The hugely popular duo Kinki Kids yesterday kicked off their first summer tour in eight years at the Tokyo Dome. The Johnny’s Jimusho duo of Domoto Tsuyoshi (29) and Domoto Koichi (29) usually play the 55,000-seat venue at the New Year, but yesterday they were celebrating the 11th anniversary of their CD debut in 1997. Those eleven years have seen them set multiple records for sales and consecutive No.1 singles. The next chart topper is likely to be “Secret Code.” Fans yesterday got their first listen to the song, which is the theme for Tsuyoshi’s upcoming Fuji TV drama series “33-pun Tantei.” The drama airs from August 2, while the single goes on sale August 27. It was also announced that Koichi’s recent movie The Sushi Prince Does New York will be out on DVD on October 1.
• Fukuyama Masaharu (39) and Shibasaki Koh (26) are to provide the theme song for the upcoming big screen adaptation of the successful TV drama series “Galileo.” The pair are reviving their roles, as a physics genius and a detective who combine their skills to catch a variety of criminals, for the movie “Yogisha X no Kenshin.” And with both having established music careers, collaborating on the movie’s theme song was a logical decision. Under the name Koh+, Koh will sing the ballad “Saiai,” which was written, composed and produced by Fukuyama. Though he has a long-established singing and acting career, this film is actually his first movie starring role. Directed by Nishitani Hiroshi, the movie will be in theaters from October 4.
• On top of the latest singles chart is five-member Korean vocal group Dong Bang Shin Gi (known in Japan as Touhou Shinki) with the less than catchy title “Doushite Kimi wo Suki ni Natte Shimattan Deshou”. They became the first non-Japanese Asian artists to top the domestic chart back in January and now have three No.1’s. That makes them the chart’s most successful overseas artists ever. Meanwhile, at No.6 on the chart is the cute theme song to “Gake no Ue no Ponyo,” the latest anime feature from Miyazaki Hayao.