Popular actress Kiki Kirin (62, real name Uchida Keiko) has undergone emergency surgery at a Tokyo hospital, reportedly for breast cancer. She was admitted about a week ago and is still hospitalized. Her daughter, Uchida Yayako, and son-in-law, actor Motoki Masahiro have been visiting her every day. Kiki suffered a detached retina last year and lost the sight in her left eye. She also suffers from asthma and said she was worried whether she had the physical strength to undergo surgery. These days she often appears in comic roles in many TV commercials, most recently in an ongoing series for Fujicolor.
• Inoue Noriko (26), a model who has appeared in over 100 commercials, is to make her dramatic debut. She will appear in “Fukigen no Gene” on the Fuji TV network. The drama will star one of the hottest actresses of the moment, Takeuchi Yuko (24).