Celebrity Murakami Rikaco (39) and actor Watabe Atsuro (37) have finally divorced. Married since 1994, the couple have two sons, and were often portrayed as an ideal TV family, with Rikaco in particular often playing a typical “mama” in TV commercials. But they have been denying rumors of affairs and impending breakup for years. Rikaco said in a magazine interview in October that her husband had set up his own management agency and moved out of the family home in March. The couple have been spending more time on their own careers, with Watabe aiming to be a movie director and Rikaco setting up her own fashion brand and children’s hair salon. They are due to give separate press conferences today.
• Like many Japanese showbiz types, actor Oshio Manabu (27) and actress Yada Akiko (26) headed off yesterday to spend Christmas in Hawaii. But the rumors are that this showbiz couple might be planning to tie the knot while there. December 23 is Yada’s birthday, and reporters at Narita Airport asked the couple, holding hands and wearing matching rings, whether there would be a Christmas wedding. Oshio said “No,” but his expression hinted otherwise. We’ll see.
• “Seishun Amigo,” the one-off single by two young Johnny’s Jimusho singers, has been announced as the best-selling single of 2005. Kamenashi Kazuya (19), a member of the group Kat-Tun, and Yamashita Tomohisa (20) of News, released the single in April as and it was the year’s first million seller.