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New B'z single extends records
Tue, October 9, 2007 (3:32am EDT)



The 44th single by B'z, titled "SUPER LOVE SONG," sold approximately 181,000 copies this past week to debut at #1 on the singles chart. This is their 40th consecutive chart-topper, extending their previous records for most consecutive number ones and most number ones overall.

The single also marks their 41st consecutive single in the top ten, putting them in first place ahead of both SMAP and THE ALFEE, who both have a streak of 40.

B'z holds seven other records for singles: most copies sold, most consecutive years with a #1, most consecutive years with a top ten, most singles simultaneously in the top ten, most million-sellers, most consecutive million-sellers, and most consecutive years with a million-seller.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Anti Feminism, Hagakure announce U.S. shows
Sun, October 7, 2007 (12:34am EDT)



Visual kei bands ANTI FEMINISM and Hagakure announced four shows in the U.S. for this December. They will play in Brooklyn (12/9), Dallas (12/11), Los Angeles (12/13), and San Francisco (12/15).

The two bands toured Europe together earlier this year.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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"LIFE" named most satisfying summer drama
Sun, October 7, 2007 (2:08am EDT)

Oricon has published the results of its quarterly drama satisfaction rankings, and the #1 choice this summer was Fuji TV's "LIFE" at 77.7%. With previous season's "LIAR GAME" having ranked 2nd with 78.5% (and both shows attracting strong viewership ratings), Fuji TV's new Saturday drama time slot is proving to be a success.

The summer's top ten were:

    * LIFE (77.7%)
    * Papa to Musume no Nanokakan (76.3%)
    * Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (75.8%)
    * Hotaru no Hikari (75.5%)
    * Yamada Taro Monogatari (72.7%)
    * Sushi Ouji! (70.0%)
    * Yama Onna Kabe Onna (69.2%)
    * Tantei Gakuen Q (69.1%)
    * Jotei (68.0%)
    * Ushi ni Negai wo: Love & Farm (67.8%)

Meanwhile, the pre-season survey for the fall indicates that expectations are highest for "Galileo."

    * Galileo (60.1%)
    * Iryu 2 (55.6%)
    * Hataraki Man (55.0%)
    * SP (51.5%)
    * Hatachi no Koibito (51.2%)
    * Yukan Club (49.4%)
    * Utahime (49.3%)
    * 3 Nen B Gumi Kinpachi Sensei 8 (48.4%)
    * Joshi Deka! (45.7%)
    * Abarenbo Mama (44.8%)

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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NEWS postpones first Taiwan concert
Sat, October 6, 2007 (7:56pm EDT)



Pop group NEWS had to make an emergency postponement of their concert on Saturday due to a major typhoon. The performance was the first of two evening concerts at the Taipei Arena in Taiwan, scheduled for October 6 and 7. Fans had already gathered near the arena by 9:00am, but staff were concerned about safety due to the approaching typhoon. By 11:30am, they made the decision to cancel the concert.

To make up for it, a daytime performance has been added to the 7th, as long as weather permits.

According to AFP, the typhoon has so far resulted in at least two deaths, two missing persons, and seventeen injuries.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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American pop diva Fergie (32) and acclaimed British newcomers the Pipettes have provided two songs for the TBS romantic comedy series "Hatachi no Koibito. The series stars comedian Akashiya Sanma (52) and Nagasawa Masami (20). The Pipettes' "Because It's Not Love", from their debut album, is the show's theme tune, and Fergie says she wrote "Pick It Up" especially for her apanese fans. "Hatachi..." airs on Sunday nights from October 14.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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[JAPAN] Yoshida Miwa dealing with the nightmare of husband’s death



In a recent article on Mainichi News, Nakamura Masato posted on his blog about his partner Yoshida Miwa (DREAMS COME TRUE) and how she is doing since the death of her husband.

According to the article, “Masato Nakamura, leader of the popular band Dreams Come True, spoke about recently widowed band member Miwa Yoshida in a blog entry Friday, saying that Yoshida was still acting courageously but couldn’t yet return to singing.”

“Yoshida’s common-law husband Takeshi Sueda died nine days previously from cancer.”

“She’s putting on a brave face, but she’s still in no condition to appear in front of people or sing,” Nakamura said. During the entry, he indicated that he was trying to support her, but said, “I feel so ashamed that the only thing I can do for her as her parents and friends watch over her is to say silly things and make her laugh, even though it’s not what she wants.”

Source: www.nt2099.com/J-ENT

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[JAPAN] Oricon Top 10 CD singles of the day - L’Arc~en~Ciel takes the #1 position - 10.10.07
11th October , 2007 by KNDY in Japanese Entertainment News

Which artist or band came away with the #1 CD single on new release Wednesday?



1) L’Arc~en~Ciel - DAYBREAK’S BELL NEW
2) B’z - SUPER LOVE SONG
3) DREAMS COME TRUE - Ai$hiteru no Sign
4) Hirano Aya - LOVE*GUN NEW
5) Sendai Kamotsu - Gei School Otakogumi!/Over the Geinbow NEW
6) YUI - LOVE & TRUTH
7) 9mm Parabellum Bullet - Discommunication e.p. NEW
8) LM.C - LIAR LIAR NEW
9) Fujiki Naohito - Tuning Note NEW
10) Yaida Hitomi - I Love You no Katachi NEW

Source: www.nt2099.com/J-ENT

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[JAPAN] Oricon Top 10 Albums of the Day - Spitz takes the #1 spot - 10.10.07
11th October , 2007 by KNDY in Japanese Entertainment News

Which artist/band came out on top for new releases on Wednesday?



NOTE: YUKI and Otsuka Ai manage to stay strong in the top 3, latest album from Spitz is #1 and Tokunaga Hideaki continues to stay strong in the top 10.

1) Spitz - Sazanami CD NEW
2) YUKI - Single Collection “five-star”
3) Otsuka Ai - LOVE PiECE
4) Suga Shikao - ALL LIVE BEST NEW
5) SOPHIA - 2007 NEW
6) Yuzu - Yuzu no ne 1997-2007
7) Kamiki Aya - A$hita no Tame ni ~Forever More~ NEW
8) Matsuura Aya - Double Rainbow NEW
9) Tokunaga Hideaki - VOCALIST 3
10) Yura Yura Teikoku - Kudo Desu NEW

Source: www.nt2099.com/J-ENT

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Rinka breaks up with boyfriend
Mon, October 8, 2007 (9:45pm EDT)



Model/talento Rinka has broken up with her boyfriend after a six-year relationship, she painfully revealed on her blog on Monday. She gave no details about her partner's identity, but it has previously been rumored that she was dating Kazuki Otake of comedy group Summers.

Other rumors had claimed she was seeing comedian Tomoharu Shoji, but she denied those reports. Shoji was later romantically linked to Miki Fujimoto, who left Morning Musume after the relationship was discovered.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Mai Kitajima expecting at end of year
Sat, October 6, 2007 (8:10pm EDT)



Actress Mai Kitajima, who remarried in July with an employee of a major publishing firm, is currently pregnant. The news was revealed in an interview that appeared in the latest issue of Fujin Koron, which went on sale Saturday.

Kitajima learned she was pregnant in June, after filming had finished for "Hito ga Hito wo Aisuru Koto no Dou Shiyou mo Nasa." Because she had suffered from a uterine myoma about two years ago, she refrained from announcing the pregnancy until the baby was considered to be safe. Kitajima has already taken maternity leave, as her delivery is expected around the end of the year.

Kitajima also has an 11-year-old son who is living with her former husband, Mikio Osawa of Hikaru Genji.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Talento Kanda Uno (32) had her long-awaited wedding in Tokyo yesterday. She married pachinko mogul Nishimura Takuro (37) in a traditional shinto ceremony at Meiji Jingu shrine. The ceremony was followed by a hugely extravagant reception downtown at the Hotel New Otani. A lucky 777 friends and fellow celebrity guests were invited to the reception and bridal fashion show that is said to have cost

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Former Morning Musume member Abe Natsumi (26) is to be prosecuted after causing a traffic accident on Sunday. According to police, she was making a right turn out of a car park on Sunday evening when she hit a motorbike. Abe was unhurt but the rider suffered minor injuries to his elbow and back. Abe has had her driving license for less than a year and still has a learner's sticker on her car.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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Theme song to precede Ghibli film by half a year
Tue, October 9, 2007 (12:12am EDT)

Studio Ghibli's next film, "Gake no Ue no Ponyo" (directed by Hayao Miyazaki), isn't scheduled for release until summer 2008, but the movie's theme song will already be available as a CD single on December 5.

The song, which has the same title as the film, is performed by a new unit consisting of the duo Fujioka Fujimaki and 8-year-old child actress Nozomi Ohashi. The three originally were asked just to make a demo tape for the song, but producer Toshio Suzuki liked it so much that he chose them to sing the actual version.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Takao Osawa to star in "Tsukiji Uogashi Sandaime"
Tue, October 9, 2007 (4:44pm EDT)

"Tsukiji Uogashi Sandaime," a manga series published by Shogakukan in Big Comic, is being adapted to film. Shochiku is distributing and Shingo Matsubara is directing.



The film tells the story of Shuntaro, a former bank employee who ends up working as an intermediate wholesaler at the Tsukiji fish market. Takao Osawa stars as Shuntaro, while Rena Tanaka plays the female lead. It is said that Osawa's grandparents worked at the famous fish market.

Filming began in September at the actual market, which opens very early in the morning. Some scenes are being shot at the Toho studio in Setagaya, Tokyo.

The supporting cast includes Tsuyoshi Ihara, Yoko Moriguchi, Shiro Ito, and Akira Emoto. The film opens in 2008.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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"Atsuhime" cast announced
Tue, October 9, 2007 (6:22pm EDT)



On Tuesday, NHK made a cast announcement for next year's taiga drama, "Atsuhime." The series stars Aoi Miyazaki as the title character.



Popular actress Maki Horikita has been cast as princess Kazunomiya Chikako, the daughter of Emperor Ninko and the sister of Emperor Komei. She was briefly married to Tokugawa Iemochi, the 14th shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, who is being played by Shota Matsuda.

Other cast members include Masato Sakai, Takehiro Hira, Masao Kusakari, Hiroshi Tamaki, Toru Emori, Kinya Kitaoji, Keiko Matsuzaka, Izumi Inamori, Mayu Tsuruta, Yumiko Takahashi, Mayumi Wakamura, Atsuko Takahata, Yuriko Hoshi, Meiko Nakamura, and Kimiko Yo.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Ki$hitani to star in drama adaptation of "Five"
Wed, October 10, 2007 (4:15pm EDT)

NHK is producing a tanpatsu drama based on Yuzuru Hirayama's novel "Five," which was later turned into a manga illustrated by Riki Kusaka.



The story follows Sayama (played by Goro Ki$hitani), a man known as "Mr. Basketball" after leading his company's basketball team to multiple championships. But the company suddenly gets rid of the team and Sayama is laid off. He ends up joining another team, but it's composed of peculiar players.

Filming begins on the 22nd of this month. NHK plans to air the single episode during the start of the new year. Other cast members include Reiko Takashima, Toshio Kakei, Shingo Yanagisawa, Kazuyuki Aijima, Papaya Suzuki, Yoji Tanaka, Koen Kondo, Masaya Kikawada, Ikkei Watanabe, and Raita Ryu.

Source: www.tokoygraph.com

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"24 Hour Television" raises 1 billion
Tue, October 9, 2007 (6:36pm EDT)

The 30th edition of "24 Hour Television" has raised more than 1 billion yen, NTV announced on Tuesday.

The charity program, which aired on August 18-19, closed its fund-raising campaign on September 30. The final total amounted to 1,015,442,574 yen, the 4th highest in the program's history. Sales of the charity T-shirts set a record with 437,651 shirts sold.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Riko Narumi takes on first voice acting role
Wed, October 10, 2007 (5:52pm EDT)



Teen actress Riko Narumi will take on her first voice acting role for the Japanese dub of the fantasy film "The Golden Compass." The movie, based on the first book in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy, is directed by Chris Weitz and stars Dakota Blue Richards, Nicole Kidman, and Daniel Craig.

For the Japanese version, Narumi will voice the heroine Lyra (played by Richards).

The movie opens on December 5 in the U.S. and on March 1 in Japan.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Isshin Inudo's "Gou Gou" to open next fall
Wed, October 10, 2007 (6:34pm EDT)



Isshin Inudo's "Gou-Gou Datte Neko Dearu" is scheduled to open in theaters next fall. The movie, which is based on Yumiko Oshima's manga of the same name, stars Kyoko Koizumi in her first lead role since the 2005 "Kuchu Teien."

Koizumi plays a mangaka who raises a cat named Gou-Gou after her previous cat dies. The film's cast includes Juri Ueno, Ryo Kase, and the comedy trio Morisanchu.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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LUNA SEA tribute album slated for December
Wed, October 10, 2007 (3:56am EDT)



A tribute album for rock band LUNA SEA is being released this December. Tentatively titled "LUNA SEA MEMORIAL COVER ALBUM," it will feature several well-known artists, including abingdon boys school, Nami Tamaki, Merry, Masami Tsuchiya, HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR, MUCC, and YU-KI and DJ KOO from TRF.

The album is scheduled to go on sale December 19. The group previously announced that they will reunite for a concert at the Tokyo Dome on December 24.

Source: www.tokyograph.com