Actress Yonekura Ryoko (30) is in shock after the death of her father. Yonekura Yasumi died yesterday at a Yokohama hospital of lung cancer. He was 57. Yonekura said in a fax statement from her agency Oscar Productions, “I still can’t believe it and don’t know what to think. My father understood me better than anyone and always supported me as an actress. I just don’t have the words to thank him.”
• Former sumo star turned TV talento Mainoumi Shuhei (37) is to make an apearance in the Hollywood movie “Memoirs of a Geisha” (titled “Sayuri” in Japan). During his 8-year career, the diminuitive wrestler made up for his lack of height by developing an astonishing range of fighting techniques. His bouts with the man-mountain Konishiki were always a highlight of any sumo tournament. He retired from the sport in 1999. He has since appeared regularly on Tv as a sumo and sports commentator and in occasional dramatic roles. The new movie will have its world premiere on November 29 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan stadium in Tokyo where sumo tournaments are held three times a year.
• Toshiba EMI is to release 14 songs penned by the late John Lennon as ringtones. It is the first time in the world for the music of a former Beatle to be used due to complicated copyright issues. Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono (72), says she thinks her husband would have approved. “John always loved new technology. I think this will open new doors for many people to find his music.” The first two songs to be released will be “Imagine” and “So This is Christmas.”
• British funk band Jamiroquai are in Japan for their 7th tour, the first in three years. They opened the tour last night at the Nippon Budokan, where they played a 17-song set, including old hits and tracks from their latest album “Dynamite,” for 8,000 fans. They play another gig there tonight before moving to Osaka for two more shows.