup for this year’s 10th SummerSonic festival. The 3-day event is scheduled for August 7-9, with over 100 local and international artists performing at two venues in Tokyo (actually Chiba) and Osaka Prefectures. The lineup had until this week included a “special guest from Japan” and that turns out to be B’z. The duo will take the stage before headliners Linkin Park in Tokyo on August 8 and Osaka on August 9. B’z performed at the event for the first time in 2007, but the festival will be their first, and probably only, live appearance this year after they toured last year to celebrate their 20th anniversary. They usually sell out their shows very quickly, so the there will undoubtedly be increased demand for the remaining SummerSonic tickets. B’z are scheduled to release the new single “Dive” on August 5, though it’s already airing in the current TV commercial for the Suzuki Swift car. Other major acts in the SummerSonic lineup include: My Chemical Romance, Nine Inch Nails, Hoobastank, Beyonce and Ne-Yo; local names like Dragon Ash and Boom Boom Satellites; blasts from the past include Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Specials and Sonic Youth.

SummerSonic website: http://www.summersonic.com

• Fuji TV announcer Shimada Ayaka (35) is engaged to marry a publishing entrepreneur this summer. The couple are said to have met in 2007 and are planning a wedding in July. Shimada majored in Russian at Jochi (Sophia) University and joined the Fuji network in 1998. She is a presenter on the “FNN Speak” afternoon news show. Kondo Masazumi Robert (44) was born in San Francisco and raised in the U.K. and Japan. He obtained an MBA from Cornell University and worked briefly for the The Industrial Bank of Japan before forming his own company, Resonance, in 1998. The company published the car & bike magazine “ahead.”