KAT-TUN doing well without Akanishi Jin

When Akanishi Jin (26) left KAT-TUN earlier this year, some fans voiced concerns about whether the band would be able to do as well without him. It now seems that their fears are unfounded as KAT-TUN has landed a new CM contract with Suzuki.

KAT-TUN will be promoting the new Suzuki Solio, a compact 5-seater car. It will be released on 24 December 2010. Apparently, the advertisers were looking for a "popular idol group that has character".

From year 2002 to 2007, KAT-TUN appeared in many CMs. The companies they advertised for included NTT Sky DoCoMo and Lotte. However, Akanishi then left to study English in America, so their CM activities became rather limited.

Well, this is a good step for KAT-TUN, and since Jin seems to be doing well in America, it seems that the dcision for Jin to leave KT was the right one after all.

The article also mentions that Tanaka Koki (25) held a rather early year-end party at a shabu-shabu restaurant? (Azashi)

Arashi outperforms everyone again! (Oricon 2010)

Oricon has compiled total sales data for the top artists of 2010, counting singles, albums, and DVDs. This year's top artist was Arashi, with more than 17.16 billion yen worth of sales. In fact, Arashi ranks as the #1 artist in seven different categories: Total gross sales for an artist; Total gross single sales for an artist; Copies sold for an album; Gross sales for an album; Copies sold for a music DVD; Gross sales for a music DVD; Total gross music DVD sales for an artist.

Arashi easily outdid their numbers from 2009, when they were also the #1 selling artist at 14.46 billion yen. (Tokyograph)

I couldn't help but grin while reading this article.

AKB48 and (awesome) Arashi dominate top 10 of Oricon 2010 Rankings (Singles)

Oricon is beginning to release its cumulative sales data for 2010. So far, it has announced the Top 50 in singles and albums, as well as the Top 5 in total sales. As predicted, the singles rankings were dominated by Arashi and AKB48, who together held all of the Top 10 spots.

This is the first time in the ranking's history that the Top 10 has been occupied by just two artists. Before this, the record was five artists in the Top 10, which happened in 1989.

AKB48 had the top 2 singles with "Beginner" and "Heavy Rotation." They are only the third female artist to hold the top 2 singles of the year, a feat previously accomplished by Princess Princess in 1989 and Pink Lady in 1978.

Arashi, who had the top 2 singles in 2008 and the top 3 singles in 2009, settled for taking 6 of the top 10 spots this year.

Top 50 Singles:

1. Beginner - AKB48 - 954,283
2. Heavy Rotation - AKB48 - 713,275
3. Troublemaker - Arashi - 698,542
4. Monster - Arashi - 696,022
5. Ponytail to Chouchou - AKB48 - 659,959
6. Hatenai Sora - Arashi - 656,343
7. Love Rainbow - Arashi - 620,057
8. Chance no Junban - AKB48 - 596,769
9. Dear Snow - Arashi - 591,207
10. To be free - Arashi - 516,142

(Tokyograph)

Akanishi and Warner Music Group, video

Akanishi Jin (26) returned to Japan from the US on the 9th of December. On the same day, it was announced that he had signed a recording deal with Warner Music Group, one of the four biggest recording companies in the world.

In a recent interview by カミカミ(?), Akanishi said that he aims on doing his best regardless of what country he performs in. He also talked about how he hopes to do well in America and expand his career.

He is the first solo Japanese artist to be signed on to Warner Group on a global basis.

Skip to 2:18 and 3:27 to hear his English!

(Entame)

"Life's more fun when you're an idiot."

I've been such a bum recently. I haven't found a job and probably won't be finding one and my room still isn't cleaned out. Everywhere I look there's all my notes, worksheets, (undone) assessment books and homework that I couldn't wait to throw out before O levels. Well, they're still here and everytime I look at them I remember that I'll be collecting my results next month. I really wish I had studied more but it can't be changed.

Watched Fine, Totally Fine for the third time yesterday. Been watching Guilty too, but since it's still showing I only get to watch one episode a week. And I think watching another drama while waiting for the rest of the series will somehow decrease my viewership experience, so...

I was definitely planning on changing the layout of this blog, but still haven't got around to doing it.

Why is it that I find life more stressful now that I don't have to do anything?

Mizushima's book KAGEROU is released

   

Mizushima Hiro's (26) debut novel, "KAGEROU", goes on sale today (15 December 2010) in Japan. The book has already won the grand prize in the fifth Poplar Corporation fiction contest. The book, to be released under Mizushima's real name, Tomohiro Saito, is about a debt-ridden man who attempts to commit suicide but is stopped by another man. It is meant to showcase the preciousness of life.

Before the book hit the shelves, there was a flood of around 400 000 pre-orders for the book. 430 000 books were printed and a reprint will be taking place soon.

It looks like "KAGEROU" is set to become a best-selling novel! (Mainichi)

Buy the book online here.

Maybe it's just me, but as a non-Japanese speaker I can't stop typing "KANGEROU".

I'm back from Africa! Whenever I tell people I'm going to Africa for holiday they're like, "What?!" but my trip was surprisingly normal. Anyway, I'm now back with an unintentional tan, mild jet lag (or maybe I'm just being lazy), and 50 trillion Zimbabwe dollars(I'm serious).

I also have no idea what has happened over the past two weeks, hence this picture post! I was planning to update while overseas since my family was bringing a laptop along but then I found out that there was no Internet anywhere. Actually there was Internet in some places but you have to pay and I wasn't going to pay. Hello, you go to Africa to see wild animals and waterfalls.

But first, guess who! Answer's at the bottom of this post.

Some Ayase Haruka application form thing.

An ad for Aiba's newest drama "Bartender", where he plays a, uhm, bartender.

Sources: Ayase Haruka application - Auragazou; Aiba Masaki bartender - choko44; Guess who - Agazou

Guess who answer (highlight to read): Yamashita Tomhisa (NEWS) and his younger sis

150 million yen to feature Arashi in a CM

The cost of featuring an artist in an advertisment usually reflects the artist's degree of activity or popularity that year. Recently, the estimated CM fee of some popular artists in Japan have been revealed.

(fee in 2010 → fee in 2011)
Arashi - 150 million yen → 150 million yen
Oguri Shun - 25 million yen → 25 million yen
Mizushima Hiro - 35 million yen → price not available*
Mukai Osamu - 30 million yen → 35 million yen
Fukuyama Masaharu - 50 milion yen → 50 million yen

Ayase Haruka - 35 million yen → 35 million yen
AKB48 - 30 million yen → 30 million yen
Sawajiri Erika - 30 million yen → price not available*
Ueto Aya - 30 million yen → 30 million yen
Yamada Yuu - 8 million yen → 8 million yen

*Mizushima Hiro has left his agency, Ken-on, to pursue a writing career. Sawajiri Erika is not attached to any agency now and has disappeared.

For example, the price of hiring Mukai Osamu has increased because of his rising popularity. (Entame)

There are a lot more listings at the actual site where I got this from, so you might want to take a look. It's quite easy to figure out, since it's just kanji names and numbers.

Hiro tweets in English!

:DD He does tweet an awful lot of photos of books though - shows what an intellectual person he is!

grainy photos

Decided to (finally!) update today, but I can't seem to find anything interesting. Though I suspect it's probably because my skills in searching for news aren't as sharp as they used to be. Anyway, here are a bunch of photos with mystery people inside. If you can, identify them!

Matsumoto Jun from Arashi with someone.

 Ikuta Toma (looks so different with this hair) with someone #2.

(supposedly) Shirota Yuu, Yamapi and Mizobata Junpei. I can only identify Shirota (the tall one, duh), so I'm not so sure about the other two.

change.

After my exams, I realised how addictive my hiatus is! But now that I'm finally back, I have something to get off my chest: I want to shift the focus of this blog. Let me make this clear first: I am not going to stop posting Japanese entertainment news!

1. I realised that it's pointless for me to constantly "copy-paste-credit" articles from other English site like Tokyograph and tokyohive. From now on, I will probably be focusing more on stuff from Japanese sites. I'm sure you're okay with that, you can easily get your fill from those sites anyway! And if you're not okay, then.... Too bad!

2. From now on, I'm only going to post stuff on people I actually am interested in, not some Japanese actor that I've never heard of before, because it's troublesome to search for all the info on that actor and besides, it's no fun.

So, I guess you can expect more posts on some JE bands, actors like Mizushima Hiro (OMG he won a writing competition, but that's old news) and whoever I might be particularly interested in! This post isn't exactly the same as updating, I know, but it's progress!

I was just listening to some of Rihanna's songs from Good Girl Gone Bad. I miss the old Rihanna. :(

[Sticky post] Hiatus till 15 November

MY O-LEVEL HIATUS IS HERE. (16 Sept-15 Nov 2010)

Last day of school (8 October 2010)
Graduation (9 October 2010)
Study break
Start of exams (25 October 2010)
End of exams (15 November 2010)

I will not:
-Update as much.
-Use Tumblr.
-Upload YouTube videos.
-Watch any doramas or variety shows (except for the last episode of Hotaru no Hikari 2)

I will:
-Check my email once every 3days or so, and respond.
-Respond to some comments on this blog.
-Reply to questions in my Formspring.
-Tweet about my progress A LOT. (my only connection with the Internet world while I'm studying...)

You can get an email subscription to my blog since I will be updating occasionally. Just use the widget at the sidebar or click here. I hope you will continue reading my blog after my hiatus ends. And good luck to those taking exams too or facing troubles at school and work! Anyone here taking similar college entrance exams, I advise you to go on hiatus too~ Let's work hard together! ^^

Everyone, I'm sorry for the trouble!

♥, andwewonder.

Scroll down for updates!  ↓↓↓

Mizushima Hiro and Ayaka are on twitter!

I decided to log on to Tumblr after not doing so for a few zillion pages, and the first thing I saw on my dashboard was that Mizushima Hiro and his wife Ayaka Iida have started official twitter accounts!

Mizushima Hiro: http://twitter.com/hiro_mizushima
Ayaka: http://twitter.com/Ayaka_1218

I'm not sure how early or how late I am regarding this bit of news, since I've been trying to avoid all contact with Japanese entertainment right now. They said that they opened the accounts to communicate with their fans and will be replying fans' tweets (only a few, of course!). Since Mizushima is fluent in English, he might just reply your English tweet! Their twitter accounts are really active right now (meaning they have tweets from just 3minutes ago)!

With numbers like this, it's got to be Arashi

Arashi's album "Boku no Miteiru Fuukei" has officially become the first release of 2010 to reach 1 million copies sold. According to Oricon's sales numbers, the album sold 8,561 copies this past week, pushing the total sales to 1,007,896. Their greatest hits album "All the BEST! 1999-2009" last year was their first work to reach the million milestone, but "Boku no Miteiru Fuukei" is their first original one to achieve that feat.

Arashi personally announced the news to their fans on Tuesday during an event at Haneda Airport. JAL's customized Arashi Jet made an appearance at the airport's new international terminal, which is scheduled to open for operation on October 21.

"Boku no Miteiru Fuukei," released on August 4, sold approximately 731,000 copies in its first week. At the time, that one week alone was enough to make the album #1 in total sales for the year. (Tokyograph)

see you when I next give in to the lure of the laptop

Graduation last Saturday. I was correct when I said that everyone would change their minds at the last minute and start missing school. I'm always right about this sort of thing, but it doesn't stop me from feeling like a social misfit when what I predict happens.
I got a good for my conduct this semester. This is the first time I've gotten anything lower than a very good after 10 years of formal schooling the school just has to do this to me. Just because I only attended 11/20 schooldays in term 4 but hey at least I'm not one of those students that create trouble for my teachers. I'm going to get some shockingly good results for my Os and you'll be praising me when I come back to collect my results next year okay.

And my testemonial. I substituted my name with andwewonder but it looked too weird, hence the strikethrough.

Character: andwewonder is a calm and reassuring presence in class. (yeah I'm not even in class half the time) A polite and well-mannered pupil, she carries herself with remarkable poise and composure, displaying fortitude and commendable grace at times. andwewonder's patient and gentle disposition, as well as her sensitivity to the emotions of others, enables her to apply diplomacy and tact in resolving conflict between her peers, winning her many friends. (you mean I have no enemies, not that I have many friends)

Passion for Learning: andwewonder is a disciplined and conscientious learner, capable of intelligent and interesting responses. (wow I never knew I respond in class) An independent leader who takes the initiative to read widely outside the prescribed school curriculum, andwewonder is mature for her age and capable of analytical thought. In her quiet confident way, she displays strength and is capable of holding her own. A highly oranised and motivated individual, andwewonder is a very reliable team member. (wouldn't team leader have sounded better?)

Well, I guess it could have been worse. Four years of secondary school, gone. I am trying very hard to study now but I have like 8 subjects to study for in 13 days and is that even posible even if I were to type out what I have to study I wouldnt' have the time. Additional Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Lit are worrying me. For once I am glad that I do not have cable tv in my house and my brother's friends are coming tomorrow. I am now idly reading blogs of foreigners living in Japan.

My life is as non-existent as kittens on Mars.

Hi there! Love your blog and tumblr! I'm the creator of fyhiromizushima and im thankful for all the hiro related news you've posted. But im actually a bigger fan of arashi and i post things on arashitv as well! n.n Anw, good luck for ur o's! P..s: im frm
Your question got cut off, but I'm guessing you wanted to say that you're from Singapore. :D
OMG. YOU CREATED FYHIROMIZUSHIMA?!?! KYAAAAAAAA~!~!~!~! HIRO~ I'M SO GLAD! WOW WOW WOW! I really like him! It's amazing that I get to hear from you. (^_^*)
I'm really happy to hear that you're a fan of Arashi too! And that you read my blog. :O Thanks for your well wishes, and wow I still can't get over the fyhiromizushima thing! Hiro~ (man I feel like watching Mei-chan no Shitsuji now!) It's my favourite Hiro-fangirling show. XD

where do u live?
In a terrace house in Singapore. I don't know if that's good or bad~

Formspring me!

Mukai Osamu spotted at bar

Finally, some interesting news about Mukai Osamu (28)? Up to now, this increasingly popular actor has not had much gossip around him, except for a few whispers about him dating Kitagawa Keiko. He previously studied agriculture in Meiji University and is said to be rather naive around women. (though I kind of doubt this...)

Tokyo Sports has reported that he frequents an exclusive, members-only bar in Nishiazabu, Tokyo. Nishiazabu is an area with many bars and restaurants, but is quieter than the neighbouring Roppongi area. There, he is very popular with the female patrons, and a certain race queen mentioned that she has meets him often in that bar.

After his large breakthrough as an actor in the asadora jdorama "Gegege no Nyobo", there seems to be a large battle between whether he will continue as a model or focus more on acting. (Azashi)

Ikuta Toma to be affected by relationship rumours?

Actor Ikuta Toma recently turned 26 on October 7. However, he has had to deal with the trouble of Sports Hochi uncovering his relationship with actress Ichikawa Yui (24). The two were reported to have met through a mutual friend, and have been dating for five years. Apparently, their relationship was very private as only a few of the couple's close friends knew of the relationship. So far, both Johnny's Entertainment and Ken-on (Ichikawa's agency) have denied the reports.

However, this recent media frenzy is putting Toma in a troubling spot. He had previously been rumored to be dating Ishihara Satomi, an old co-star, but those rumours were proved to be wrong after she was photographed with a photographer by a gossip magazine. (sense the irony)

At the moment, Toma's Fuji TV drama "Unbore Deka" is airing, and he has quite a few movies coming up. (ugh that sounds weird)

Some people are also mentioning how much Toma's looks have changed, and speculate that he went for plastic surgery to get double eyelids.

Looking cute before,

and looking smoking hot after.

Well, with the media trying their best to squeeze more out of Toma, I'm not surprised if he didn't enjoy his birthday. Poor guy. :(( Though I don't see how having these rumouras around will cause the viewership of his shows to drop, that's a theory that seems very popular amongst the Japanese media. (cyzowoman, pictures from choko44)

Ikuta Toma and Ichikawa Yui dating for the past 5 years?

Sports Hochi has reported that Johnny's Entertainment actor Ikuta Toma (25) has been dating actress Ichikawa Yui (24) for the past five years. According to the paper, the two had met through a mutual friend in 2005. The article also states that Johnny's Entertainment has not responded to thr rumour.

Apparently, Ikuta Toma had previously been rumored to have dated Ishihara Satomi. (Entame)

Mizushima Hiro as a sports reporter?

Recently, actor Mizushima Hiro left his entertainment agency Ken-On. Now, it seems that there has been many popular football magazines have approached Mizushima, asking him to be a sports reporter.

Mizushima Hiro had earlier said that he was leaving to focus on a writing career. Tokyo Sports reports that many of these football magazines have approached Mizushima with attractive offers for him to write articles for them. Mizushima should have a good knowledge of the sport as his school's soccer team as a student. (Azashi)

Kame and Koda Kumi enter Best Jeanist's hall of fame

The 27th annual Best Jeanist awards ceremony was held on Tuesday. This year the awards, which help promote the jeans industry by highlighting celebrities who look good wearing jeans, were given to singer Koda Kumi (27) and KAT-TUN member Kamenashi Kazuya Kamenashi (24) for the fifth consecutive year.

72,153 votes were submitted, and both Koda and Kamenashi won by wide margins. Kamenashi took 29,000 votes in the men's category, nearly triple the tally for Arashi's Aiba Masaki. Koda, on the other hand, received close to 13,000 votes.

Public Selection Category - Male

1. Kamenashi Kazuya - 29,118
2. Aiba Masaki - 10,696
3. Jejung - 3,932
4. Yamshita Tomohisa - 1,872
5. Iwasawa Koji (Yuzu) - 1,696
6. Hikawa Kiyoshi - 1,458
7. Matsumoto Jun - 1,186
8. Ohno Satoshi - 973
9. Akanishi Jin - 908
10. Uchi Hiroki - 672

Public Selection Category - Female

1. Koda Kumi - 12,961
2. aiko - 5,456
3. Amuro Namie - 5,219
4. Kuroki Meisa - 4,935
5. Becky - 3,580
6. Kitagawa Keiko* - 3,056
7. Karina - 2,066
8. Kimura Kaela - 1,905
9. Nakama Yukie - 1,796
10. Tsuchiya Anna - 1,321

With five wins, both Koda and Kamenashi are being placed into the "hall of fame," making them ineligible for future awards. This is the first time that both the male and female winners have entered the "hall of fame" in the same year. Only three other people have achieved that milestone: Kimura Takuya, Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, and Hamasaki Ayumi.

In addition to the Public Selection category awards, committee selection awards were given to actor Kiritani Kenta (30), AKB48 member Itano Tomomi (19), and talento Haruna Ai (38). The newly established "global" award went to professional soccer star Honda Keisuke (24), who currently plays for CSKA Moscow and accepted the award through a video message. (Tokyograph)

*I do have a label for her, but I took her name out because there's a character limit and her name was the longest!

New drama for Nakama Yukie

Nakama Yukie (30) will star in a true suspense drama special this December in Fuji TV's "Kinyo Prestige" time slot (Friday 9:00pm-10:52pm). Titled "Mesen," the story is based on a novel published last year by writer Amano Setsuko.

Nakama plays the daughter of a construction company president. She works as an illustrator, but due to an accident during her childhood, she has been using a wheelchair almost her whole life. One day, her father suddenly commits suicide, and one by one the other members of the family fall victim to a string of mysterious murders. Nakama's character begins her search for the killer, uncovering the clever tricks used in the murders and the unexpected culprit's sorrowful motive.

The supporting cast includes Yamamoto Koji (33), Ukaji Takashi (48), and Kitaro (62). Fuji TV has not yet announced a specific broadcast date. (Tokyograph)

Simultaneous release in US and Japan for Akanishi?

On Sunday, Akanishi Jin (26) held a fan club event at Zepp Tokyo, his first public appearance in Japan since leaving KAT-TUN in July. During the event, he talked about his U.S. tour this coming November, as well as his plans for next year. At the moment, he is looking to release his next single simultaneously in the U.S. and Japan.

Akanishi performed a total of 8 songs including "Eternal," which is the leading candidate for the upcoming single. He plans to release that single in Japan in early 2011. Johnny's Entertainment is currently in talks with multiple record labels in the U.S. to negotiate a simultaneous release.

Akanishi is also planning a solo album and a Japan tour, though details have not yet been determined.

During the event, Akanishi did not touch on the subject of his departure from KAT-TUN. At the press conference after the event, he explained that he already made his announcement on his blog, so he felt there was no need to talk about it. However, he acknowledged that his withdrawal from the group was very sudden, so he apologized to the other members for the trouble it caused. At the same time, he said he would like to see both KAT-TUN and himself rise up to a higher level as artists together.

Akanishi stated that he hopes to have Japan as his base for his international activities, and he would like to spread out to Europe and other parts of Asia, in addition to the U.S. (Tokyograph)

Hmmm, "other parts of Asia". Come to Singapore, Jin? :D

hye there.. i've just read ur post of akanashi's withdrawal is caused by the irreparable rship with kamenashi..it's hard for me to believe it..but is there, by chance u got to know both of them in private (i mean do u know anything 'bout their lifestyle
Haha, I wish I knew them! No, I don't know them personally at all and anything I know about them comes from the Internet/magazines.

To the other sweetie that asked me another Formspring question, I'll reply to that another time! I'm just too tired to translate anything now... :( My exams are in 3 weeks or 24 days or some other really horrifying number and I've wasted the past 4 days just bumming around, not even doing anything productive.

This is a pictorial post because I'm too tired to look for news :(( Yamapi, Matsujun and Ikuta Toma

 Yamshita Tomohisa, spotted while out by himself. As usual, an *cough* interesting outfit. Before you accuse me of being biased, I say this about almost every Johnny and I love them all. XD

And him and Aribu Yuu having the same necklace. (This was from some time back)

Matsumoto Jun, like Yamapi, out on his own. As usual, an *ahem* interesting outfit.

And just in case your eyes were ruined by the alien clothes, here's some love from Ikuta Toma and Yampi for you. You find youself falling in love with JE once again~

Sources: Yamapi in town - Janimoe; Matching necklace - Azagou; Matsujun in town - Janimoe; Ikuta Toma Yamapi ♥ - Janimoe

Who looks best in glasses?

October 1st is “Glasses Day” in Japan (as set by the Japan Ophthalmic Business Association), and Oricon style has announced the results for the ‘ranking of celebrities who look good on glasses’. This is the fifth year that such a ranking has been held. I only posted, those photos which I thought were worth posting, check out the rest here. (tokyohive)

Actors

10. Hayami Mocomichi

9. Oguri Shun

8. Tokoro George

7. Bae Yong Joon

6. Tamori

5. Miyagawa Daisuke
4. Fukuyama Masaharu (looks hot here doesn't he^^)

3. Mukai Osamu

2. OgiYahagi (comedian duo)

1. Yashima Norito

Actresses

10. Kanno Miho

9. Manabe Kaori

8. Shibata Rie

7. Tokito Ami

6. Nakama Yukie!!!

5. Takagi Miho

4. Kitagawa Keiko

3. Angela Aki

2. Becky (THE DOG IS SO CUTE!)

1. Mitsuura Yasuko

In my opinion, the dog deserves to win! 1 October is such a popular day for holidays... It's Children's Day in Singapore and the 61st National Day for China! :D

Matsumoto Jun's Elleair wallpapers

I love the big fat「潤」!

Both wallpapers are 1280 X 1204. You can get them at other sizes at the official site. I like the first one so much better because there's more of Jun's face to see. XD

Nakama Yukie FRIDAY'd with Tanaka Tetsushi

The weekly magazine FRIDAY has caught actress Nakama Yukie (30) and actor Tanaka Tetsushi (43) together. Rumors about the two of them being in a relationship have been around since last year, but this time it seems that FRIDAY has managed to get a two-shot of the couple.

Tanaka was seen entering Nakama's in mid-September. Last night (30 September) at 10:00pm, Tanaka was seen walking along a sidewalk with a slender woman who had long hair, and looked like Nakama Yukie. There was also a second woman present. Tanaka's agency has mentioned that all three of them are just friends.

Nakama and Tanaka were co-stars in last year's drama, "Untouchable". (Entame, Entame)

Shibasaki Kou and Oda Yuji for 2011 drama

It was reported in August that Fuji TV has green-lit a television sequel to the 2009 movie "Amalfi: Megami no Hoshu," which starred actor Oda Yuji (42). More details have now been released, including the casting of Shibasaki Kou (29) as the female lead.
The drama series, titled "Gaikoukan Kuroda Kosaku," will bring Oda back as the diplomat Kosaku Kuroda, who now has to take on matters such as domestic terrorism as well as international affairs. Settings include San Francisco, Mexico, and Japan, with part of the series planned to be filmed overseas. Kuroda's backstory will also be covered.
Shibasaki will play the part of a police detective who works with Kuroda. She previously acted on-screen with Oda in the 2006 movie "Kenchou no Hoshi" (also known as "Star Reformer").
Filming has just started, even though the series will not start until January 2011 in the Thursday 10:00pm time slot. Kagawa Teruyuki (44), Kaho (19), and Kusakari Tamiyo (45) have also been cast. (Tokyograph)

Picture flash: Arashi blokes, Ikuta Toma w glasses, KimuTaku and his wife etc.

Matsumoto Jun resting during filming (possibly for Natsuniji?)

 And Matsumoto Jun on a train? While I do think that he might take the train sometimes, this guy doesn't really look a lot like him...

Ninomiya in his own clothes.

Ohno (Arashi) and Ryo (Kanjani8) looking pretty chummy. Ohno is so cute!

Ikuta Toma hard at work(?). He looks just as good with glasses~



Kimura Takuya (SMAP) and his wife, Shizuka Kudo.

Sources: Matsumoto Jun filming - Janimoe; Matsujun train - choko44; Nino - choko44; Ohno and Ryo - Janimoe; Ikuta Toma glasses - Janimoe; KimuTaku and Shizuka Kuda - Auragazou

Ueda on his solo concert, toe injury and Akanishi Jin

KAT-TUN’s Ueda Tatsuya has his solo live concert at The First Gymnasium in Yoyogi on September 26. It was reported last month that during KAT-TUN’s concert in Taipei, Ueda broke his left big toe. However, he still continued to perform at the next concert, which was on the next day.
Ueda’s solo concert tour started early last month in which he will have 8 performances in 5 cities. Although his injury is not yet completely healed and it was said that he’s still in pain, he acted like a professional and even ran around the stage, completely focused on the stage director’s instructions.
“SCOOP! Shougeki Shasin” gave a detailed report about Ueda’s accident in Taiwan and had photos showing the sequence of Ueda’s 3 meter jump. “After I jumped, I just thought ‘This is bad’,” he said in a joke.
About his first solo live tour, Ueda expressed that he’s so happy about it and it was his dream to have one. When asked about Akanishi Jin, who have left the group and will perform in 5 cities in the US, all Ueda said is “He is my friend. So I’ll be supporting him in his activities”. (tokyohive)

Taguchi Junnosuke and Komine Rena together in Kumamoto

In September 2009, KAT-TUN member Taguchi Junnosuke (25) and actress Komine Rena (30) went on a trip to Hawaii together. Now, Tokyo Sports has reported that the two of them were in Kumamoto prefecture, which is Komine Rena's hometown. Above is an old paparazzi shot of the two of them.

They were at the Fujisaki Hachimangu Autumn Festival in Kumamoto prefecture in mid-September. The festival is the most famous festival in Kumamoto, and runs from 11-15 September. Usually, about 200 000 people take part in the festival every year.

A teenage girl who saw the couple described them as behaving very naturally. She also said that there were many high school and middle school students at the festival, and some of them were getting quite excited, saying things like "Ah! KAT-TUN's Taguchi!".

Since the two of them were at the festival, it seems almost natural that Junno would have visited Komine's house. On September 24, Komine actually updated her blog. She mentioned that she had returned to Kumamoto to see her grandmother and wished her blog readers well. Previously, there had been some fans who were upset about her blog postings. (Azashi)

Toda Erika digs her nose for "SPEC"

Actress Toda Erika (22) and actor Kase Ryo (35) took the stage at TBS today to present their new drama "SPEC".

Toda stood out in her role as Touma Saya, a weird woman and genius with an IQ of 201 who always has her left arm in a triangular bandage and never stands straight. "About 3-4 years ago I realized that while I need to have pride as an actress, I don't need any kind of womanly pride for acting," Toda was fully motivated about her role. "The director gave me instruction like, 'I want you to pick your nose'. Of course it was a bit shocking at first, but no matter what filthy or cruel things he wants me to do, if he requests it, I'll do it," she explained and stated all the fun she had during the filming while not thinking about her image as a woman.

The drama is a sequel to the series "Keizoku" that aired 11 years ago and has almost the same staff as well as a few actors that already appeared in the original, including veteran actor Ryuu Raita (70). Of course the story will be similar as well and focus on a special team that handles unsolvable cases. That team is being led by Touma as mentioned above and Sebumi Takeru (Kase), a former commandant of the special forces.

Kase had some interesting stories to share from the filming. "Toda has been on a rampage lately. She goes way beyond what is written inside the script, starts to do a lot of ambiguous things, but she's so great that almost everything will make it into the final version," he described her acting.

Toda also said a few things about Kase, "He is always very straightforward, during his performance and in private. However, recently I think he started to reveal his actual true self. He has a very unique side to him and often comes up with the craziest ideas about Touma. It's just fun doing all those absurd things together with him."

"SPEC" will air every Friday and have its premier on October 8. As usual, the first episode will be 15 minutes longer. (Kawaii Joyuu)

Mizushima Hiro clears up retirement rumors

Mezamashi TV's Tokudane segment contacted Mizushima Hiro asking him about leaving talent agency Ken-on, retiring from showbiz and becoming a writer. "I'm bewildered by the inaccuracy of the reports," he commented.


According to Mezamashi TV, Mizushima stated that reports citing that Ayaka is still attached to Ken-on is not true and that she had left Ken-on after her performance at the Kouhaku last year. Furthermore, they are starting up a company to manage Ayaka's music and Mizushima is not stopping acting work.

Information given out by Ken-on and other reports
- Ayaka is just taking a break, she is still with Ken-on.
- Mizushima Hiro is no longer interested in being an actor, he wants to concentrate on writing.
- Ayaka and Mizushima Hiro are setting up a company to manage their work.

Mizushima Hiro's comments
- Ayaka left Ken-on after her Kouhaku performance last year.
- Mizushima Hiro will continue with creative works and that includes acting.
- Ayaka and Mizushima Hiro are not setting up a company to manage their work. The company will be set up only to manage Ayaka's music.
- The two of them will do their best without being attached to a talent agency.
(24th September) Edit : Multiple news reports are citing that the clarification came from an email exchange with Tokudane's Ogura Tomoaki. Mainichi, Sports Hochi and Asahi reported that the email exchange was with Ayaka while Daily Sports Online reported that it was with Hiro. (unleashthegeek)

Whatever it is, I wish the two of them all the best! ^_^

Arashi shows support for HFMD-stricken Miyazaki through short video

Arashi are releasing a video message exclusively for the people living in West Japan, after an outbreak of hand, foot, and mouth disease has hit the area.
As the country’s tourism navigators, the group volunteered to release a 15-second video to air only in Miyazaki prefecture, where tourist numbers have dropped considerably since April.

The highly contagious hand foot and mouth disease had led to the slaughtering of almost 300 000 cattle and livestock, affecting the prefecture’s premium beef industry. For a while, road access in and out of the prefecture had been restricted in order to keep the disease from spreading. This has caused people to think twice about visiting the area.

In Arashi’s video, the five members cheer on the locals.
-“Speaking of Miyazaki, I can think of plenty of things to see! Great food!” Said Aiba Masaki Aiba (27).
-“No matter what, Miyazaki beef is still the best in Japan,” said Ohno Satoshi (29).
-“We support you,” said Matsumoto Jun (27).
The video will be broadcast on local TV stations and at local events held in Miyazaki. (MomoEdgewood's Mediawatch)

Aww, how sweet! ARASHI~

Yamamoto Yusuke has a 21 year old girlfriend?

This week's issue of FRIDAY reports that young actor Yamamoto Yusuke (22) was seen with a woman at his apartment earlier this month. The woman, said to be 21 years old, entered the apartment building together with Yamamoto and spent the night there. The two left the building at different times the next morning.
FRIDAY says that Yamamoto and the woman have been dating for less than a month. Yamamoto's agency also stated that he met the woman about 1 or 2 months ago, but described her as a close friend. The company asserted that work should be the priority for Yamamoto, and they have told him that directly. (Tokyograph)

Ayaka on Mizushima leaving Ken-on

Earlier this week, the entertainment world was surprised by the news of actor Mizushima Hiro (26) leaving his management agency Ken-on in order to pursue writing. On Thursday, some information about the situation was revealed on the Fuji TV program "Tokudane!"
Singer Ayaka Iida (22), who is married to Mizushima, replied to an e-mail sent by the show's newscaster Tomoaki Ogura (63). Ogura summarized her response by highlighting four major points:
•Ayaka also left Ken-on at the end of last year.
•Mizushima will be focusing on writing and creating works, but his activities will also include acting. What a relief!
•The company that Mizushima and Ayaka have started is in charge of managing Ayaka's music.
•The two plan on continuing their activities independently, without a management agency.

Ayaka's response contradicts Ken-on's statement earlier this week, which stated that Ayaka was still signed with the agency and that her contract would not be affected. Ken-on has not yet commented on Ayaka's statements. (Tokyograph)

Picture flash: Kame's designer clothes, Yamapi's friends, some HSJ boys, and the usual "Akanishi with a woman"

A compilation of Kame wearing designer clothing... Which doesn't look good on him, most of the time.

Akanishi Jin with Miss Vietnam at an event premier (identiy of woman was contributed by Anonymous). Well, she's really tall. :O

Yamashita Tomohisa with hs friends, who all look surprisingly good despite having their eyes covered. In fact, Yamapi looks kind of washed out compared to them.

Yamada Ryosuke with Nakajima Yuto. (Yuto used to be so cute in Nobuta wo Produce~)

Yamada Ryosuke and Chinen Yuri.

Sources: Kame designer - choko44; Jin with woman - choko44; Yamapi and friends - Janimoe; Yamada and Nakajima - Janimoe; Yamda and Chinen - choko44

Matsumoto Jun as a priest in new CM

On September 22, Arashi’s Matsumoto Jun attended an event for the commercial presentation of Daio paper’s newest product, ‘+Water’ tissues.

In the commercial, Matsumoto is clad in priest’s clothes waiting at the altar for people who wish to take the “vow of moisture”. ‘+Water’ boasts 170% more liquid component than previous Daio paper’s product, so it guarantees complete moisture in every use.

During the event, Matsumoto was given the title “Moisture Man” which the singer accepted. He hopes that the phrase “Moisture Man” becomes as popular as the phrase “Ikemen Danshi”.

The CM began airing on September 23rd. (Tokyohive)

Ueto Aya and Morita Go break up

It is being reported that actress Ueto Aya (25) and V6 member Morita Go (31) have broken up, ending a romance that lasted nearly 8 years. Based on information from multiple sources, it appears that they separated in May, about a month after they first publicly acknowledged their relationship.

Rumors about Ueto and Morita started at the end of 2002, when a magazine published an article claiming that they were dating. Neither side acknowledged those rumors until April of this year, when Ueto confirmed that she was in a relationship. At that time, it was also reported that the two were getting close to marriage.
After those reports of imminent marriage, it is said that Ueto and Morita re-examined their plans for the future. Ueto apparently has a strong desire to get married, but based on the fact that Morita is part of an idol group and both of their schedules are so busy that they often cannot meet, they mutually decided to break up and focus on their careers for now. Sources assure that this is not the result of a fight, nor has either side found someone new. (Tokyograph)

Hi! if Jin holds a concert in Singapore will you attend?

Well, it depends, but I think I'd rather go to the airport to see him and scream for him! Since I'm quite a new fan, I don't know much of his songs so it'd be kind of weird. Maybe if he comes in about 1 year's time, I'd have learnt most of his songs and can go to his concert! But I have no one to go with, and I'd much rather it be Arashi who comes! ^_^

Fellow Singaporean! :D Now there's this Kpop wave going on in S'pore (T-T) Jpop needs some love~~ You like Kpop? :D

Hi there! Good to know there's someone in Singapore who likes J-pop too! No, I'm definitely not a K-pop fan. The nicest thing I can say about K-pop is that they have a few catchy songs. Otherwise... I don't like it. Maybe it's because I didn't give it much of a chance (other than watching some Boys Over Flowers which sparked the whole Korean wave anyway)... But J-pop and JE is so much better! :DD

Kamenashi Kazuya meets his baseball hero at Panasonic event

KAT-TUN’s Kamenashi Kazuya failed to hide his excitement while meeting former pro baseball player, and current sports reporter, Furuta Atsuya at an event for Panasonic.
The event was called Panasonic BEAUTY – a line for men’s electronic products – which Kamenashi Kazuya promotes. Even though Kamenashi was there to promote the products, he couldn’t help but talk about baseball all throughout the event with Furuta. Kamenashi is a big fan of baseball, and has been playing it since he was a child. He was good enough to have played for Japan when he was younger, but chose to focus on the entertainment industry.
“He’s the player that I’ve followed before. I can’t believe I’m meeting him,” said Kamenashi in an interview.
While Kamenashi was still dazed from meeting his sports idol, Furuta commented that he’s as happy to be able to meet the JE star. “My wife is a big fan of him and asked me to take a lot of pictures with him,” said Furuta. He also gave Kamenashi some advice about work as a TV sports reporter.
It was a good thing Kamenashi still managed to promote the product despite being distracted by baseball. Kamenashi said that he hopes that more people will use the products, whether it’s a man or a woman.
Panasonic BEAUTY is famous for its shaver (sold more than a million units) and blow dryer (sold about 4 million units). (tokyohive)

SMAP concert in Shanghai postponed (again)

Kyodo News is reporting that SMAP's concerts at Shanghai Stadium on October 9-10 may get canceled due to an escalating incident between China and Japan. Ticket sales for the shows have reportedly been suspended already due to the high likelihood of cancellation.
Last month, Japanese officers arrested a Chinese fishing boat captain on charges that he deliberately rammed his boat into a Japanese patrol boat. He is currently being detained by a Japanese court despite Chinese opposition, leading to strained relations between the two countries. On Monday, China took moves to suspend much of its political communications with Japan, and there have been reports of other measures being taken on a commercial level.
With the matter currently unresolved, holding the SMAP concerts in Shanghai may prove to be impossible. As a result, organizers are apparently putting the concerts on hold for the time being.
SMAP was originally scheduled to perform their first China concert at the Shanghai World Expo on June 13, but that was canceled by organizers due to safety concerns.
UPDATE: The Chinese company responsible for organizing the concerts announced on Tuesday that they have officially decided to postpone the shows, due to "practical reasons." Tens of thousands of tickets have already been sold, and those fans will start getting refunds on September 25. (Tokyograph)
 
How unlucky... I first read about this in the newspapers today (there was a really small mention) and I was hoping that the news was incorrect!

Mizushima Hiro leaves Ken-on to start writing career

Actor Mizushima Hiro (26) has left his management agency Ken-on as of September 20, it has been learned. According to Ken-on, Mizushima left in order to focus on a writing career.
Mizushima has apparently been interested in writing for a long time. He informed his management about his desire to try it out, and after discussing the matter, his departure from the agency was decided.
Mizushima's wife, singer Ayaka Iida (22), is also signed with Ken-on. Although she is currently on hiatus, the company stated that Mizushima leaving will have no effect on her current contract.
It is not yet clear how this move will impact Mizushima's acting career. (Tokyograph)
 
Oh no, does this mean that he won't be acting anymore? I think he'd be a good writer and he does seem more like an author than an actor, but I want to watch his dramas!

Arashi/JE polls

Which Arashi member would look good as a pilot?
01 – (14235) – Sakurai Sho
0 – (04968) – Matsumoto Jun as a pilot, huh... *dreamy eyes*
03 – (03191) – Ohno Satoshi
04 – (02540) – Ninomiya Kazunari
05 – (01403) – Aiba Masaki

When do the Arashi members shine the most?
01 – (18218) – Variety shows
02 – (11501) – Concerts
03 – (07413) – Can't choose!
04 – (02801) – Music shows
05 – (01993) – Dramas
06 – (00731) – CMs & Billboards
07 – (00206) – Movies & Plays
08 – (00146) – Events
09 – (00095) – Magazines & Photo Books
10 – (00057) – Radio


The Arashi TV show you never miss to watch?
01 All of their shows!
02 Himitsu no Arashi-chan
03 I watch more than one!
04 VS Arashi
05 Arashi ni Shiyagare
06 Arashi's performances on music shows
07 The dramas of the individual members

Your favorite Johnny?

01 – Domoto Koichi
02 – Kamenashi Kazuya
03 – Akanishi Jin
04 – Masuda Takahisa
05 – Chinen Yuri

Did Ayase Haruka go for plastic surgery?

It kind of looks like she just grew up really nicely, she was quite pretty as a child. (The hairstyle's a bit distracting though)

The grand story of Maotsujun ♥ and their love for matching clothes

Maotsujun fans, get ready to love me for this! I'd much rather have Shinkumi though... HAHA.

Our beloved Matsumoto Jun in his own clothes. Seriously, if he chooses to dress like this, I'd rather the JE stylists pick an outfit for him. Is this what Yamapi meant when he said that Jun was "really fashionable"? XD

But take comfort in the fact that leading lady of HYD, Inoue Mao, is wearing the same boots! Jun was just wearing this alien outfit to proclaim his love~

And this time Jun isn't ruining it like in the first photo. It actually looks quite nice, doesn't it? (I really like it on Jun in the second photo)

This couple also likes their checked shirts...

They're wearing the same belt here, if you didn't get too distracted by Jun's topless bod! I KNOW YOU DID. Because it took me a really long time to realise it too.

... And they all lived happily ever after.

THE END.

Sources: Jun by himself - Janimoe; all others - Janimoe

Hayami Mokomichi's good at cooking, but thinks chemistry is more important

On the 16th, actor Hayami Mokomichi (26) was a guest at the launch of a new gelato product in Tokyo. In July he published a book of original recipes, he's a cuisine connoisseur. Regarding the new product 'vegetable gelato', Mokomichi commented, "It's a novel idea. The combination is great. It has a feeling of being a healthy dessert." Among the 5 flavours, he likes the carrot and apple ones.
He began cooking in elementary school as both his parents were working. "Watching my brother's back as he cooked, I thought he looked cool. I experimented cooking carbonara." The first time his mum tried his cooking, she thought that the flavour was too strong, but now "Mum says it's delicious," he said confidently.
Regarding the ladies, "It's OK if they can't cook, as long as there's good chemistry. We can knead hamburgers together."
The new product will be available at specialist gelato shops Mario Gelateria this autumn. (unleashthegeek)

Found this about Jin's friend joey that everybody is following on twitter. What do you think about it? http://encyclopediadramatica.com/User:Campus101/TokyoJosh

I checked out his twitter http://twitter.com/tokyojosh, but I didn't find it very interesting. Most of his tweets seem to be replies and he has a lot of #jinakanishi but they don't seem to make much sense to me...

However he does have one tweet http://twitter.com/tokyojosh/status/12502683056 that says "kat tun not going!" It doesn't sound like he's putting KT down or anything. But I did hear about some of Jin's friends removing their tweets so maybe he did?
Though I don't see why Akanishi Jin fans would follow his twitter (it looks quite boring to me!), I guess his YouTube vids are quite interesting if you want to know more about Japan. I watched a few, haha!

Ask me something on Formspring!

Minna-san, gokigenyo! (LOL at my warped romanji)

My hiatus has been in place for less than 48 hours, and it's not going that well! I keep on wondering what's happening in the Japanese entertainment world and thinking about how I might get a big shock if something big happens and I only find out about it a week later or so. Oh, I had a dream about Ikuta Toma the night before! It was quite a confusing dream and if it wasn't even supposed to be a happy dream because someone was threatening to set a bomb off or something, but I was really glad because Toma was there with me. I didn't really like him before this but I think I'm now a fan of his! :)) I woke up too soon though. :/

Anyway, to more important things~ It seems like some people have had trouble accessing this blog. Someone asked me a question on Formspring asking me if I had deleted my blog because they couldn't find it and at that time I was kind of confused. But today I saw on someone's tumblr (yes I know I said I'd stop using tumblr!) that a few others were unable to see an article because it was "removed". And I realised that there are periods when I have zero pageviews when I check Blogger Stats. So, I've come to the (rather obvious) conclusion that there's something wrong! If you have difficulty reading my blog at anytime please inform me through an email or comment.

Blogger's been getting rather annoying recently, so I'm thinking of moving at the end of the year. But where? o~(0-0)~o

Ninomiya and other exciting guests for Matsujun dorama final!

Yesterday, Sankei Sports reported that Arashi’s Ninomiya Kazunari (27) and Fukuda Kyoko (27) will make guest appearances in the final of Matsumoto Jun’s summer drama next week as a props technician and assistant producer respectively.
The drama “夏の恋は虹色に輝く (Natsu no Koi wa Niji-iro ni Kagayaku)” follows the romance between a second-generation actor Kusunoki Taiga (Matsumoto) and single mother Kitamura Shiori (Yuko Takeuchi). The final focuses on the Taiga’s work in the stage play of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
The guest actor list for the final has revealed a line up of many A-list Japanese actors, including Ichimura Masachika (61) who plays a stage actor who had gotten the role of Claudius in the play.

Ichimura had previously starred with Matsumoto in 2007′s drama series “Bambino!” and had said he had been extremely excited to be able to work with the popstar again.

It has been reported that Arashi’s Nino, who plays a props technician, also has a scene with Matsumoto, but how the two character’s will interact with one another has been left as a surprise for Monday.
Other guests include Kyoko Fukuda as an assistant producer role, Kitamura Yukiya (36) as an actor who plays Hamlet, and Natsuki Mari (58) as a singer role.
Matsumoto has been reported to have been working 100 per cent for the final. “I want to make this Hamlet play the best it can be,” he said. (MomoEdgewood's Mediawatch)

The sort of lovers Miura Haruma and Tabe Mikako would like to have

Actor Miura Haruma and actress Tabe Mikako attended the test screening of the movie "Kimi ni Todoke" together. The movie, which was adapted from a popular manga, will be released on September 25th. In the movie, Tabe plays the role of Sawako, who is called "Sadako", the horror movie character, while Miura Haruma plays the role of Kazehaya, an outgoing and friendly friend of Sawako.

When they were asked what type of person they would fall in love with, Tabe replied, "I prefer those with abundant knowledge," while Miura said, "I like girls like Sawako-chan, with black hair, and a motto such as 'Do a good deed for the day'." In the end, flumpool played the theme song of the movie. Sitting among the audience, Tabe was moved into tears: "Sawako is well-supported by a lot of people. Listening to the music, I feel so touched..." (Music Japan+)

Jin's US concert schedule

The official U.S. website of former KAT-TUN member Jin Akanishi Jin (26) has revealed some information about his upcoming U.S. tour, titled "Yellow Gold Tour 3010." The site lists five concert dates in November.


Akanishi performed his first solo concerts in the U.S. this past June. At that time, he stated that he was aiming to perform in seven U.S. cities in September and October, but those plans apparently did not turn out as hoped. His tour will take him to five of the seven cities:

11/7 - Chicago
11/10 - San Francisco
11/13 - Houston
11/16 - Los Angeles
11/21 - New York

Tickets are scheduled to go on sale on October 8. (Tokyograph)
 
Hope these are a sucess too! :D Though I doubt that he will be super famous in the US, I'm still holding onto the hope that he will.

did you delete your blog? I just went to read it and I can't find the link
No, I didn't! It's still http://andwewonder.blogspot.com. Maybe you left out the "blogspot"? This is one way in which having a Formspring is useful! :)

what do you think about all the fake twitter & facebook accounts made using JE members name?
I don't like it. It's somewhat equivalent to a scam if fans find the account and follow them. But those that I've come across so far are mostly fake, since they are mostly in English or romanji! If people really want to use a JE members name for their own personal account, they should add a "disclaimer" at their profile~

There are rumors that Kamenashi Kazuya is daiting Song Eun Ae is this true?
I did a quick google on Song Eun Ae (I don't even know who she is!) and "song eun ae kamenashi kazuya" popped out. But I couldn't find any articles that actually seemed reliable, or photos. Plus this rumor seems like its two years old, which is before I started getting interested in Japanese entertainment. They might have dated for a while some time back, but I don't think they are together now.

I love your blog!! I'm a lurker but I do comment sometimes lol. I'm a Jin Akanishi fan and your blog is one that has the most posting in one place of his "gossips" lol. It nice when you include the pictures too. There are so many Japanese, Chinese & Thai

Thank you! :D I decided to respond to your comment since it was always in my inbox. This is a 3 month old feedback.

Kimura Takuya kicks guest, enraging some. Kitagawa Keiko injured, filming of Paradise Kiss postponed.

Yesterday, the latest episode of long-running variety show "SMAP X SMAP" was aired. Kimura Takuya, when ended up kicking a comedian who made fun of him for the poor ratings of his drama that was aired earlier this year.

Kimura Takuya has starred in numerous Japanese dramas, the most recent being the previous season's Monday 9PM drama, "Moon Lovers". Despite all the hype surrounding the drama, its ratings were mediocre. There were many complaints about the weak plot

During last night's episode of "SMAP X SMAP", the guest was a comedian named Ariyoshi Hiroiki, who is well-known for being sharp-tongued. He was inventing new names for the SMAP members, and decided to call Kimura Takuya a "getsu9 idiot" (I'm thinking that he said "getsu kyu baka"). After he said it, Kimura glared at him for a while, asked for the filming to be cut, then proceeded to kick Ariyoshi's back. Later, Ariyoshi Hiroiki once again called Kimura a "dorama idiot". Kimura brought Ariyoshi off the set and messed up his hair.

Many netizens have expressed their views on this matter. Some feel that this was already arranged between Kimura and Ariyoshi before the filming, while others are upset that Kimura kicked Ariyoshi when it was just in good fun.

Kitagawa Keiko injured
Kitagawa Keiko, the main star of upcoming movie "Paradise Kiss" suffered a minor injury during filming. Apparently, her fingernail had gotten caught in a jade chain. Although she has said that she is fine, the accident left an obvious scar on her finger. Since it is hard to conceal the scar, filming has been postponed. (Yule)

Filming for "Hotaru no Hikari 2" over for Okamu Musai

Actor Osamu Mukai has been wrote in his blog that the shooting of popular dorama "Hotaru no Hikari 2" os completed. Previously he had reported that filming of TV series "Gegege no Nyoubou" has also come to an end. While the filming for the others is still ongoing, Mukai seems to have finished ahead of time.
In his blog, he also posted a two-shot with co-star Ken Yasuda and he wrote about him and the filming sight, "This is the first time I'm filming together with Yasuda, yet we have gotten really excited while talking about Hokkaido. Just like Fujiki, he is a good 'older brother' "
While "Gegege no Nyoubou" and "Hotaru no Hikari" are still being aired, fans of the two dramas have been bemoaning the approaching endings. (Music Japan+)

Interesting polls~

Female celebrities that should try out a short hairstyle?

01 – (07555) – Kitagawa Keiko
02 – (05819) – Aragaki Yui
03 – (05200) – Nakama Yukie No, I love her long hair! o_o
04 – (05198) – Kuroki Meisa
05 – (01691) – Toda Erika
06 – (01399) – Kuriyama Chiaki
07 – (01337) – Aoi Yuu
08 – (01323) – Mizukawa Asami
09 – (00490) – Tabe Mikako

If you were to run the 24h TV Marathon, which Johnny's talent should await you at the goal line?
01 – (07980) – Other (not listed)
02 – (06292) – Sakurai Sho
03 – (04186) – Ikuta Toma
04 – (04105) – Yamashita Tomohisa
05 – (03473) – Matsumoto Jun
06 – (02834) – Kimura Takuya
07 – (02031) – Okada Junichi
08 – (01416) – Nishikido Ryo
09 – (01227) – Nagase Tomoya
10 – (00859) – Domoto Koichi


Your favorite member of "BECK" in the movie?

01 – (18322) – Mukai Osamu (Taira)
02 – (09291) – Sato Takeru (Koyuki)
03 – (07114) – Mizushima Hiro (Ryusuke) The reason why darling Hiro wasn't first was his bad hair...
04 – (05093) – Kiritani Kenta (Chiba)
05 – (01320) – Nakamura Aoi (Saku)
(Kawaii Joyuu)

Kame and Akanishi not getting along a major cause of Jin's going solo? [Akame according to Bubka]

According to Bubka, a rather infamous gossip mag in Japan, the reason why Akanishi Jin left KAT-TUN is because of another member, Kamenashi Kazuya, with whom his relationship was describe as irreparable.

According to someone in the know, the oppostion between Akanishi and the other five members of KAT-TUN has "been getting worse over the years, especially with Kamenashi Kazuya, it is as if their relationship is so broken that it cannot be fixed".

Some time back, Akanishi had left a message on the internet, stating that he and the rest of KAT-TUN "were heading in different directions of development". He also emphasised that he does not dislike the other members and does not have any personal problems with them. However, there has been recent news of Akanishi, who was at a bar in Korea at that time, voicing out his true thoughts. He said "When I'm in the same space as that guy (Kamenashi Kazuya), things will become very unnatural and fustrating." and "I've thought of quitting KAT-TUN since a long time ago."

On the other hand, Kamenashi has also been angered by the "irresponsible" Akanishi. "If he hears Akanishi's name being mentioned at filming or recording studios, he will look very upset and criticise Jin openly, saying things like, 'The day he suceeds is the day America ends.' (Kantsuu)

The reason why I decided to post this is because I saw it on another site. To me, the story about Jin getting drunk and "unveiling his deepest secrets" sounds a bit too dramatic. And even if Kame hates Akanishi's guts, I'm sure he wouldn't be announcing it to everyone he works with. True, I always felt that the relationships in KT were never as natural as Arashi's, but surely they couldn't be that strained?

S/N: Bubka is well-known as a gossip rag. Please keep this in mind~

**added on September 17, 2010, FRIDAY**
Hello everyone, as you can see there have been some very long and emotional comments about this article, and I've seen quite a few posts on Tumblr regarding this article as well. And I know I usually say that I love comments, but after reading all the comments (14 as of now, but I'm going to delete some), I will be removing some off them either because they are too vulgar or just too distasteful. And please do not post stuff like "this article is full of bulls***" because I am going to delete it now! Besides the use of rude words, I really dislike it! I know this is really petty and I hate it when I see this type of thing on other sites but you are the one that chose to read the article. I translated the article from a Chinese entertainment site, which got it off Bubka. How many times do I have to say that Bubka is an "infamous gossip rag"?

CHINESE GOSSIP SITE + BUBKA = 2 X UNRELIABILITY

Some might think that, "If you knew that this might be trash, why bother translating and spreading this rubbish around?". To be honest, I don't really know why I translated this article, it's just for my (and your) entertainment. If you don't want to read, don't read it! And if you really have such a big problem with me translating it, instead of slamming me down anonymously on the internet, send me an email with your point. I will read it and reply unless it's really full of rubbish.

There might be some truth about the article, but it could be grearly exaggerated. Do you have to become so emotional that you have to cuss and write down all sorts of crackpot conspiracy theories about the other party? I am okay with you voicing your views in a restrained manner and maybe providing some extra things about the matter (eg. who attended who's concert) but I get annoyed and distressed when people start hating on someone else, like Kame, Jin, Jin's friends, T-TUN and me! Don't worry though, hating on Johnny Kitagawa and Bubka is fine. :p

I was contemplating disabling comments or deleting the entire post, but then I'd be depriving fans who know how to not take things to seriously of their gossip and the chance for them to air their views/share knowledge. So, please keep your comments clean and relatively objective or I'll delete them!

Also, could we have more comments with names! It's so dull to keep on seeing "Anonymous". And it makes replying to comments hard too. =.= Just give yourself a dumb name there's no need to add your email or website.

Ah, feels so good to let that all out! ~(^0.0^)~ I've just deleted 3 comments. All had vulgarities. This is supposed to be a deterrent, but of course, those who know how to comment without using too many expletives and with respect towards others are always welcome to air their views! :D