Japanese Entertainment News

Tu_triky wrote:
no sense in making it your life's work....i don't doubt your generous resolve but better to leave it to those who have a greater facility with the language....especially given the fact that if somebody did pick it up for subbing it would only be a 3 part series. or if you insist....let me know and i'll ship you a few boxes of pocky that you could gnaw on when you get frustrated and run out of beer.

It would give me a great opportunity to see what I remember from Japanese class. But more likely it would make wonder why I stopped and how much I forgot.

dochira wrote:
It would give me a great opportunity to see what I remember from Japanese class. But more likely it would make wonder why I stopped and how much I forgot.

sh*t, i know i forgot too much.....or drank too much.....of the nihongo away....

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September 13, 2005

Looking every bit the expectant mothers that they are, Okinawan pop duo Kiroro recently held their final live concert before taking maternity leave. The duo played the gig a week later than scheduled at the Okinawa Convention Area, in their hometown of Ginowan, due to the effects of last week's Typhoon No.14 that caused so much damage in western Japan. Pianist Kinjou Ayano (photo left, 28), married in May and is now seven months pregnant, while vocalist Tamashiro Chiharu (28) got married in the spring and is currently five months pregnant.

• Another popular duo, Chemistry, treated 1,000 lucky fans to a concert at the Tokyo Big Site on Sunday. The event was in connection with their PR work for Suntory Whisky, who sponsored the competition to choose ticket winners. On a set complete with a bar counter, the duo sang 15 songs, including Eric Clapton's "Change the World" and their new single, "Wings of Words."

Talento and former Orix pro baseball player "Punch" Sato (40) apprehended a burglar on Sunday evening. He saw and subdued the man, who had been attempting to break into the garage of his home in Kawasaki City at about 6pm. On their arrival, police found that the man had a gram of stimulant drugs on him. They arrested the unemployed and homeless 46-year old for breaking and entering and drug possession. The man said he had no idea who the house belonged to.

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September 14, 2005

Rock trio shocked fans and took the music industry by surprise yesterday, announcing that they are to break up after six successful years. A greatest hits album - "Do The A-Side" - is due for release on September 28 and the group announced through the Avex record label that they will disband the following day. The group will get back together for a one-off gig at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on November 25. The members each plan to pursue new projects and feel that breaking up the band is the natural next step. Vocalist Ban Tomiko (26) will record solo, guitarist Owatari Ryo (34) will continue his work singing and strumming with the band Missile Innovation, and songwriter Nagao Dai (34) will work as a producer and composer, particularly for the Avex female artist Amasia Landscape. Ban in particular has been diversifying in the last year or so, making her debut as a voice actress in last year's Inuyasaha anime movie, and recently appearing in a stage musical about Che Guevara. Do As Infinity debuted in 1999 after having played over a hundred times as a street band in Tokyo's youth mecca of Shibuya. In 2001, they had two No.1 albums in "New World" and "Deep Forest." Nagao began concentrating on songwriting for other Avex label artists such as Hamasaki Ayumi (27) and left the other two to do the stage performances.

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September 15, 2005

Actress Adachi Yumi (24) and comedian Itoda Jun (32) got married yesterday, Adachi's birthday. The newlyweds held a brief press conference to announce the news and also that Adachi is two months pregnant. She had just come out of a 3-year and somewhat controversial relationship, and rumors of marriage, with actor Kuroda Arthur, 20 years her senior. Itoda is one half of the popular manzai duo Speed Wagon. The couple started going out just five months ago after first meeting last December. Adachi and Kuroda finally split up in March, the main reason assumed to be his reluctance to get married. Kuroda sent his congratulations to the new couple through his management agency.

• Actor Odagiri Jo (26) is to take over as the latest narrator of the TBS show "Sekai Issan" (World Heritage Sites). Current narrator Terao Akira (58) will do his last show on October 2. Odagiri will take over the following week, on a show about Rapa Nui national Park on Easter Island. The show is consistently one of the best things on Japanese TV, with superb camerawork and soundtrack music always capturing the magic and mystery of the world's most beautiful and histrically important sites. Though it airs late on Sunday nights, it averages a very respectable 5.6% audience rating for the time slot. Odagiri will be the show's third narrator, after Terao and Ogata Naoto (36), who was with the show when it started in 1996.

• Actress Tsuchiya Anna (21) has been chosen as this year's "Best Leathernist." One of many pointless awards, it is given to the celebrity who looks best in leather. Tsuchiya was chosen for her style, which she has kept despite the fact that she became a mother just last November.

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September 16, 2005

Shiina Ringo (26), vocalist and songwriter for rock band Tokyo Jihen, is to do her first TV show collaboration. The band have recorded the theme song for the latest run of the Fuji TV period drama series "Oh-oku, Hana no Ran." Set to start on October 13, the drama is set in the time of the 5th shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi and, as with the previous two series, focuses on the lives and loves of the women in the court. Written by Shiina, the title of the theme song is "Shurajo" (fighting scene, scene of carnage), typical of the dramatic and provocative images she uses in her songs. After a successful five years as a solo artist, Shiina announced while on tour in 2003 that she was starting the 5-member Tokyo Jihen. The group started working together full-time in May of last year and had their first tour in January. In July, two members quit and they have been replaced with a new guitarist and keyboard player for the latest single. So far, the group has put out two singles and the album "Kyoiku" (Education).

• This morning's wide shows gave a lot of time to the financial matters of musician and super-producer Komuro Tetsuya (46). The story came to light as Komuro's company Tribalkicks has failed to honor its financial sponsorship commitments to the J-League soccer team Oita Trinita. In 2002, Komuro married Keiko, the vocalist of his group globe, who is originally from Oita Prefecture. He agreed to sponsor Trinita last year, but the club's latest financial report revealed it to be several hundred million yen in the red and facing insolvency. Komuro himself, while hardly poor, is far removed from his heyday in the late 1990s when he was one of the biggest earners in Japan, with earnings in the billions.

• Pin-up girl Kumada Yoko (23) has denied rumors of a romance with comedian Watanabe Ken (32) of the manzai duo Anjashu. The two were recently spotted at a "go-kon," a popular word that was originally coined to describe parties with equal numbers of male and female college students.

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September 19, 2005

Today is the Keiro no Hi (Respect for the Elderly Day) national holiday.

• Talento Oizumi Yo (32) is to get his first starring dramatic role. He will play the lead in the Fuji TV drama series "Okashina Futari" (The Odd Couple) at the end of the year. The drama tells of an unemployed divorcee (Oizumi), his ex-wife (Takaoka Yuki), and the people who live in his apartment building. One of the best-known names on TV in his native Hokkaido, Oizumi became a star on the local network show "Suiyo wa Doudesho" (How Do You Like Wednesday?), which has a big cult following that has started spreading nationwide. Over a decade on the show, he and co-star Suzui Takayuki (43) went on many wild and whacky adventures, including riding the length of Vietnam on a 50cc Honda, and crossing the Australian outback in four days. Traveling with just a director and a cameraman, the show's "home-made" style and Oizumi's unscripted humor made it a big hit. Oizumi made his national network debut in a Fuji drama in January, though he had an even bigger, though less visible, role a few years earlier - he was one of the voice actors in Miyazaki Hayao's 2003 Academy Award-winning animated movie "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" (Spirited Away).

• Speaking of Hokkaido, pop star Hamasaki Ayumi (26) was in Sapporo yesterday doing PR for her latest single, "Heaven." A huge crowd of 5,000 fans turned out to catch a glimpse when she appeared at a local radion station, 5 times the number that came to see local boys Glay the last time they were in town. Security officials were almost overwhelmed by the crowds, which they say were bigger than even the ones they handle at the annual Snow Festival. Fans were disappointed last month when Ayu had to pull out of the Hokkaido leg of the Avex "A-nation '05" tour due to illness and were delighted that she kept her promise to come back soon.

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September 21, 2005

Actor Shiina Kippei (41) refuses to comment on speculation that he and his wife, actress Yamamoto Mirai (30) are on the verge of divorce. Appearing at a PR event in Tokyo for an upcoming stage production, Shiina passed the buck, leaving a spokesperson for his management agency to say that the couple are doing just fine and had recently got back from a trip together to San Francisco. Then again, trips abroad are often used by showbiz couples to take a serious look at their relationships outside of the Japanese media glare. Yamamoto is the daughter of famous fashion designer Yamamoto Kansai (61), a pioneer of Japanese design on the international stage. She spent several years growing up in the US and attended the international American School in Tokyo. She and Shiina married in 2003 after going out for 8 years (story) and held a lavish wedding ceremony last year (story). A difference in values is said to be a main reason for the couple's rumored split.

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September 22, 2005

Young actress Nishina Hitomi (20) has been chosen as the 2006 Triumph Image Girl. As such, she will be the campaign girl for the lingerie maker for next year. Nishina is the daughter of actor Matsukata Hiroki (63), famous for many yakuza and samurai roles, and actress Nishina Akiko (52). When Hitomi called her father to tell him the good news, all he had to say was "Hmmm." She is the 14th Triumph Image Girl, and the position has launched the careers of several popular female talento, such as Yoshioka Miho (2001).

• Fuji TV has cancelled its scheduled broadcast of Saturday's Yomiuri Giants-Chunichi Dragons baseball game. The game will be shown on its BS Fuji satellite channel, but the dramatic drop in popularity of the Giants plus the fact that the Hanshin Tigers have all but wrapped up the Central League means the game would have almost definitely continued the long slide in poor audience ratings.

• Classic comedy troupe Drifters are to do their live routine for the first time in 20 years on TBS. They will appear on a special 4-hour show on October 2. The group were huge in the 1970s and 80s, though their bawdy and often dangerous brand of comedy was not popular with parents. Individual members, especially Shimura Ken (55) and Kato Cha (62), have retained their popularity over the years, though group leader Ikariya Chosuke died last year.

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September 23, 2005

Today is the "Shuubun no Hi" (autumnal equinox) national holiday.

• Singer Koda Kumi (22) released her first greatest hits album this week. Record label Avex organized a launch event on the streets of Shibuya for "Best - First Things," with a photo session on the famous Scramble Intersection. Koda's usual low-cut, sexy attire turned plenty of heads among the hundreds of passers-by. She said that if the album becomes a million seller, she plans to fulfill another ambition - to become the "mama-san" of a high-class club for a night. She also alluded to her rumored romance, said to be with someone not in showbusiness.

• Singer Hajime Chitose (26) is set to make a full comeback after taking an extended break to get married and have a child. She will release a new single "Kataritsugu Koto" on November 23, her first general release in almost two years. She recently released an anti-war song, "Shinda Onna no Ko" (Dead Girls), produced by Oscar-winning musician Sakamoto Ryuichi (53), but it was available only for download to PC or mobile phone. She is also set to play a concert in Okinawa on October 22.

• The latest Hollywood star to come to town is actress Cameron Diaz (33). She arrived Wednesday from Melbourne to promote the movie "In Her Shoes," which is scheduled to open here on November 12. About 200 fans turned out to welcome her at Narita Airport. It's her third visit to Japan, the last being in July 2004 for "Shrek 2." She and co-star Toni Collette held a press event at a Tokyo hotel last night.

bmwracer wrote:Entertainment news from Japan-zone.com-Your Guide to Japan and Japanese Culture: :D

September 23, 2005

Today is the "Shuubun no Hi" (autumnal equinox) national holiday.

• Singer Koda Kumi (22) released her first greatest hits album this week. Record label Avex organized a launch event on the streets of Shibuya for "Best - First Things," with a photo session on the famous Scramble Intersection. Koda's usual low-cut, sexy attire turned plenty of heads among the hundreds of passers-by. She said that if the album becomes a million seller, she plans to fulfill another ambition - to become the "mama-san" of a high-class club for a night. She also alluded to her rumored romance, said to be with someone not in showbusiness.

Koda Kumi promotional advertisement on Q Front Building in Shibuya at Shibuya Crossing.

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Wow, now that's some advertisement. I'll buy whatever she's selling. :bonk:

dochira wrote:Wow, now that's some advertisement. I'll buy whatever she's selling. :bonk:

haha....i wonder how long they'll keep that up..because that advertisement is actually blocking the giant Q Front Television Screen which is made up of the glass panes of that building's windows. Must cost a pretty penny to rent out that space....

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dochira wrote:Wow, now that's some advertisement. I'll buy whatever she's selling. :bonk:

*doch's wifey closes in with frying pan in hand*

bmwracer wrote:
*doch's wifey closes in with frying pan in hand*

I said I'll buy whatever she's selling....unless it's herself. ;)

bmwracer wrote:
*doch's wifey closes in with frying pan in hand*

the wrath of a woman scorned... :tolerance:

Tu_triky wrote:

Koda Kumi promotional advertisement on Q Front Building in Shibuya at Shibuya Crossing.

[image]

I think I'll be staring at that building all day long. :hehe: :hehe: :hehe:

ahochaude wrote:
I think I'll be staring at that building all day long. :hehe: :hehe: :hehe:

No kidding. :hehe: I see some accidents happening at that intersection....not including cars. :naughty: :rofl:

dochira wrote:No kidding. :hehe: I see some accidents happening at that intersection....not including cars. :naughty: :rofl:

:lol: :lol: Someone selling Kleenex at that intersection will make a killing. :hehe:

bmwracer wrote:
:lol: :lol: Someone selling Kleenex at that intersection will make a killing. :hehe:

ur nasty, dawg. very funneeh tho...well you know how they always have young women handing out tissue packets with promotional ads on them in the big city like tokyo....i guess they can all congregate at Shibuya Crossing at dispense their entire stock in a few seconds...then run like hell from all the horn dogs.