Award-winning actress Terajima Shinobu (33) has some French romance in her life. According to today’s issue of the weekly Josei Jishin magazine, the actress is involved with a French employee of a trading company, said to be around 40 years old. The couple met through work and began dating last autumn, and Terajima is said to be studying French. The daughter of kabuki actor Onoe Kikugoro, she was seriously involved with kabuki star Ichikawa Somegoro in 1997, but they broke up after it was revealed he was the father of a 5-year old illegitimate child. Terajima was later linked with actor Omori Nao. She is currently working on a movie adaptation of the NHK drama series “Ai no Rukeichi” (Penal Colony of Love).
• Celebrities visiting the studios of Tokyo FM radio are testing the power of miracles. The Japan soccer team is said to need a miracle to advance to the second round of the World Cup, as it meets world champions Brazil in its final group match. So celebrities are challenging the football fates and promising to do a series of outlandish things if the Samurai Blue can pull it off. Talento and 80s sexy idol Aota Noriko (38) says she dress in “bodicon” style and dance in Tokyo’s Roppongi district; pop duo Yuzu say they’ll do their next recording at the home of a Tokyo FM listener; and actor Ishida Issei promises to adopt the hairstyle of a Brazilian soccer star. The station has already received some 4000 pledges from listeners and celebs alike.
• The official figures for Sunday’s game against Croatia are as high as expected. Video Research say the TV Asahi broadcast of the game had a ratings high of 68.6% in the Kanto region. With the recent increase in the number of people following games on the Internet, in sports bars and outdoor broadcasts, the figure holds up very well to those of past events. It remains to be seen if enough people believe the team still has a chance to progress in the tournament to create a similar audience for the Brazil game, which airs from 4am on Friday.
• Actress Adachi Yumi (24) made her return to work yesterday. After a busy year that has seen her marry comedian Itoda Jun (33), give birth to a baby girl, watch the media speculate over her husband’s alleged infidelities, and embarrassed by her mother’s publication of a nude photo book, she finally got back to work. Her first job since becoming a mother was to record a character for the summer’s new Anpanman anime feature. Meeting the press afterwards, she fielded the inevitable questions with good humor, saying the rumors about Itoda were simply untrue and that her mother looks beautiful for her age. She said her only worry was leaving her daughter and husband alone for the first time, but added that recent events have only served to deepen their love for each other.