Actress Ishihara Marie (42) is to make her TV drama comeback after 15 years in “the wilderness”. She will resume using her stage name of Ishihara Mariko, actually her real name which she abandoned shortly after she left Japan to live abroad 15 years ago. She is set to star in a TBS drama series planned for the autumn. She appears on tonight’s episode of NHK’s English language learning show “Eigo de Shaberanaito” and talks about her years away from showbiz. After making her debut in 1980, Ishihara became one of the country’s top actresses following the success of the drama series “Fuzoroi no Ringo-tachi”. But with an image as being outspoken and following a series of scandals, she left for Los Angeles in 1991. In 1993, she published a book of nude photos called “Marie!” She lived briefly in Paris before returning to the US. During those years she studied astronomy and psychology at college. She finally came back to Japan in 2004 and, finding that country had changed a lot, decided to stay.
• Actress Amami Yuki was recognized this week for her contributions to broadcasting last year. In its annual Galactic Awards, the Japan Council for Better Radio and Televesion chose Amami for the individual award following her starring roles in four separate TV drama series in 2005. In particular, her role as the “demon” teacher in “Jo no Kyoshitsu” on the NTV network was hugely successful. The award for best TV show went to the TBS drama “Tiger & Dragon”.