The trial of actor Shimizu Kentaro (56) began with a surprise yesterday at the Tokyo District Court. Prosecutors are seeking a 10-month prison sentence for a hit and run incident in October of last year, which led to Shimizu’s latest arrest. They brought up another traffic accident dating back to 1973, before he began his acting career, in which a woman died and Shimizu was fined for professional negligence. Four other arrests have been for drug-related offenses. In an effort to present the actor in a better light, his lawyers called a woman to the witness stand. Described by the Sankei Sports newspaper as a “long-haired beauty of 36” she pleaded with the judge to let Shimizu off with a fine, adding that they are living together and plan to get married. She is said to have paid the ¥3-million bail in the current case. Shimizu has been married and divorced twice, to an American model (1985-91) and actress Mori Kanako (2002-04). His first drug arrest put an end to a blossoming singing career and the third in 1994 led to an 18-month prison sentence. Support from friends in the V Cinema (direct to video) industry helped him make a comeback, usually playing the role of a yakuza gang boss such as in the “Don e no Michi” series. But yet another drug arrest, shortly after his divorce from Mori in 2004, led to a prison sentence of two years and four months. But his cult following is such that he formally relaunched his career at the beginning of last year.
Earlier story: Shimizu Kentaro Arrested in Hit and Run (November 3, 2008)
• Management for actress Igawa Haruka (31) announced yesterday that she is expecting a baby this summer. She and fashion designer Matsumoto Atou (46), the son of former Pioneer chairman Matsumoto Kanya (78), married in November 2006. Igawa recently finished shooting the movie “Dear Doctor,” which is due to open in June. She plans to continue TV commercial and fashion magazine work as long as her condition allows.
• With “Okuribito” (Departures) now one step away from an Academy Award nomination, Japan’s awards season is already in full swing. The movie’s star Motoki Masahiro (43) and his mother-in-law, actress Kiki Kirin (66), are among the winners of this year’s 51st Blue Ribbon awards, announced yesterday. Motoki won the best actor award for the second time, while Kimura Tae (37) won best actress for her role as a grieving mother in “Gururi no Koto.” Kiki won best supporting actress for “Aruitemo Aruitemo.” Sakai Masato took best supporting actor honors for roles in “After School” and “Climber’s High,” which won the best movie award. “The Dark Knight” got the nod as best foreign film. The Blue Ribbon award ceremony will be held in Tokyo on February 3.
• Actress Asaoka Yukiji (73) yesterday acknowledged recent reports that she and actor Tsugawa Masahiko (69) are separated. She said they are selling their Tokyo house, which is in her name, in an attempt to help his struggling toy company “GranPapa.” They plan to live together again once they settle on a new home.
Management for actor Matsuda Ryuhei (25) announced yesterday that he and model Ohta Rina (21) got married on January 11, Ohta’s birthday. They are expecting a baby in the summer, an experience Matsuda will already have portrayed in the upcoming movie “Tsurugidake,” due to open in June. The couple first met through a mutual friend in the autumn of 2007 and soon started dating. The son of actress Matsuda Miyuki and the legendary Matsuda Yusaku (1949-89), Ryuhei won multiple awards at the age of 16 for his first movie starring role in Ohshima Nagisa’s “Gohatto.” His younger brother Shota (23) is also an up-and-coming actor. Ryuhei will no doubt be expected to talk about his big news on January 17, when he is scheduled to appear at a talk show event to promote his current movie “Akumu Tantei 2” (Dream Detective 2). Ohta debuted as a fashion magazine model in 2001. Half Russian on her mother’s side, she has appeared on NHK’s Russian language learning show as well as several movies.
NTV yesterday announced the new format for its weekday afternoon schedule. Veteran emcee Mino Monta (
So it’s a “speed divorce” for actress Adachi Yumi and comedian Itoda Jun! Adachi (27) and Itoda (36) announced by fax to the media last Friday that they have formally ended their 3-year marriage. Though a good bit older, Itoda – one half of the comedy duo Speed Wagon – was quite a bit younger than Adachi’s previous boyfriend, actor Kuroda Arthur (47) and the media saw him as a more sensible choice of marriage partner. But showbiz shotgun weddings are notoriously short-lived, and Adachi was pregnant when the couple tied the knot on her birthday in September 2005. They held their wedding ceremony the following November and all seemed rosy. But a few months later Adachi was not impressed when the media reported on her husband’s secret hotel meeting with an ex-girlfriend just days before she gave birth to their daughter in April 2006. A series of media rumors followed of a split between the two, and they are said to have been separated since last September. Itoda was also reported to have taken no interest in raising their child, who was often taken care of by Adachi’s mother. Itoda spoke only briefly to reporters on Saturday, saying that he and his ex-wife had had “differences” and the divorce decision was mutual.
In a very rare move, it seems that this year’s taiga drama series on NHK is to end a month early. NHK’s annual historical drama has aired on Sunday nights for 50 episodes the last couple of years, but “Tenchijin” will run for only 47. Tenchijin, with an all-star cast led by Tsumabuki Satoshi (28) as medieval retainer Naoe Kanetsugu (1560-1620), got off to a good start last weekend with an audience rating of 24.7% in the Kanto region. But yesterday NHK announced that another major drama series will air in the Sunday night time slot from November 29 to December 27. The cast and large scale of “Saka no Ue no Kumo” was first announced back in November 2007 when filming began, and the series is being shot on 18 locations around Japan as well as Russia, China, France and the U.K. Starring Abe Hiroshi (who’s also in Tenchijin) as the famous general Akiyama Yoshifuru (1859-1930), Motoki Masahiro, Kagawa Teruyuki and Kanno Miho, it is based on the historical novel by Shiba Ryotaro (1923-96). This year’s five episodes will actually complete the first part of the series. The second series of four episodes will air in the autumn of 2010, while the third and final part will be shown a year after that. An NHK spokesman said that the plan to show the drama in the usual taiga time slot was to ensure that it got the maximum audience exposure and was made well before Tenchijin started.
Popular TV talento Hashino Emi (35) yesterday formally announced her recent marriage to actor Tsunashima Gotaro (35). She is currently appearing in a production with veteran comedian Hagimoto Kinichi (67, photo left) at the Meijiya theater in Tokyo. After the final curtain, she surprised the audience of 1,200 with the news that she had tied the knot on New Year’s Day, and called her new husband up onto the stage. Hagimoto has been like a father to Hashino since she came to Tokyo at the age of 17 and joined his “Kin-chan Gekidan” theater group. Hashino first took a liking to Tsunashima in 2006, when he played her fiance in the TBS afternoon drama series “Mikon Rokushimai.” She said she’d like to have two children, though she isn’t expecting just yet.
Kabuki actor Nakamura Kantaro (27) yesterday for the first time acknowledged his romantic relationship with actress Maeda Ai (25), and added that they plan to get married in the autumn. The actor was attending a PR event for his latest movie, held at a Shinto shrine in central Tokyo. In “Zen” Nakamura plays the famous monk Dougen (1200-1253). In accordance with tradition, yesterday’s news should not have come out until after the one-year mourning period for Maeda’s mother, who died on January 16 of last year. Nakamura’s father and fellow kabuki star Kanzaburo (53), meeting the press after a performance at the Kabukiza theater in Tokyo, said the media had got hold of the news earlier than his family had planned. He said he would be meeting with Maeda’s father on the 17th of this month to discuss the wedding, which is likely to be a big showbiz event. The couple’s relationship began in 2001 when they appeared together in the NHK drama “Hikari no Teikoku.”
Actress Sawajiri Erika (22) and her boyfriend, “hypermedia creator” Takashiro Tsuyoshi (44), are reportedly planning to tie the knot on New Year’s Day. The couple returned to Japan yesterday from an extended stay in London, where Takashiro is based. Sawajiri is said to have been studying English in order to enhance her global appeal. At Narita Airport, as reporters fired a series of questions about rumors of a January wedding, Sawajiri seemed surprised and said only “Who told you that?!” She was her usual uncooperative self and refused to give any answers, but Takashiro vaguely answered “Yes” to the question. Sawajiri’s mother Lila acknowledged the imminent marriage, adding that her daughter is not pregnant. Sources have said that the couple are likely to register their marriage on January 1, which is an auspicious “taian” day on the traditional Japanese calendar. After a wedding ceremony and reception sometime in January, they will return to London.
Management for actress Saito Keiko (47) announced yesterday that she and businessman Kimoto Hironori (51) have been divorced for several months. Saito said in a statement faxed to the media that she and her ex had parted amicably in May due to a “difference in values” and that neither money problems nor extra-marital affairs were involved. One of Japan’s most beautiful actresses, Saito was at the center of many a romantic rumors before she started a 7-year affair with the already married Kimoto. They eventually married in 1997 after he divorced his first wife. There were rumors of a split in 2000 when Kimoto’s business was in trouble. Saito has custody of their daughter Ayaka, born in 2000. Saito debuted as a Japan Airlines campaign girl in 1982 while still at university. She won a Japan Academy Award in 1994 as best supporting actress for her role in the movie “Shinonomero – Onna no Ran.”