Japanese Entertainment News & Info HERE!

whitedove

Japanese classics covered by modern musicians
Wed, September 26, 2007 (5:19am EDT)

On October 24, record label commmons is releasing "Nihon no Uta Vol. 1," a concept album covering and reinterpreting classic Japanese songs. The impressive lineup features "Akatonbo" performed by Haruo Minami and Cornelius, "Chiisai Aki Mitsuketa" by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Miki Nakatani, and "Karatachi no Hana" by Kahimi Karie and Yoshihide Otomo.

Other artists include Kirinji, Taeko Onuki, kicell, Yann Tomita, and Makoto Kubota.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Riisa Naka gets first live-action lead
Wed, September 26, 2007 (3:00pm EDT)



Teen idol and fashion model Riisa Naka will play the heroine in Keisuke Yoshida's "Junkissa Isobe," which stars Hiroyuki Miyasako. This is her first time with a lead female role in a live-action film.

Naka, who is quarter-Swedish, debuted in 2003 as a model for teen fashion magazine CANDy. She gained widespread attention last year when she voiced the lead in the award-winning anime movie "Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo," and she made her first acting appearance with a minor role in the NTV drama series "My Boss My Hero."

"Junkissa Isobe" is Naka's third film appearance for 2008. The story focuses on the love between her and her father, the uncool and irresponsible Yujiro (played by Miyasako), who suddenly becomes the manager of a teahouse. The supporting cast includes Mari Hamada, Haruna Kondo, and Kumiko Aso.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

AI to sing "Iryu" theme again
Wed, September 26, 2007 (4:28pm EDT)



Singer AI will provide the theme song for Fuji TV's drama series "Iryu 2." Titled "ONE," the song will be a ballad, backed by a chorus of six gospel singers. The CD will go on sale November 7.

AI also sang the theme for the first "Iryu" series, which aired last spring.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Actress Aiko Sato marries horse riding instructor
Wed, September 26, 2007 (5:45pm EDT)



Actress Aiko Sato has married a horse riding instructor named Takuma Numata. The two registered their marriage on Wednesday, which happened to be Sato's 30th birthday.

Sato and Numata met in June 2006 through Sato's hobby of horseback riding. Their relationship developed, and he also helped her attain a rank 3 certification in riding.

According to Sato's agency, the two are currently looking for a new home. They plan to hold their ceremony and reception once they have settled down.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

[TAIWAN] Japanese boy band 揕ead

sads

DCT's Yoshida Miwa Loses Husband
October 01, 2007



Visual director Sueda Ken died last Wednesday of germinoma, a tumor of the brain, it was revealed yesterday. He was just 33. His death was announced by the management agency of pop group Dreams Come True, as Sueda was the common-law husband of vocalist Yoshida Miwa (42) and he directed many of the group's videos. The couple married in May 2004 but never registered their marriage. Though Sueda had been undergoing treatment for some time, his condition took a turn for the worse just as DCT started a concert tour in early August. Despite the busy concert schedule, Yoshida spent every free moment at her husband's side until the tour ended on September 23. Her musical partner Nakamura Masato(49) described on his blog how Sueda has made her promise to give her all on stage no matter what happened offstage. DCT's new single "A-i-shi-te-ru no Sain" goes on sale this week and the group are currently recording an album due for release in December. But Nakamura says he will wait until Yoshida is ready to sing again before taking on any kind of PR engagements.

source: japan-zone.com

[ Last edited by  sads at 2-10-2007 08:43 PM ]

ct_subang

uwaaa...shiannyerr...dhler ct suke si Miwa nih...

whitedove

cian, husband dia meninggal

whitedove

TOKIO collaborates with Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi
Thu, September 27, 2007 (4:35pm EDT)



TOKIO's next single, "Seishun" (reportedly romanized as "SEISYuN"), has been written and composed by singer-songwriter Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi. The song has been chosen as the theme for TBS's upcoming drama series "Utahime," which stars TOKIO member Tomoya Nagase. The CD goes on sale November 21.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Nakama reprises "Haru to Natsu" role on stage
Thu, September 27, 2007 (5:16pm EDT)



In November, actress Yukie Nakama will star in a play titled "Natsu Hitori -Todokanakatta Tegami-." This is her first stage performance in three years, as well as her first time serving as "zacho" (chairman of the play).

"Natsu Hitori" is an adaptation of NHK's 2005 drama special "Haru to Natsu." The story focuses on two young sisters named Haru and Natsu. Their family emigrates from Japan to Brazil, but Natsu gets left behind in Japan. The two meet again several decades later, and they discover that the letters they wrote each other over the years were never successfully delivered.

In the television drama, Nakama played the role of Natsu from adolescence to her thirties. In the stage version, she will portray the role all by herself, from the ages of 14 to 76.

Also appearing are Katsuhisa Namase (who has acted with Nakama before in dramas such as "Trick" and "Gokusen"), Ken Utsui, and Masami Sawada. The play will run from November 1 to November 26 at the Shinbashi Enbujo.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Yoshiki producing Paris Hilton for "Repo!"
Thu, September 27, 2007 (5:48pm EDT)



Former X Japan member Yoshiki is now in charge of producing the infamous Paris Hilton for her role in the rock musical film, "Repo! The Genetic Opera" (directed by Darren Lynn Bousman).

Producing for Paris is just one of Yoshiki's roles as the film's music director. This is his first time in that position. He was appointed by producer Mark Burg after he provided the theme song for "Catacombs" earlier this year.

Out of a reported 55 tunes in the movie's soundtrack, Paris performs about 7 of them. He is said to have approved of her singing, saying that she put in serious effort for the recordings.

"Repo!" is scheduled to open next spring in the U.S.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

WOWOW adapts Miyuki Miyabe novel as drama
Fri, September 28, 2007 (5:49am EDT)

This fall, broadcaster WOWOW will air a drama adaptation of "Nagai Nagai Satsujin," a mystery novel by award-winning author Miyuki Miyabe. The drama is part of the network's "Drama W" project, which started in 2003 and has been slowly growing.

"Nagai Nagai Satsujin" stars Kyozo Nagatsuka, supported by a main cast of Toru Nakamura, Shosuke Tanihara, Aya Hirayama, Nao Omori, Miki Sakai, Shunsuke Kubozuka, Yuko Ito, and Naomi Nishida.

The drama will air at 10:00pm on November 4.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Sukima Switch vocalist married
Fri, September 28, 2007 (5:44pm EDT)



Takuya Ohashi, the vocalist of pop duo Sukima Switch, revealed on Friday that he recently got married.

The announcement was made on the group's official website. Ohashi's wife is reportedly a non-celebrity, though no further details such as age or occupation were given.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Charts: "Love" prevails for YUI, Ai Otsuka
Tue, October 2, 2007 (7:03pm EDT)



In a typically slow sales week for singles, YUI charted at #1 with "LOVE & TRUTH," the theme song for the recently released movie "Closed Note." The single sold roughly 87,000 copies. In #2 with 35,000 copies was the second single from Acid Black Cherry, the solo project of Janne Da Arc's yasu. BoA's "LOVE LETTER" mustered only 28,000 in sales, but it was enough to put her at #3 for her 11th consecutive top ten release.



On the albums chart, Ai Otsuka's fourth album "LOVE PiECE" came out as the clear winner with 208,000 in sales. However, it still fell far short of her previous album "LOVE COOK" and best album "Ai am BEST," which both sold well over 300,000 copies in their initial weeks. Meanwhile, her "Ai am BEST Tour 2007" DVD (which was also released last week) was the top-selling music DVD with 44,000 sold.

"Variety," the third effort from the Ringo Shiina-led Tokyo Jihen, sold about 101,000 copies to land at #2 on the albums chart.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Nana Kitade announces first best album
Sat, September 29, 2007 (1:28am EDT)



Singer Nana Kitade is releasing her first "best album" on October 31. Titled "Berry Berry SINGLES," the album will include all nine of her singles to date, plus three self-covers. Producing and participating on the compilation are former Megadeth member Marty Friedman and Japanese musician ROLLY.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

First acting roles for Football Hour's Iwao
Sat, September 29, 2007 (2:31pm EDT)

Nozomu Iwao, one half of the owarai unit Football Hour, will debut as an actor in Kenta Fukasaku's horror flick "XX," which opens December 1. Although no details were revealed about his role in "XX," he is said to play an important part in the film's story.

While Football Hour has won several awards and competitions, Iwao also has the unfortunate honor of topping Monthly Yoshimoto's annual "busaiku (ugly) ranking" three years in a row (2003-2005).

It was also announced that Iwao has a second movie role lined up in Takashi Miike's "Kamisama no Puzzle," due out next summer.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Japanese films at Chicago film festival
Sun, September 30, 2007 (4:21am EDT)

The Chicago International Film Festival (October 4-17) recently revealed its complete lineup. Two live-action Japanese films made the list: Hitoshi Yazaki's "Strawberry Shortcakes" and Nobuhiro Yama#a's "The Matsugane Potshot Affair."

One of the festival's sidebars is Anime Focus 2007, which includes three works: "Atagoal: Cat's Magical Forest," "Brave Story," and "Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo."

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Inohara, Seto register marriage
Sun, September 30, 2007 (4:35am EDT)



Just one day after announcing his engagement to actress Asaka Seto, V6's Yoshihiko Inohara revealed that the two registered their marriage on Saturday.

Like the previous announcement, Inohara informed his fans first during a concert in Tokyo. According to a source, they submitted the registration during the late night on Friday, after holding their press conference. Inohara said that the date had been unplanned - he and Seto had been carrying their completed registration form with them for some time, and after seeing the reactions to their marriage announcement, they decided that the timing was right.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Fukuyama, Shibasaki team up for "Galileo" theme
Sun, September 30, 2007 (5:17pm EDT)



Masaharu Fukuyama and Kou Shibasaki are collaborating for the theme song to "Galileo," the upcoming Fuji TV drama series they are co-starring in. Titled "KISS $hite," it will be released as a single by Shibasaki, under the alias KOH+.

"KISS $hite" is written, composed, and produced by Fukuyama. He also appears on the track itself, playing guitar and singing the chorus. According to the drama's producer, Yoshihiro Suzuki, Fukuyama is also in charge of the instrumental main theme and subtheme for the series.

The theme song will be available as a ringtone starting on October 15, the same day as the premiere of "Galileo." The show's soundtrack has been scheduled for a simultaneous release with the "KISS $hite" single on November 21.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

"Hagetaka" wins Prix Italia drama series award
Sun, September 30, 2007 (6:07pm EDT)

The 59th Prix Italia, an "international competition for radio, television and web" held in Verona, Italy, concluded on Saturday. Among the winners this year was NHK's short series "Hagetaka," which earned the top prize in the drama series category for its opening episode.

The six-episode series aired between February and March of this year. The story was set in Japan's business world after the burst of the economic bubble. It starred Nao Omori as a fund manager relentlessly buying out and raiding firms, earning him the label of "hagetaka" (vulture).

Source: www.tokyograph.com