Monthly Archives: August 2010

The dream is finally realized. 18 years after X Japan held a press conference in New York to announce their U.S. concert debut, it finally happened as the band took to the stage at the Lollapalooza rock festival in Chicago yesterday. They stuck to their hard rock/speed metal numbers for a 5-song set that included English language versions of the classics “Rusty Nail” and “Kuranai,” the more recent “Jade” and “I.V.” and ended with the fan favorite, “X.”

The front rows of the audience were dominated by Japanese faces, some with the elaborate fashion, makeup and hair that X Japan and their fans established as the dress code of visual kei rock. And unlike many of the locals, they certainly didn’t need any encouragement to sing along or make the traditional X symbol with their forearms. Many were reduced to tears, especially when slow motion images of the band’s late guitarist Hide were projected on a screen during an interval.

X Japan return home for two shows at the Yokohama Nissan Stadium next week, before returning to the U.S. for a full North American concert tour. The tour was scheduled to start in October but the date for the opening show has been announced as September 25 in Los Angeles, where drummer and band leader Yoshiki is based. Plans to go on a European tour from January were also revealed yesterday.
Related stories:
X Japan Announce First US Tour (Jul. 9, 2010)
X Japan Named to Lollapalooza Lineup (Apr. 7, 2010)

Three members of Morning Musume (profile) are to leave the super aidoru group in the fall. In what is usually referred to as “graduation,” Kamei Eri (21, photo right) and Chinese members JunJun (Li Chun, 22, photo left) and LinLin (Qian Lin, 19, photo center) will perform with the group for the last time during their upcoming nationwide tour. Founder and guru Tsunku (41) said that the 9th round of auditions, the first in four years, will be held to bring fresh blood into the group.

It is the first time that three members will leave the ever-evolving lineup at once. In the case of Kamei, who joined in 2003, it is so that she can undergo treatment for atopic dermatitis. The two Chinese members, who were added in 2007 to help expand the fan base base in Asia, are to undergo preparations to launch singing careers in their home country.

Actor Ishida Junichi (56) and pro golfer Higashio Riko (34) held their wedding reception yesterday in Tokyo. The event, attended by about 350 guests, was held at the Fuji-no-ma ballroom of the Imperial Hotel. Riko was given away by her father, former baseball manager turned commentator Higashio Osamu (60), who said, “I leave everything up to Junichi-kun. I hope they will go through life with a par score.” The event also featured a surprise gift for Riko’s mother – a performance by singer Matsuyama Chiharu (54) of his song “Ozora to Daichi Nonakede.” The happy couple actually tied the knot last December at a ceremony held in the wine country of California. There was no mention in the media of why the reception was held yesterday rather than the originally announced date of July 12.

It is the third marriage for Ishida, a renowned playboy. At a press conference, when asked about the chances of her groom’s infidelity, Higashio joked, “I guess the chances are high. But I’m more concerned with looking after him in his old age!” Actor Ishida Issei (35), Junichi’s son from his first marriage, said it would take him a while to get used to having a mother-in-law who is a year younger than him.

Some young stars in Tokyo this week, with their high profile dads in tow. Hollywood big shot Will Smith (41) was in town with the whole family, though it was actually his son Jaden (12) who was working. He and co-star Jackie Chan are promoting their remake of “The Karate Kid” and attended the Japan premiere at the Roppongi Hills complex in central Tokyo last night. At the Roppongi Hills Arena, they appeared on stage for about 2,000 fans. The movie will be released here, like the 1984 original, with the title “Best Kid” on August 14.

Also appearing for fans yesterday was Stevie Wonder (60), and he too brought his son along. He is celebrating his 50th year in the music business, while son Mumtaz (25) is a highly regarded R&B/hip-hop artist/producer/singer. Stevie is scheduled to perform at the Summer Sonic music festival this weekend, and is also promoting his new album “Love, Harmony & Eternity,” which went on sale here on Wednesday.

A couple of actresses were involved in minor traffic accidents recently, according to stories on the Sankei Shimbun website. Police at the Akasaka station in central Tokyo say that Enami Kyoko (67) failed to check her rear view mirror before pulling onto Route 246 in Minami Aoyama on the evening of August 2. She hit a car driven by a 33-year-old Yokohama man that was coming from behind her. Neither driver suffered any injuries.

Meanwhile, Hasegawa Kyoko (32) was stopped in the parking lot of the Samezu driving test center in Tokyo on August 3 when her car was hit by a vehicle driven by a middle-aged woman. Again, neither driver suffered any injuries.

New Addition to Musical Family
Musicians Wakadanna (34) and Minmi (35) became the proud parents of a second baby boy in New York yesterday. Minmi gave birth to their first son in November 2007 and she and Wakadanna, a member of the reggae unit Shonan no Kaze, got married on the same day.

Just a week after announcing that Kuwata Keisuke (54) had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer, management for the hugely popular singer said yesterday that he has undergone surgery. In a brief statement, the Amuse agency said the operation was a success. “He was able to speak immediately after the anesthetic wore off, and surprised the doctors by being able to walk a little the next day.” The agency didn’t give details of the surgery, but today’s issue of the “Josei Seven” magazine says that Kuwata was admitted to a Tokyo hospital on July 30 and underwent a 6-hour operation on August 2. It said that the Southern All Stars vocalist will remain in intensive care for a few days at least but is thought likely to make a full recovery within the year. And of course he has the loving support of his wife and fellow band member Hara Yuko (53).

The shamisen duo Yoshida Brothers this week embarked on their latest tour of the United States, starting in New York on Tuesday. The Hokkaido-born brothers Ryoichiro and Kenichi Yoshida played at the Highline Ballroom, after warming up with an earlier sold-out performance at the Otakon convention in Baltimore last weekend (photo).

While commercially still a long way from the sales of mainstream J-pop acts, with their youth and rock sensibilities the Yoshida brothers have brought a whole new audience to the world of Tsugaru shamisen music. They have teamed up with rock and pop artists to create a form a crossover music that is frowned upon by the shamisen elders but goes down well with audiences in Japan and overseas. The duo will be playing seven more shows in the U.S., in Cambridge MA on Thursday, Chicago on Saturday, the San Francisco and L.A. next week. For more details, see the Domo Music Group website.

Comedian Hachimitsu Jiro (35) and former aidoru singer Saito Hitomi (28) are maried, the Yoshimoto Creative Agency announced last night. The couple are said to have registered their marriage yesterday but have no plans for a wedding ceremony or reception. The article made a point of saying that Saito is not pregnant. Real name Takano Jiro, Hachimitsu (which translates as Honey) is one half of the Yoshimoto manzai duo Tokyo Dynamite, while Saito was the leader of Hello! Project aidoru group Melon Kinenbi. The group played their last concert in May, and Saito announced her retirement from showbiz. Hachimitsu was a fan of the group, often going to concerts, and he and Saito started dating at the beginning of this year.

Movie Critic Commits Suicide
Movie critic Konno Yuji recently commited suicide at his Tokyo home, according to the Metropolitan Police. He was 66. Konno was found hanging by the neck at his apartment in Daikanyama, where he lived alone. He had been dead for several days. With a background in magazine editing, Konno became a regular guest on the early 1990s late night show “11PM.” He was known for his soft-spoken but unrestrained style.

Actor and Johnnys Jr. member Ikuta Touma (25) has landed probably the best movie role going. Directed by Tsuruhashi Yasuo (70), the latest big-screen adaptation of “Genji Monogatari” (The Tale of Genji) has a budget of over ¥1-billion. It is based on the classic novel written at the beginning of the 11th century by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady-in-waiting for the emperor. It is considered to be one of the finest works in Japanese literature and the world’s earliest novel.

The tale revolves around the romantic life of the central character, a son of the emperor who for political reasons has been relegated to the status of a commoner. Given the surname Minamoto, but known to readers as Hikaru Genji, he is portrayed as strikingly handsome, an image that has fixed his place in the popular culture (Hikaru Genji was the name of a hugely popular 1980s Johnny’s Jimusho group). The role has been given to some of the most popular and handsome young movie stars of each generation, including Hasegawa Kazuo in 1951 and kabuki actor Ichikawa Raizo in 1961. On TV, the role has gone to music icon Sawada Kenji (1980) and Johnnys star Higashiyama Noriyuki (1991).

That image adds pressure to the portrayal by Ikuta, who joined profileJohnny’s Jimusho in 1996 but only made his big-screen debut this year in “Ningen Shikaku.” That was the first of three starring roles this year (the others are “Seaside Motel” and “Hanamizuki”) that are expected to mold him into a movie star, under the guidance of the svengali-like Johnny Kitagawa and powerful producer Kadokawa Tsuguhiko. The movie is expected to have a late-2011 release.

Conductor Ozawa Seiji (74) wants the world top know he has won his battle with cancer. Making his public comeback yesterday, he looked considerably more frail than he did when he revealed his esophageal cancer back in January. Nevertheless he was on the podium conducting a chamber orchestra as they rehearsed for the annual Saito Kinen Matsumoto festival in the resort area of Shiga Kogen, Nagano Prefecture.

Following surgery to remove his gullet in late January, he returned work a week ago to prepare for the festival, which he founded in 1992. At a press conference afterward, he offered words of support to singer Kuwata Keisuke (54), who announced last week that he has been diagnosed with the same condition. Both he and Ozawa were diagnosed at an early stage, vastly increasing their chances of a full recovery. “He’s 20 years younger than me, so I’m certain he’ll be fine,” Ozawa said. “But it’s very important to get a regular checkup.”
Related stories:
SAS Singer Diagnosed With Cancer (Jul. 29, 2010)

SMAP Announce New Shanghai Shows
After the disappointment of their canceled China show in June, SMAP are scheduled to perform there in October. The group were to play their first ever overseas concert at the Shanghai World Expo on June 13 but organizers canceled the appearance at the last minute due to crowd safety and security concerns. The group have just embarked on their first nationwide tour of Japan in two years and will head over to China for two shows at the Shanghai Gymnasium on October 9 & 10.

X Japan Add D.C. to Tour
X Japan have added a Washington D.C show to the lineup for their North American tour. The announcement came as band leader Yoshiki and guitarist Sugizo performed a couple of songs at the “Otakon2010” convention in Baltimore on Saturday. With Yoshiki on piano and Sugizo trading his guitar for a violin, they played a couple of their most popular ballads, “Endless Rain” and “Forever Love,” for the audience of 10,000.