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Actress Minamida Yoko died at a Tokyo hospital yesterday following a severe brain hemorrhage. She was 76. Her husband, actor Nagato Hiroyuki (75), spoke to reporters last night. “At 10:56am, my dearest wife, without saying goodbye…” was all he could say before becoming overcome with grief. It was just before he went on stage at the Meijiza theater in Tokyo that his wife of 48 years passed away. Minamida had just a couple of movie roles under her belt when she co-starred with the already veteran Nagato in “Taiyo no Kisetsu,” a huge hit that is best remembered today for launching the career of Ishihara Yujiro. The movie established the pair as the Nikkatsu studio’s star attractions, and Nagato was making as many as a dozen movies a year. The two made a couple more films together at Nikkatsu before marrying in 1961, quitting the studio and setting up on their own. Nagato’s big screen career has stretched to over 230 movie credits, while Minamida’s credits include “Portrait of Chieko,” which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1967. Both worked extensively on TV dramas and variety shows until recent years. Minamida began to show signs of dementia in 2005 and quit showbiz in 2006. Nagato cared for her at home, but she was hospitalized twice earlier this year. Her final collapse came last weekend and though she underwent surgery, she never recovered consciousness.

Earlier story:

Minamida Yoko Back in Hospital (Oct. 20, 2009)

Pop-soul duo the Bubble Gum Brothers are to release their first new album in 16 years. Best known for hits like “Won’t Be Long” that helped define the so-called “bubble” years in 1980s Japan, Brother Tom and Brother Korn made their comeback at the end of last year. To add a little spice to the release of “Da Bubble Gum Brothers Show” the album cover features a pair of shapely female legs. It turns out they belong to Michibata Angelica, the youngest of three half-Argentinian, half-Japanese model sisters. Her sister Jessica (25) is the girlfriend of newly crowned Formula 1 Racing champion Jenson Button (29). Due for release on November 25, the new album features collaborations with the likes of Suzuki Masayuki (53), Kubota Toshinobu (47) and Aoyama Thelma (21).

• The president of an entertainment management agency has been arrested for tax evasion. Nakagawa Masao (40), president of Muse Communications, was arrested by the special investigation department of the Tokyo Public Prosecutor’s Office on charges of concealing about ¥300 million in earnings over a 3-year period. The company was established in 2002 and represents mainly porn actresses.

Actor Yakusho Koji and musician Yoshiki were among the attendees at Monday’s U.S. premiere of “Astro Boy” (Released as “Atomu” in Japan). The computer-animated 3-D film adaptation of Tezuka Osamu’s most famous work had its first showing outside Japan at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Tezuka’s son Makoto (48, photo center) said, “It’s miraculous that Atomu is being screened at this theater, which my father loved. He must be very happy.” Yakusho (53, profile, photo left), who voiced the role of Atomu’s creator Dr. Tenma, commented, “I look forward to seeing Japan’s Atomu spread out from America across the world. X Japan drummer and leader Yoshiki (photo right) is based in Los Angeles and was set to supervise the music for the movie until neck surgery sidelined him for several months. He is still wearing a neck brace. “Tetsuwan Atomu” was the manga, first published in 1952, that made Tezuka (1928-89, profile) a household name. And in 1963 his adaptation for TV made it the pioneer of Japanese anime. “Atomu” opened in Japan on October 10, while “Astro Boy” will be in U.S. theaters from the 23rd.

• UPDATE: Actress Tokiwa Takako (37) and actor-producer Nagatsuka Keishi (34) announced on their respective blogs last night that they had just got married. A representative for the couple registered their marriage at a municipal office in Tokyo yesterday morning.

Actress Tokiwa Takako and actor-producer Nagatsuka Keishi are close to announcing their engagement, according to Sports Hochi. The newspaper based the story on reports from a friend of the couple. Tokiwa is one of the busiest actresses in Japan, whose resume includes the lead role in this year’s NHK taiga drama “Tenchijin,” dozens of TV drama roles, and the recent “20th Century Boys” movies. Nagatsuka, the son of popular actor Nagatsuka Kyozo, formed the Asagaya Spiders theatrical group in 1996 and has won several major awards over the last decade. He and Tokiwa appeared together in the 2003 movie “Geroppa!”

Actress Minamida Yoko underwent emergency surgery at the weekend following a brain hemorrhage, it was reported yesterday. On Saturday night she was rushed to hospital, where she is in the intensive care unit and has yet to recover consciousness. Minamida (76) has been suffering from dementia since 2005 and quit showbiz in 2006. She has been cared for at home by her husband, actor Nagato Hiroyuki (75), but was hospitalized twice earlier this year. She had recovered sufficiently that the couple were featured on an episode of the variety show “Nakai Masahiro no Kinsma!” earlier this month. Nagato is currently appearing in a theatrical production at the Meijiza in Tokyo. He was off the day of his wife’s latest collapse but returned to work the following day. He is scheduled to speak to reporters today about his wife’s condition.

Earlier stories:

Minamida Yoko Hospitalized (Apr 2, 2009)

• The NTV drama series “Aishiteru – Kaiyou” has won the Grand Prix at the 2009 Tokyo Drama Awards. A manga adaptation, the drama starred Inamori Izumi as the mother of a 10-year-old only son who murders a 7-year-old boy and Itaya Yuka as the victim’s mother. The two top individual awards went to the stars of Fuji TV shows. Nakai Kiichi was awarded the best actor prize for “Kaze no Garden.” The series was the swansong of actor Ogata Ken, who won a posthumous special award. And the best actress award went to Amami Yuki for “Boss.” The awards event was started last year to help promote Japanese-made TV dramas to the overseas market, and is timed to coincide with the Tokyo International Film Festival.

• Movie producer Sasaki Yoshino died at a Tokyo hospital on September 24 of ovarian cancer, it was revealed yesterday. She was 51. Among her recent projects were Isomura Itsumichi’s “Gege” (2004), about a man slowly going blind, and Suo Masayuki’s 2006 expose of the Japanese legal system, “Soredemo Boku wa Yatenai.”

The body of musician and producer Kato Kazuhiko was found in a hotel room in the mountain resort of Karuizawa on Saturday morning. He was 62. He was discovered hanging by the neck in a bathroom after a friend had called the hotel saying there was no answer to telephones calls to his room. Two notes written to friends were found in the room, and police are treating it as a suicide. Friends have said that Kato suffered from depression and had recently told them it was becoming increasingly difficult to write the kind of music he wanted, or even to find a reason to carry on living.

Kato found fame as a member of the popular group The Folk Crusaders in the late 1960s, and in the early 70s he rocked out with the Sadistic Mika Band. After that band broke up, he married lyricist Yasui Kazumi, but she died of lung cancer in 1994 at the age of 55. In the 1980s, Kato produced music for the big screen and later also for the theater and video games. He won an award for his soundtrack to the 2004 hit movie “Pacchigi!” and he had recently been working on music for a stage version later this year. His best known hit was “Ano Subarashii Ai wo Mouichido” which he co-wrote and released with fellow Crusaders member Kitayama Osamu in 1971.

Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio (62, photo center), his former actress wife Miyuki (66) and a galaxy of stars attended Saturday night’s opening of the 22nd Tokyo International Film Festival. In keeping with the festival’s ecological theme, the celebrities walked a green carpet, which really set off the red dresses worn by actress trio Kimura Tae, Hirosue Ryoko and Nakatani Miki (photo left). Suzuki Kyoka looked as elagant as always in a purple dress but someone really needs to talk to Oscar nominee Kikuchi Rinko (photo far right) about her dress sense!

• Singer Mori Shoji died of heart failure at a Tokyo hospital yesterday. He was 70. He was rushed to hospital on Friday afternoon after suffering a heart attack and underwent emergency surgery. But he never regained consciousness. Mori was best known as vocalist of the group Los Primos, among the most popular “mood ballad” groups of the late 1960s. In 1966, the group’s first single “Love You Tokyo” was the very first No.1 on the Oricon charts. More than forty years on, the group are still active and went ahead with a scheduled dinner show last night using a hastily arranged guest vocalist.

• Good news at last for popular model and talento Rinka (36), who is engaged to marry a construction company employee. Although the couple are said to have been dating for about eight years, Rinka is regularly portrayed on variety shows as a “make-inu” (loser dog), or woman who is destined to remain single. A good example of how the public persona of many celebrities is fabricated for the media.

The teen idols are dropping like flies! Female idol group Berryz Kobo have canceled a concert scheduled for today in the northern city of Sendai after five of the seven members were diagnosed with influenza. At the moment, no changes have been made to their upcoming performance plans, and the Sendai show has been rescheduled for December 30. Meanwhile, AKB48 member Sato Natsuki (19) will sit out several shows on doctor’s orders after suffering a leg injury. With dozens of members, the Akihabara-based idol group has no shortage of replacements, though fellow member Fujie Reina (15) is currently out with, you guessed it, influenza. The group performs daily at a special theater in Tokyo’s mecca for otaku.

• Enka singer Koda Shin (42) got divorced in mid-August, he revealed yesterday. The divorce was at the request of his wife of 11 years (35), who was simply tired of Koda’s constant routine of regional concerts and TV appearances that kept him away from home. In an unusual arrangement he has custody of his two children and his mother-in-law has agreed to move in with them. As for the timing of the announcement, why yes he does have a new single out, the aptly titled “Kokoro no Kizu,” (Wounds of the Heart).

• Mariah Carey has been joined in Tokyo by another American soul diva. It’s unlikely that the pair hooked up, but Beyonce (28) was at a party sponsored by the Samantha Thavasa fashion brand last night. She has two shows this weekend at the nearby Saitama Super Arena, following last week’s shows in Kobe, Osaka and Nagoya.

Comedian Shoji Tomoharu (33) and singer Fujimoto Miki (24) are to hold a lavish wedding reception next month, it was revealed yesterday. The event will be held in the Crystal Palace hall at the Grand Prince Hotel in Akasaka, Tokyo on November 27. The couple held a small garden wedding ceremony at the Hawaiian resort of Hokulia on July 3 and registered their marriage in Tokyo a week later. They are said to have invited over 400 fellow celebrities, friends and family to the reception. With “Miki-T” a former member of J-pop powerhouse Morning Musume, and Shoji one half of the popular Yoshimoto comedy duo Shinagawa Shoji, the reception will no doubt become a major entertainment event and will be attended by some of the biggest names in showbiz. It remains to be seen who will be chosen to emcee the event.

Earlier story:

Happy Sumer Wedding for Idol, Comedian (July 13, 2009)

• Meanwhile, Yoshimoto (profile) has sued the publisher Shinchosha over an article that appeared in the “Shuukan Shincho” magazine in July. The article raised suspicions regarding financial dealings between Yoshimoto CEO Osaki Hiroshi (56) and a subsidiary of the the major comedy talent agency. The company and Osaki have sought ¥22 million in libel damages, while at the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday the publisher sought to have the case dismissed.

• A chirpy Mariah Carey (39) arrived at Tokyo’s Narita Airport yesterday. The singer is in Japan for three days to promote her latest album, “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel.” Dressed in a revealing red mini one-piece she posed for photographs but didn’t sign any autographs. She greeted the 300 or so fans who were at Arrivals to see her with “Aishitemasu (I love you), Tokyo, Japan!” When she was last in Japan, in May of last year, she brought new husband Nick Cannon (29) but this time she arrived alone. She is scheduled to appear on the live TV Asahi show “Music Station” tonight and will fly back to the U.S. tomorrow.

One of Japan’s top actors is set to appear in one of the most popular American TV drama series. A multiple award winner in his own country, Sanada Hiroyuki (49, profile) is among the few Japanese actors to have established a reputation overseas. He has starred in such movies as “The Last Samurai” and the UK sci-fi drama “Sunshine.” But his appearance in season six of “Lost” will be his first in an overseas TV drama. He will play the key role of Dogen in the upcoming series. A producer of the show said, “We have long respected Hiro’s work, and we wrote the part of Dogen especially for him.” Season six is set to finally wrap up all the mysteries of the series and will air in the U.S. from the beginning of 2010. It is scheduled to arrive in Japan at the beginning of next summer and will air on pay channel AXN.

• Nagano Hiroshi (37), a member of the popular Johnny’s Jimusho group V6, was in a minor traffic accident in Saitama Prefecture recently. He was getting onto the expressway through Yashio city on the evening of October 12 when he ran into the back of another car stuck in a traffic jam. Neither Nagano nor the woman driver (62) of the other car suffered any injuries.

A planned trip to Indonesia by porn actress Ozawa Maria (23, photo left) is causing quite a storm. With the world’s largest Muslim population, the choice of country as a filming location means that public protests are inevitable. Indonesian Minister of Communication and Information Mohammad Nuh said the actress’s visit is not prohibited under the law, but that many people oppose her arrival. Popularly known in Indonesia as Miyabi, Ozawa is scheduled to arrive in Jakarta today to film a non-pornographic comedy titled “Miyabi Yukai” (Miyabi Abduction). The minister asked that the production company take pains to avoid any public activity that might invite further protests, and suggested that Ozawa be replaced by another actress without the same controversial background. Half-Japanese and half-French-Canadian, Ozawa has been appearing in videos since 2005, mostly porn for the first couple of years until she switched to a new, more hardcore company in 2007. She is one of the industry’s more high-profile actresses.

• J-pop star Otsuka Ai (27, photo right) is doing her first collaborative project with Su (35), MC of the hip hop group Rip Slyme. Titled “Aisu x Time” the song will appear on Otsuka’s hits album “Love is Best,” due for release on November 11. The song is a reworking of her song “One x Time,” and as a big fan of Rip Slyme, she approached Su about adding some rap to it. The promotion video features a more “adult” style than usual for Otsuka.

Actor Dante Carver (32, photo left) was made “manager for a day” at Tower Records in Shinjuku yesterday. Carver is best known for his role as the “Nii-chan” (elder brother) of the Softbank family in TV commercials alongside actress Ueto Aya. But yesterday’s PR stunt was part of the promotion for the “What’s Up x The Finest – The Greatest Hits” album. Carver has been appearing in TV commercials for the album of recent urban music hits, dressing up as Black Eyed Peas front man will.i.am, Flo Rider and even Lady Gaga.

• Singer Yui (22, photo right) is back on top of the singles chart. “It’s All Too Much/Never Say Die” has sold more than 75,000 copies in its first week of release to reach No.1 on the latest Oricon chart. Following the July 2008 chart topper “Summer Song” she took the best part of a year off, canceling a scheduled tour and fan club events. She bounced back in June and topped the singles chart with “Again.” She now has three No.1’s in a row, making her just the third female singer-songwriter to achieve the feat, after Matsutoya Yumi (55) and Utada Hikaru (26).