Japan’s No.1 rock band just added to their own legend. To mark the release of their new single “It’s Showtime,” B’z re-released ten other old singles on Tuesday. Not surprisingly, the new single went straight to No.1 on the Oricon daily chart. But what no one expected was that the other singles took the rest of the spots down to No.11. An Oricon spokesperson said, “I don’t think anyone will ever top that!”
• Popular actor Matsumoto Koshiro (60) reached a kabuki milestone when he played the part of Benkei for the 700th time yesterday. It was the final day of a production of “Kanjincho,” one of the 18 kabuki classics. He first played the part of the famous hero more than 44 years ago. Matsumoto, who is the father of actor Matsu Takako, can often be seen on TV in dramas and commercials.