Japanese Entertainment News & Info HERE! [part II]

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Anna Tsuchiya introduces documentary on orphanage for Japanese-American children

Monday 02nd March, 05:00 AM JST



TOKYO

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2,200 attend memorial service for Ai Iijima

Monday 02nd March, 02:16 PM JST



TOKYO

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Meisa Kuroki represents Armani
Mon, March 2, 2009 (12:23am EST)



20-year-old actress Meisa Kuroki has been chosen as the Japanese face of fashion brand Emporio Armani for 2009. She is succeeding actress Aoi Miyazaki, who served the same role last year.

This year's campaign is being photographed by Takaki Kumada. Advertisements will begin running in the April issues of major fashion magazines, along with newspaper ads and billboards. The promotion will also appear on the brand's website sometime this month.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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LM.C comes to A-Kon
Mon, March 2, 2009 (1:20am EST)



A-Kon has revealed that its headline band this year will be LM.C. They will perform a concert on the Friday night of the convention, which is taking place on May 29-31 in Dallas, Texas.

A-Kon previously announced that the band camino is also attending as a guest.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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This year's Gold Disc Awards were held today and the big winners once again were Exile. The vocal group repeated as winners of the Japanese music category, the fifth time the feat has been achieved (previous names include Hamasaki Ayumi and Koda Kumi). The award is based mainly on CD sales, and Exile had another great year in 2008. Led by the hits collection "Exile Ballad Best," they had 4.21 million album sales and fell just short of 10 million digital downloads. They won a total of 15 music awards last year and look to add a lot more in 2009. The latest award came the day after the 7-member group announced that it was doubling in size. The seven members of their "junior group" J Soul Brothers are now part of Exile, and the new lineup makes its first release with the single "The Monster/Someday" on April 15. They will embark on a 9-city national tour in May. Exile were formerly known as J Soul Brothers and handed that name over to the younger members in 2007. They released their major label debut album just last month, reaching No.1 on the Oricon chart.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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MONO - Hymn To The Immortal Wind

March 2, 2009 by J!-ENT

Yokohama, Japan - March 2, 2009 - HearJapan added an epic album to
their already impressive Japanese post rock category today.  HearJapan
will be distributing the new album from the masters of post rock,
MONO.  Their new full length album will go on sale in Japan on March
4th, 2009.  The album will go on sale via mp3 downloads at HearJapan
the second the clock strokes midnight in Japan.  The album doesn抰 go
on sale in America or Europe until the 24th.  This gives fans outside
of Japan their first chance to buy this truly epic work and have
enough time to soak in the depth of material before the band launches
their European tour on March 20th.

After touring almost non-stop for five years, the band hibernated for
over a year to focus solely on writing Hymn. The result is their most
thoughtful and eclectic album to date. Written and arranged with a
hopeful, romantic narrative in mind, the songs string together like
chapters in an epic love story. The music is naturally majestic, with
MONO抯 trademark wall of noise crashing beautifully against the
largest chamber orchestra the band has ever enlisted. The
instrumentation is vast, incorporating strings, flutes, organ, piano,
glockenspiel and tympani into their standard face-melting set-up.

Recorded to analog tape with long-time friend and producer Steve
Albini, there is an intimacy captured here that is at once beautiful
and a little terrifying. The creaking of old wooden chairs as the
orchestra rocks in their seats (both literally and figuratively),
puckered lips rolling along flutes, and even the conductor抯 opening
cue can be heard during the hauntingly quiet opening moments.

While Hymn continues to mine the cinematic drama inherent in all of
MONO抯 music, the dynamic shifts now come more from dark-to-light
instead of quiet-to-loud. The maturity to balance these elements so
masterfully has become MONO抯 strongest virtue.

MONO Homepage:
http://www.mono-jpn.com/
Hymn To The Immortal World (1418 yen):
http://www.hearjapan.com/store/a ... o_the_Immortal_Wind
HearJapan post rock selection:
http://www.hearjapan.com/store/genre?genre=14&sortby=1

Source: www.nt2099.com/J-ENT

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Satoda, Yukina and Marie strut their stuff for Kobe Collection 2009

Monday 02nd March, 06:58 PM JST



TOKYO

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45 graduate from Takarazuka school

Tuesday 03rd March, 05:53 AM JST



KOBE

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Oscar-winning 'Okuribito' top weekend box office performer

Tuesday 03rd March, 06:28 AM JST

TOKYO

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Takako Uehara becomes fire chief for a day

Tuesday 03rd March, 07:02 AM JST



TOKYO

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Max Matsuura receives Shin Watanabe Award
Tue, March 3, 2009 (12:24am EST)

The 4th Shin Watanabe Award, which recognizes the contributions of entertainment producers, was handed out on Monday. This year, the prize went to producer and Avex president Max Matsuura.

Matsuura founded Avex in 1988, and over the years he has been responsible for many top artists, including Ayumi Hamasaki.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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YUI provides Stereopony's next single
Tue, March 3, 2009 (1:00am EST)



Up-and-coming girl band Stereopony has revealed that their third single, "I do it," is a collaboration with singer-songwriter YUI. This is the first time that YUI has created a song for another artist.

The band's vocalist, AIMI, has been heavily influenced by YUI. The group shares the same producer as her, but they were still surprised during a recording session in Okinawa when YUI, who happened to be taking a break there at the time, unexpectedly visited the studio. During that session, "I do it" was born.

The song is being released on April 22. On March 18, it will be made available for download as a chaku-uta.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Hey! Say! JUMP continues volleyball support
Tue, March 3, 2009 (3:02am EST)



It has been decided that popular group Hey! Say! JUMP will serve as support for the 40th Spring National High School Volleyball Tournament, opening on March 20th. This is their second year in a row.

Members Yuto Nakajima, Yuri Chinen, and Ryosuke Yamada will become high school students this April. "We have a stronger sense of affinity than last year," stated Yamada. Chinen added, "Seeing the teams trying their hardest, we want to receive the courage to become high school students."

Hey! Say! JUMP will perform at the opening right after the match-up lottery. They are singing the theme song, titled "Jounetsu JUMP." The single's release date has not yet been decided.

Fuji TV's coverage of the tournament will be hosted by Rio Hirai and Tomoko Honda.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Ryo Nishikido causes three-car fender bender
Tue, March 3, 2009 (1:54am EST)



NEWS and Kanjani8 member Ryo Nishikido (24) caused a minor car accident on March 1st in Tokyo's Minato ward. The accident involved two other cars and resulted in one injury.

At around 3:45pm on Sunday, Nishikido was driving on Shuto Expressway 3 around Roppongi. The route ahead of him was congested with traffic, and Nishikido rear-ended a car at the tail end of the traffic. Due to the impact, that car also collided with the vehicle in front of it. Nishikido was not injured, but the passenger of the middle car, a woman in her sixties, suffered a neck injury that is expected to take a week to heal. All three cars also received damage to their bumpers.

According to police, Nishikido was at fault for not watching where he was going. His agency said that he had been careless in taking his eyes off the road and he was unable to brake in time. The police plan to file the case with the prosecutor's office.

Nishikido had been driving because it was his day off. He said that he will completely refrain from driving for now.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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"Gokusen" goes to the big screen
Wed, March 4, 2009 (1:00am EST)




The popular drama series "Gokusen" is getting a movie version this summer. After three highly-rated seasons, the film will be the last time that lead actress Yukie Nakama plays the role of the teacher Yankumi.

The third season of "Gokusen" aired last spring and ended with a successful 22.8% average rating. The movie takes place after the graduation of that season's third-year class, which includes students played by Yuya Takaki and Haruma Miura. The story is related to a special episode airing on March 28 that deals with a big confrontation between the third-year students and the second-year students. In the movie, the same characters are involved again, but the story is set during the following school year.



The leader of the second-year students in the drama special is played by Kis-My-Ft2 member Yuta Tamamori, who has never acted in a television drama before. He will also appear in the movie.

NTV's Toya Sato, who worked on the dramas, is directing. The film is scheduled to open in July.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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'Okuribito' director Takita unveils new film
Wednesday 04th March, 03:53 AM JST



TOKYO

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Marie and Nozomi Sasaki in Uniqlo showdown for new jacket collection
Wednesday 04th March, 06:48 AM JST



TOKYO

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Haruka Ayase cools down with Nama-cha
Wednesday 04th March, 07:30 AM JST



TOKYO

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Hitomi Shimatani to 'marry' one lucky owner of her new single
Wednesday 04th March, 12:16 PM JST



TOKYO

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Shota Matsuda stars in "parody mystery" series
Wed, March 4, 2009 (1:36am EST)



Actor Shota Matsuda has just picked up his first true lead role in a television drama. Titled "Meitantei no Okite," the show is based on a "parody mystery" work by award-winning author Keigo Higashino.



The original "Meitantei no Okite" is a short mystery collection that takes a humorous approach to many of the genre's cliches. Matsuda stars as the "famous detective" Daigoro Tenkaichi, while Yu Kashii plays the female lead as a rookie cop. Yuichi Kimura has also been cast.

"Meitantei no Okite" will air on TV Asahi on Friday nights at 11:15pm, starting in April.

Source: www.tokyograph.com