Latest News from Japan Zone & Japan Store

By now, the whole world knows about the death and destruction that hit Japan yesterday afternoon. Japan Zone is located in Nagoya, Central Japan and a good 800km from the worst hit areas. We most certainly felt the earthquake shortly before 3pm, and it was prolonged and frightening. But this region and western Japan suffered no deaths or major damage. Tokyo and the Kanto region were less lucky, with scattered damage, injuries and even a few deaths. Public transportation was paralyzed for hours and many people spent a bitterly cold night on the streets or trying to get home. There continue to be power outages and life will be disrupted for some time.

But the real story, the terrible tragedy is in the Tohoku region of northern Japan, in particular along the Pacific coast. A steady barrage of tsunamis washed away whole communities and the death toll is likely to be in the thousands. One particularly shocking report told of 200-300 bodies being washed up on a beach. And a major ongoing fear is the damage suffered by nuclear power plants on the coast of Fukushima Prefecture. A deterioration of that situation could have deadly consequences that would dwarf what we’ve seen so far.

So, thank you to those who have contacted us to express your concern. We urge everyone to do and give what you can to support the relief efforts that will continue for some time. We have yet to figure out any way Japan Zone can contribute other than offer our support to existing groups. If you have suggestions, let us know.

As I write this I am in the park watching my young children play and thankful that, this time, we are far from the devastation. But I am also in touch with friends and colleagues as we try to figure out how best we can help. Life goes on in much of Japan, though our hearts and thoughts are with those who have died, suffered and lost so much. This country is strongest when something brings the people together. This is such a time and the Japanese people will rise to the occasion, and we will be standing beside them.

Sakagami Jiro, one of Japan’s most popular postwar comedians, died yesterday morning following a stroke at a Tochigi Prefecture hospital. He was 76. “jiro-san,” as he was popularly known, and Hagimoto Kinichi (69) formed the comedy duo Conto 55-go in 1966.

Sakagami was born in Kagoshima Prefecture but spent most of his early years growing up in Japanese-occupied Manchuria before returning home to attend school. At the age of 19 he won a regional song competition hosted by NHK and headed to Tokyo to pursue a singing career. He went through several jobs before turning to comedy. Like many young comedians of the time, he honed his skills in Tokyo’s strip clubs. It was there that he first met and performed with Hagimoto, though it would be several years before they formed a duo and found success, first on stage and then in the formative years of TV comedy. In the early 1970s he branched out into acting, and landed a leading role in a TBS detective series in 1974.

Sakagami first suffered a stroke while playing golf in 2003. Fortunately one of the other players was a doctor and immediate hospitalization saved his life. He underwent rehabilitation and made a full recovery nine months later. In 2005 he released his first original song in five years, and opened a school for young comedians in Tochigi. In 2006, he followed in Hagimoto’s footsteps and became manager of an amateur baseball team. He suffered another stroke last August and was hospitalized for several months. He was scheduled to give a stage performance this New Year, but that was canceled as he felt it would be unprofessional to take the stage in a wheelchair.

Rock band Jaywalk announced today that they have officially kicked out vocalist (and Eric Clapton lookalike) Nakamura Koichi (60). The singer was handed a 2-year prison sentence, suspended for four years at the Tokyo District Court last May for drug use and possession. The band’s management agency, Freeway, said in a statement, “Nakamura Koichi’s drug case has caused trouble for fans, (record and management) companies, and society at large. We will be taking separate paths from now on.”

Nakamura was arrested in April 2010 when Tokyo Metropolitan police found a small amount of “kakuseizai,” or stimulant drugs, in his parked car in Nishi Azabu. They later found quantities of marijuana and cocaine and drug paraphernalia when they searched his home.

One of Japan’s premier rock bands, Jaywalk debuted in 1981 and had their first major hit with “Nanimo Ienai – Natsu” in 1991. That single sold 1.8 million copies, earning the band an appearance on NHK’s annual “Kohaku Uta Gassen” New Year’s Eve concert. They have remained active over the last two decades, but their most recent single was in February 2010, before Nakamura’s arrest. He was previously arrested in 2007 for having an army knife in his car, in violation of the Firearm Control Law.

Comedian Ohtake Kazuki (43, photo left) and Fuji TV announcer Nakamura Hitomi (31, right) took the showbiz world by surprise when they announced today that they were married. They registered their marriage on March, an auspicious “taian” day on the traditional calendar. The couple met on 2002 when they appeared together on the Fuji variety show “Shinya Sentai Garinpero” and are said to have started dating in April 2003. Ohtake is one half of the popular manzaiduo Summers, along with Mimura Masakazu (43, center). Congratulating his sidekick Mimura commented, “She has the same birthday as me. I guess he goes for people born on June 8.”

A couple of celebrities taking a walk down the aisle, figuratively speaking, for the second time this week. Talento Henmi Emiri (34) and actor Matsuda Kenji (39) got married yesterday, an auspicious “taian” day in the traditional calendar. Shortly before registering her marriage, Henmi met with her mother, singer Henmi Mari (60), and no doubt they discussed how best to avoid yet another divorce. Emiri, whose brief marriage to fellow talento Kimura Yuichi (48) ended in 2008, came from a broken home. Her mother split with actor Saigo Teruhiko (64) in 1981 and remarried a jewelry designer in 2001, but that also ended in divorce in 2005.

Matsuda is best known for his 2005 role as the bike-riding action star Kamen Rider Hibiki. He and Henmi met last May when they worked together on the stage production “Wana.” By August the weekly magazines were reporting that they were living together. They are hoping to have a wedding ceremony in June.

Meanwhile, management for tough guy actor Takeuchi Riki (47) announced yesterday that he tied the knot last November 11. His new bride is a 37-year-old ippanjin who is also a divorcee. The couple didn’t have a wedding ceremony and have no such plans. Takeuchi and his former bar hostess wife of six years split in January 2006, and he is said to have met his new love at a Christmas party in 2009. Both have a child from their previous marriages but it isn’t known who has custody.

Takeuchi is best known as the star of the “Minami no Teio” (King of Minami) series of yakuza movies, straight-to-video releases referred to as “V-cinema.” Last year, shortly before he married he announced a whole new series, written, produced by and starring Takeuchi, who also sings the theme song. In “Kage no Koshonin – Naniwa Ninjo Retsuden” (Shadow Negotiator) he plays a former cop who bends the law to bring bad guys to justice. He has appeared in somewhat more mainstream films as Miike Takashi’s “Kikoku” (Yakuza Demon, 2003) and “Battle Royale II” (2003). In recent years he has also taken on the role of his Elvis-like “twin brother” Riki (photo right), a flamboyant showman.

Actress Kikuchi Maiko (36) and her entrepreneur husband (42) have been divorced since last December, according to today’s issue of women’s weekly “Shukan Josei.” The two met in January 2007 and were married six months later. Kikuchi gave birth to a baby girl in March 2008 and was back at work the following October. Management for Kikuchi say that the couple were separated for about a year and a half, while the magazine article cites the causes as her husband’s womanizing and trouble with her mother-in-law. Kikuchi has custody of their daughter (2). The article also mentions a fraud case involving her husband and a man who claims he was swindled out of ¥30 million. Kikuchi’s management acknowledged the case but say it surfaced after the divorce settlement.

Kikuchi is best known for her role in the 1996 NHK drama “Futarikko” (photo), which also made stars of the identical twins Mikura Mana and Kana (25).

U.S. hard rock legends Kiss have made a sudden postponement of their upcoming Japan tour. The band, currently touring the world on the back of their successful 2009 album “Sonic Boom,” were scheduled to play seven shows in six cities here from April 13. Tickets were due to go on sale March 12, but that has been put back indefinitely. Tour organizers Udo said simply “due to the artist’s schedule, the tour has been postponed.” There has been a mention on Kissonline.com, the band’s website, of the shows and possibly some additional dates being rescheduled for the autumn.

Kiss, who’ve been going since 1974, were due to tour Japan for the 10th time and the first since 2006. “Sonic Boom” was the band’s first original album in 11 years and entered the U.S. Billboard charts at No.2.

A host of stars, including two of rock’s more colorful characters, shared the stage at yesterday’s “Asia Girls Explosion” fashion/music event in Tokyo. The center of attention at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium was X Japan leader Yoshiki, who organized the event along with unconventional fashion producer JayFR, the man behind the “Tokyo Girls’ Collection.” With over 11,000 in attendance, yesterday’s show was a crossover between Japanese and American culture. In addition to the top European fashion models lined up to show off the Yoshikimono line, the rocker invited: actress Momi Kaori (59, photo center); model Tominaga Ai (28); “90210” stars Shenae Grimes (21), Jessica Stroup (24), and AnnaLynne McCord (23); actress/socialite Olivia Palermo (25); and American shock-rocker Marilyn Manson (42).

The event also featured Yoshiki modeling his own kimono design and playing guitar for the first time in several years. He performed five X Japan numbers, including the latest single “Jade” and the first performance of “Scarlet Love Song,” the theme tune for the upcoming anime feature “Tezuka Osamu no Buddha – Akai Sabaku yo, Utsukushiku.” There was also the first public performance in Japan by Yoshiki’s side project Violet UK (photo), with support from X Japan guitarist Sugizo (41).

Popular male model/talento Joy (25, photo left) has been admitted to hospital with pneumonia. Speaking after he failed to show up yesterday to a press conference for tomorrow’s Tokyo Girls Collection fashion show, his management said he had shown signs of illness during filming of a TV show the day before. Diagnosed with pneumonia that night, he was told he’d likely need to spend at least two weeks in hospital. His management have canceled scheduled appearances in 10 different TV shows.

Depp Plays the Tourist in Japan
Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp (47) was in Tokyo yesterday on his 8th visit to Japan. This time he’s in Japan for the premiere of “The Tourist,” his big screen collaboration with Angelina Jolie (35) that opens in theaters here tomorrow. Depp and director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (37) attended a PR event and were presented with bouquets of flowers by actress Maya Miki (47, photo right). The thriller/romance set in Venice has generally received negative reviews – though it did famously garner some Golden Globe nominations as a comedy – and has needed to rely on the global fan base of its stars to make the vast majority of its box office revenue.

Also in town this week is Canadian rocker Avril Lavigne (26). She gave a free concert for 600 invited fans at Akasaka Blitz on Tuesday, her first shiow here for about two and a half years. Yesterday morning she was in Ginza for the opening of a new flagship store by Gap. She was also helping sell some 200 pairs of limited edition jeans that are a tie up between Gap and her own fashion brand, Abbey Dawn.

Actress Minamino Yoko (43, photo left) is tying the knot today with a 38-year-old Internet entrepreneur, it was announced yesterday. According to sources, the couple plan to register their marriage at a Tokyo municipal office and then hold a small ceremony at a Shinto shrine. Last summer Minamino’s four-year relationship with creative director Yanai Michihiko (46), which had led reporters to speculate on a wedding date, came to an end due among other things to Yanai’s busy work schedule. Minamino also had a busy year in 2010, celebrating the 25th anniversary of her showbiz career, releasing a DVD box set and publishing a book. She is said to have met her new love about two months after splitting with Yanai.

Minamino became an overnight star in 1985 when she was cast in the lead role of the TV drama series “Sukeban Deka.” As a top aidoru, and popularly known by the nickname Nanno, she churned out a string of hit singles and albums during the late 1980s, but her musical releases since 1991 have consisted almost entirely of compilation albums. Her acting has also been mostly in supporting or guest roles since that early peak, though she appears regularly in a couple of TV dramas most years and a handful of movies over the last decade. She reportedly plans to continue her acting career after marriage.

Could it be Twins for Nishioka?
Minnesota Twins baseball player Nishioka Tsuyoshi (26, center) and his wife, popular model Tokuzawa Naoko (26, right) are expecting their first child. Tokuzawa is said to be heading to the U.S. in April and is planning to have the baby there in August. She had planned to join her husband last month in Florida, where the Twins were in spring training, but cancelled when she learned of her pregnancy. The couple tied the knot in July of last year.
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