Narimaya Hiroki's blog to close down

His blog entry on 25th July 2010, 6:34pm:

It's been a while.

Promotion for Anniversary Book 10 has also ended, things have somewhat calmed down
This 10th anniversary, to be able to reach this turning point,
there's a part of me that feels relieved.

Listening to many people
Speaking about various topics

Next time
I think it makes you feel tense
It's sudden, but
at the end of this month
this site will close.
For it to close down, it's regrettable.
Thinking about it, it's heart-breaking.

For the 11th year, what should I aim for to move forward?
I'll be thinking about it seriously.

From now on, please support Narimiya
-Narimiya Hiroki
(translation from unleashthegeek)

Lavish 100 million yen wedding reception for Kobayashi Mao and Ichikawa Ebizo

Nothing but the best for married couple Kobayashi Mao (28) and Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ebizo (32). After coming back from Paris, the two held a wedding banquet at the prestigious Price Park Tower Tokyo on the 29th of July. About 1 000 guests attended the 11hour event, and the cost of the banquet was 100 million yen, about 100 million USD. 600-700 staff swere involved.

Unsurprisingly, rumors have surfaced. Some people are wondering about who will be shouldering the cost of this reception, as it would be unlikely that Ichikawa has so much to spare. It has been suspected that NTV paid for over half of the expenses incurred.

Also, mixed comments on the internet. Some people say that the 4 metre long wedding dress Mao wore looked weird, while others felt that she looked gorgeous in it. And a new nickname for the couple: Ebimao! (Entame)

Belated report on Akanishi Jin's 26th birthday celebrations

Ex-KAT-TUN member Akanishi Jin, recently had his 26th birthday on the 4th of July. Happy birthday Bakanishi, I just found out! :O

As per usual Akanishi Jin style, his birthday party was celebrated on the night of 3rd July, in a fancy club in Roppongi. One of the high-profile guests on the list was none other than football player Keisuke Honda (24), who had then very recently played for Japan in the 2010 World Cup (woots!). Apparently, Jin talked to Honda many times. Another member of the Japanese World Cup team, Inamoto Junichi (31), was also present. (Entame)

That's all that I can understand. >:O I need to learn Japanese soon!

Nakamaru embarrassed about everyone knowing that he goes Dutch

KAT-TUN member, Nakamaru Yuichi, has received the dishonorable image of being the “Dutch guy.”
This topic was discussed during the live concert “KAT-TUN LIVE TOUR 2010 PART2：WORLD BIG TOUR” at Tokyo Dome on the 17th. Members were talking about “who pays for the food when you go out to eat with other member”, and Ueda Tatsuya said that Yuichi definitely goes Dutch. The utterance surprised other members, but Yuichi was complaining.
This is the conversation between the members:
Nakamaru Yuichi: Please stop! It is going to spread all over the internet, especailly nowadays through blogs.
Kamenashi Kazuya: Probably if you search “Nakamaru Yuichi” on the internet, “Nakamaru Yuichi, Dutch” will come out right away.
Tanaka Koki: And you will see “Did you mean ‘Nakamaru Yuichi, Dutch” on the top.
Unfortunatly, Yuichi’s worry became true. When you search “Nakamaru Yuichi” on the Yahoo! JAPAN, the first thing you see is “Nakamaru Yuichi, Dutch” now. (tokyohive)

This conversation between the members really made me laugh in front of my computer screen! Especially Koki's comment HAHAHA. Nakamaru is so cute... Tried to do the search but couldn't find the Dutch comment!

No more Saturday night drama time slot for TBS

On Wednesday, broadcaster TBS announced that its Saturday 8:00pm hour will be turning back into a variety show time slot this October. The "Hammer Session!" drama series is currently airing in that slot.
In April 2008, TBS changed the time slot from variety to drama, starting with the live-action series "ROOKIES." That series did fairly well, but most dramas in that time slot have averaged under 10% ratings, with the notable exception of Takuya Kimura's "MR.BRAIN" last spring.
TBS stated that it is making the change with the aim of revitalizing the time slot. (Tokyograph)
 
Ah, I loved MR. BRAIN! Mizushima Hiro~

Taguchi Junno leaves Akanishi Jin out

KAT-TUN member, Taguchi Junnosuke, upset some fans during their live concert at the Tokyo Dome on July 25th.

At the beginning, when the members were talking about co-starring with other members in dramas, Kamenashi Kazuya asked Taguchi if he had ever co-stared with any KAT-TUN members in a drama, and Taguchi answered that he has never done it. However, Taguchi did co-star with Akanishi Jin in “Yukan Club” in 2007.

Perhaps the KAT-TUN members made it a point to not mention Jin during the concert on purpose, or where instructed not to mention anything about Jin?

Regardless, after the concert, some fans complained on the Internet about the comment Taguchi made, stating that it represented a mistreatment of Jin because Taguchi referred to Jin as if he was never a member of KAT-TUN. (tokyohive)

I doubt he could have forgotten that he acted with Jin, but I hope he was instructed not to do so or did not want to bring attention to Jin, rather than him leaving Jin out for any other reasons~

Shokotan debuts as an actress in cellphone jdorama

Nakagawa Shoko, known as a singer, a talent, a blogger, and an illustrator, is going to debut as an actress in a Japanses cellphone and music drama, inspired by her new song, 千の言葉と二人の秘密 (sen no kotoba to hutari no himistu).

The drama is called 恋の正しい方法は本にも設計図にも載っていない(Koi no tadashii houhou wa hon nimo sekkeizu nimo notteinai) (Starts on August 8, 2010)
Nakagawa commented that because it was her first time acting, she was very nervous. However, because she relates to the character very well, she said that after awhile, acting as the character became something very natural. (OMGJPOP)

Okay, this means that I've been having the fabulous misconception that she's an actress since forever.

Akanishi Jin's jdorama "BANDAGE" is number one!

Figures released by Oricon today have revealed that Akanishi Jin’s (26) movie “BANDAGE” made its DVD sales debut at number one.

Released on July 23, the DVD has already sold more than 37,000 copies in Japan, making it to the top of the DVD sales chart. This has given Akanishi his first number one since becoming a solo artist.
The movie is set in the rock band boom of the 1990s, where LANDS (Akanishi’s band) have to overcome a number of challenges in order to make their professional debut. When the movie was released in Japan on November 21 2009, more than 70,000 pre-sold tickets had been bought by fans. This was the largest number of pre-sold tickets Toho cinemas had sold for a live-action film.
The number one record also beats Akanishi’s previous record for solo work, when the DVD box set for his drama “有閑倶楽部 (Yukan Club)” peaked at number nine in April 2008, with 20,000 copies sold. (MomoEdgewood's Mediawatch)

Ishihara Satomi denies FRIDAY rumor at a press conference

Actress Ishihara Satomi (23) will work as a host at WOWOW's upcoming "WOW FES! 2010" and attended a press conference to promote the event earlier today.
The press conference was Ishihara's first public appearance since the prestigious tabloid "FRIDAY" revealed a possible relationship between her and aspiring cameraman Emori Yasuyuki (30). Of course reporters immediately asked her whether the rumor is true or not. Her expression first became stiff and then turned into a bitter smile. "Don't worry, nothing of that report that has been published the other day is true," she absolutely denied the rumor and bowed to the reporters.
The 4 day-long TV event "WOW FES! 2010" on WOWOW will mark the station's 20th anniversary in 2011 and the introduction of two new channels that will begin their broadcast in October this year. They will now broadcast around the clock, in HD and on three different channels. WOWOW already switched over to a digital broadcast back in 2000 and in 2011 when celebrating their 20th anniversary, all Japanese stations will finally make a complete switch over from analog to digital broadcasting. The "WOW FES! 2010" TV event will take multiple days and will be recorded live at multiple locations, the Yoyogi Park, the Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Arena in Tokyo Midtown and the Nippon Budokan. The theme this year will be "Your Choice".
Ishihara will host the first day of the live broadcast in Tokyo Midtown together with Jon Kabira (51). It will be her first time working as a TV host. "I'm more excited than nervous. That probably doesn't mean I won't cause a lot of problems, though…. In the past I've always practiced improvisations for hosting or interviewing and always hoped that I would be able to actually do it someday. I'd like to try my best and more than that I'd like to spend a wonderful day together with everyone," she said enthusiastically.
Several projects have already been planned for the event like their global talent search "WOW Star★Project! 2010", the worldwide first live boxing broadcast in 3D and an amazing treat for all fans of great music, the "Hirai Ken, Roberta Flack and Raul Midon Dream Collaboration" project.
The "WOW FES! 2010" will take place from October 23 till October 27, 2010. (Kawaii Joyuu)

Kuroki Meisa meets Angelina Jolie in Tokyo

Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie visited Tokyo on July 27th to promote her latest movie “SALT.”
She and her four children visited Tokyo, leaving her famous husband Brad Pitt at home.
While promoting “SALT,” Angelina held a press conference held at the Central Tokyo Hotel and Jolie said she took her kids to Kiddy Land (Toy Store in Tokyo) to purchase their favorite Ponyo and Totoro goods and spent the whole day shopping.
On the stage, Japanese actress Kuroki Meisa who is a big fan of Jolie made an appearance to present her with a bouquet and received a hug.
Angelina Jolie’s movie “SALT,” directed by Phillip Noyce is an action thriller in which Angelina plays the role of a former CIA agent who may be a Russian double-agent. The movie opens in theaters in Japan on July 31st. (tokyohive)

Erika Sawajiri semi-nude in magzine

Actress Erika Sawajiri, will be displayed in the international fashion magazine, Numero TOKYO, semi-nude. The photos will appear in the September issue of the magazine. Erika, herself came up with the shoots theme which is “exposed” and “entangled.” The photos will show Erika with a foreign model entangled relationship, while showing ‘sexy’ facial expressions.
She also stated in an interview that it did have something to do with the relationship she had with Tsuyoshi Takashiro. (tokyohive)

Drop in ratings for MatsuJuns getsu9 dorama. :O

The ratings for Matsumoto Jun's currently airing drama "Natsu no koi ha nijiiro ni kagayaku" has dropped drastically, from 15.7% for the first episode on 19th July to 10.9% for the second episode, which just aired on 26th July. In the drama, MatsuJun co-stars with Takeuchi Yuko.

The drama airs on 9pm every Monday night, and is considered one of the most sought after time slots that constantly turns in the highest ratings.

This is bad news for Jun, who a popular member of Johnny's Entertainment group Arashi, as he has not been doing very well in his dramas since the extremely popular Hana Yori Dango series. It is also likely that the dorama ratings will drop further on.

The dorama on the same slot before this, Kimura Takuya's (SMAP) "Moon Lovers", also suffered from unspectacular ratings. (Entame)

Oguri Shun to act in play "A Clockwork Orange"

Actor Oguri Shun (27) will star in a stage version of the Anthony Burgess novel "A Clockwork Orange," set to be performed early next year. This will be the first time that the story is adapted for the stage in Japan.
The best known adaptation of "A Clockwork Orange" is Stanley Kubrick's film in 1971. However, it has also received multiple theatrical adaptations in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.
According to Horipro, which is handling the production of the play, there have been plans to adapt the book to stage previously in Japan, but an appropriate actor for the brutal character of Alex could not be found. But after Oguri's roles in the "Crows ZERO" movies and in the stage version of "Caligula," Horipro felt he fit the part and gave him an offer last summer.
Masahiko Kawahara will direct. Performances are scheduled to start in January 2011. (Tokyograph)

Matsumoto Jun explains his inability to do a somersault

Matsumoto Jun (26) revealed on TV this week that he and Sho Sakurai (28) are the only members of Arashi who cannot somersault, reports Techinsight.
On July 19, Matsumoto and drama co-star Yuko Takeuchi had appeared on a special of “ネプリ－グ (Nepurigu)”, during which Matsumoto was asked whether he could do a somersault – a characteristic dance move Johnny’s is famous for.
The singer surprised people saying he and Sakurai couldn’t, and continued to explain why. “When we were in Johnny’s Jr., we did the background dancing for groups like KinKi Kids and V6. If you could do a somersault, you were told to do somersaults during every song while you danced in the background of our (Johnny’s) seniors. I thought my body wouldn’t be able to take it if I continuously did somersaults. So from the beginning I told them (instructors) I couldn’t, and that helped me to focus on dancing,” he said.
While it had been known for a while that Sakurai could not somersault, his explanation was slightly different.
It had been reported that on a different show, Sakurai said that he had been practising somersaults during his Johnny’s Jr. years, but one day got it wrong and ended up looking “like a frog who had landed on its back”. It was this incident that had made him give up on the move all together. (MomoEdgewood's Mediawatch)

Lol, Jun is smart enough to avoid the hard work! XD

Kamenashi Kazuya on Akanishi Jin leaving KAT-TUN

KAT-TUN’s Kamenashi Kazuya (24) has assured fans the group will not break up, reported several newspapers.


At a press conference held before the group’s concert in Tokyo on July 16, the first thing Kamenashi did was send a straight message to KAT-TUN fans. “I know the rumours have already started but this is not a break up so don’t worry. Making KAT-TUN grow stronger is our mission and our dream. Akanishi managed to succeed in his solo concert so the five of us need to make sure our concerts succeed too. I want to treat this like a new start,” he said.
Kamenashi had also said the group had no right to force Jin Akanishi (26) back. “He’s (Akanishi) doing what he wants to do. We can’t ignore that and tell him to stop it and come work with us,” he said.
Fellow KAT-TUN member Tanaka Koki (24) had added that it was the second time Akanishi had been absent from the group so the damage was minimal. He said the current five members had already established their own "five-member style".
Kamenashi also revealed he had not been in contact with Akanishi recently. “I haven’t heard from him. Is he in Japan?” (MomoEdgewood's Mediawatch)

My pet lovebird got eaten by a lizard.

Hello everyone, it's me again. I am having some problems because my new LG GD580 Lollipop phone does not have a very good camera, so the photos I take are of relatively bad quality. Worse still, I can't figure out how to connect it to the computer, so the photos in my phone cannot be transferred to my PC. :( And I don't have a proper camera of my own!

My pet bird died today. Apparently, it got eaten by a monitor lizard while I was at school. The monitor lizard somehow managed to open the door of the birdcage and caught the bird. It then hid under the car. My maid saw what was going on and shouted to my parents, telling them that it was a crocodile. Since they thought it was a crocodile(dangerous!), they decided to stay away from it and call the authorities to catch it. In Singapore, you can actually call the government agency to catch a snake/monkey that you find in your house, because such animals are rare in Singapore.

The reasons why my parents believed that it was a crocodile and not something else was because: 1. My maid came from a kampung in Indonesia and would be able to recognise a crocodile, 2. It rained very heavily last night and becuase there have been floods these past few days, it would be possible for a crocodile to escape from the nearby crocodile farm to my house and 3. My neighbourhood has a lot of animals not commonly found in the rest of Singapore.

Anyway, as I mentioned above, the crocodile was not a crocodile at all, but a monitor lizard. If my parents knew that it was a monitor lizard, they would probably have rushed down to rescue the bird, since monitor lizards are not as dangerous as crocodiles and they have encountered monitor lizards before. Anyway, the agency did not believe that it was a crocodile and told my parents to call a pest controller. Since it would take too long for the pest controller to come, my mother tried to drive the car away so that my maid and father could save the bird. But she took a long time becuase she thought it was a crocodile and was very afraid. And when she finally got into the car, a big delivery van parked outside my neighbour's house, so she could not get out. Anyway, the bird was already dead by that time. The monitor lizard did not really eat the bird, just bit it. The lizard then escaped into the drain. :O

Again, I'm very sad. Last night, I was thinking of bringing the bird indoors because it was raining heavily, but changed my mind as the rain stopped just as I was about to sleep. If I had brought it in, maybe things would have been different. Oh well.

I wasn't a very good pet owner, but my bird was really cute. It was very tame and not scared of humans at all. It didn't know how to fly and even when I let it out of it's cage, it wouldn't walk out of the garden but instead into the house. I had my pet bird for slightly more than two years, it was a lovebird. It will be hard to find another bird that can replace this bird. It might be just as cute, but it probably won't be as tame and baka-ish. I wonder if knowing how to fly would have saved my pet bird's life today~

Daito Shusuke discharged from hospital, writes a blog post about it~

Actor Daito Shunsuke (24) was recently injured in a motorcycle accident. While riding his motorcycle in Tokyo’s Setagaya ward on June 18, he collided with a car, resulting in a compound fracture in his femur. Daito was taken to the hospital and underwent surgery on the 19th. Read the article about his accident here.


On July 20th he announced thought his personal blog that he got discharged from the hospital:

"Thank you everyone.
I’m sorry if I worried you.
Thanks to you, I am successfully discharged.
The support I received from you gave me power (strength)
So you can see a happy face.
I will try to do a better job from now on
Thank you.
I want to face the things in front of me more carefully.
Please look forward to the blog too!"

-Daito Shunsuke (JpopFun)

Arashi and Oguri Shun's fetishes...

Oguri Shun was a guest on Arashi’s variety show “Arashi ni shiyagare”, which was broadcasted on the 24th. Shun has co-stared with some of the members and is also good friends with Matsumoto Jun, his co-star from HYD and Gokusen.
Since both Arashi members and Shun are almost the same age, they enjoyed a fun boys talk. Especially about their fetishes with girls body parts.
Oguri Shun – butt (round)
Matsumoto Jun – butt (perky/high up)
Ohno Satoshi – the upper arm (skinny)
Sakurai Sho – the upper arm (little bit of fat)
Ninomiya Kazunari – did not say, but could be breast, because he said that the softness of the upper arm is the same as the softness of the breast.
Aiba Masaki – pelvis (when girls wear low-rise jeans)
(tokyohive)

Good friends Shun and Jun like butts? HAHA.

My dream team: Arashi, KAT-TUN, and the two gorgeous co-stars of Tokyo DOGs, Oguri and Mizushima Hiro~ Though I don't like Hiro's beard in that show, haha!

Goto Maki talks about her stormy life

Ex-Morning Musume member, Goto Maki, made an appearance on “Kinyoubi no sumatachi he” (TBS) which was broadcasted on the 23rd, with the title of “Goto Maki, 24 years old’s confession”, where she talked about her stormy life.
Maki lost her father when she was in 5th grade due to an accidental fall at a mountain. Her mother worked hard and raised 4 kids by herself, however, her mother eventually developed liver problems and also suffered from a stroke. When her brother, Yuki (Ex-EE JUMP member) got arrested due to theft, Maki’s mother’s health condition got even worse, so Maki decided to retire from the entertainment industry.
Maki’s mother however, stopped her from retiring by saying, “I want to see you on the stage before I die.” After that, Maki transferred to Avex, and made plans to release a new single. One day before Maki’s mother died, Maki’s manager told her mother that her new single would be released in spring, and she said,”I can’t wait so long since I don’t have much time left.”
January 23rd was the day of Maki’s mother’s tragic death. Maki had the day off and her mother had come back home, her mother went into her brother’s room and sat in front of the window, looking outside. Maki went to answer a phone call and when she looked back at her mother, her mother had fallen out of the window.
Goto Maki is only 24 years old but has been through so much already – hopefully her stormy life will finally settle down. (tokyohive)

I barely know anything about Goto Maki, since I don't listen to her songs and I've never really been interested about her. The only thing I new about her was her appearing on the cover of a magazine, semi-nude. I had a faint distaste for her but mostly I just didn't really care aboout her. Now, I feel different after knowing about her life. Here's to a better life for Goto Maki!

Oguri Shun interview - "SURELY SOMEDAY"

Oricon Style recently interviewed Shun Oguri about his directorial debut movie, Surely Someday.

— I head you started planning about Surely Someday at the age of 19

[Oguri] Yes, back when I was young, I had a thought that at the age of 20, everything will dramatically change. Being able to smoke and drink legally was a big thing for me. And just before I was turning 20, I had a thought that it would be interesting, if people could change their genders when they turn 20. That was when I started thinking about making a movie, a movie about three boys buying a cheap gender-changing machine manufactured by the government. But because I didn’t think enough about the ending and the story, the plot for the movie was a mess at first…

— When did you decide to seek help from Shougo Mutou, a famous playwright, for help?
[Oguri] I got to know Mutou-san through a drama that I was in. He wrote the script for CX Division1-STAGE4『ハングリーキッド』(Hungry Kid) (2004, Fuji TV). I asked him to write a story about friendships, and when I read the story that he wrote for me, I realized how talented Mutou-san is. I felt the passion while reading it. That was when I asked him to write a script for Surely-Someday. He is a very talented man. He made Surely Someday more exciting and better!

— How did you develop the character Misa?
[Oguri] Haha, because I don’t really know how girls feel, Misa was mainly developed while filming. We slowly figured out Misa’s feelings through observing Manami Konishi (actress) acting as Misa.

— Through the fast-moving pace of the movie, I was impressed by some of the overwhelming violence scenes.
[Oguri] It is not surprising to see cool action scenes in action movies such as Crows Zero in which I was in. However, I realized that when you are walking on a street, it is very painful to see other people hurting others. This is why I wanted to portray the violence scenes as realistic as possible. I think the scene with Kyohei and the yakuza went really well.

— What about the car racing and shooting scenes?
[Oguri] Well, since they rarely happen in our real life, I thought it was unnecessary to portray them realistically. So I tried making these scenes as cool as possible and almost like scenes from Rupan Sansei and COWBOY BEBOP.

— With fancy casts and a unique script, how was your experience as a first time director?
[Oguri] Because we did not have enough preparation time, the filming period was like hell! But after the editing started, I had a fun time relaxing and waiting for Youko Kanno’s music to be done. I’ve always wanted to direct a movie, but I was surprised that I would given a chance this early in my life. I’m very grateful that I was given a chance to direct this movie now, because otherwise, I might not have had the speed and the unique concepts. Even though making the movie was tough, I had a very fun time making it. I hope people will realize how wonderful life is through watching Surely Someday.
— Lastly, if you were given a chance to change your gender, which gender would you choose?
[Oguri] So the gender-changing machine in which I was thinking of had a restriction that once you change your gender, you will not be able to go back to your previousa one. And if this was the case, I would definitely stay as a male. I would love to become a girl for maybe a month, but I would not want to be a woman forever. I think living as a man is easier. Men are less complicated than women. I really like the last scene of Surely Someday. Ryou Katsuzi’s expression was great. (OMGJPOP!)

Yamashita Tomahisa performs "One in a Million" on CDTV

A few days after releasing the music video for “One in a Million“, Yamapi makes his comeback performance on CDTV. Dressed in all black with matching sunglasses, Yamapi impresses his fans with his vocal abilities and dancing abilities while keeping in sync with his backup dancers.

CDTV was also nice enough to include the song’s lyrics along with the video. Hopefully with this, fans will realize that he is saying "One in a million" not "One in a mirrion"! (tokyofied)

You can also watch the video on YouTube here.

Kitagawa Keiko vomits on her date with Yamashita Tomohisa (NEWS)

According to the tabloid Shukan Bunshun, NEWS member Yamashita Tomohisa and actress Kitagawa Keiko have been sighted together again. The two have been spotted together quite a few times. However, this date between the two of them did not go so well, and Kitagawa ended up vomiting because she drank too much.

Sometime in mid-April, Yamashita and Kitagawa went to a restaurant together. The public were able to see them as the restaurant had no private rooms. Yamapi was wearing a cap, perhaps in an attempt to disguise himself, and was sitting opposite Kitagawa. The two began eating chicken and drinking alcohol together.

A short while later, they were joined by ISSA from the band DA PUMP and another man(?). According to the person who reported this, Kitagawa went to the toilet many times. Once, as she was coming back, she had to lean on the wall and hold on to seats for support. She looked completely drunk. Yamapi and ISSA soon started shouting for a bag for Kitagawa to vomit in. She then vomitted, and Yamapi kept on asking her if she was feeling okay,  (大丈夫). What an eventful date!

The two were also seen in Harajuku this May. (Entame)

Ohno Satoshi sunburnt after vacation in Okinawa

Leader of Arashi, Ohno Satoshi talked about his vacation in Okinawa on his radio show “ARASHI
DISCOVERY“. Satoshi says that he loves Okinawa and goes there often for vacation. He said that he enjoyed picking pineapples for the first time and that Okinawa is the best.
However, whenever he comes back from vacation in Okinawa, Satoshi gets warned about his tanned face by the agency and other Arashi members.
This time, he tried not to get a tan, so he put so much sunscreen that his face turned white, however, he did not put any on the bottom of his body. As a result, he got a terrible sun burn on his body and of course, the other Arashi members teased him about it. (tokyohive)

Ohno always makes me laugh~

Oricon best in swimwear ranking

Oricon Style asked 1000 men and woman to pick the celebrity they think looks best in a swimsuit/bathing trunks. This is the 3rd such ranking on Oricon and model-turned-actress Sasaki Nozomi (22) managed to get on the first place in the female category. In the male category it was once again actor Hayami Mokomichi (25) who ended up in first place. He has been first in all 3 rankings so far. The biggest surprise this time is that AKB48 idol Itano Tomomi (19) managed to get into the top 5. There never has been a teenager, let alone an idol group member in the top 5 ranking before.

Beautiful Women Top 5:
01 – Sasaki Nozomi
02 – Kinoshita Yukina
03 – Hoshino Aki
04 – Ayase Haruka
05 – Itano Tomomi

Handsome Men Top 5:
01 – Hayami Mokomichi
02 – Kojima Yoshio
03 – Yamashita Tomohisa
04 – Yamamoto Yusuke
05 – Ichihara Hayato
(Kawaii Joyuu)

Yamada Yu speaks about Oguri Shun, who's in Korea meeting Kim Hyun Joong

Yamada Yu talked about her boyfriend, Oguri Shun on the September issue of fashion magazine “GINGER“.
Yu and Shun co-stared in the drama “Binbo Danshi” in 2008, and that started their relationship.
Yu said, “When I see him challenging something new and being absorbed in it, it makes me highly motivated too. He is, so to say, that kind of person to me.”
The interviewer asked her if she considered getting married, Yu said, “Of course!” (tokyohive)

I thought they broke up?!

---

Oguri Shun’s went to Korea as his first movie as a director, "SURELY SOMEDAY", was invited to Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival in Korea. Although there was no announcement of Shun’s arrival, some 1 200 fans welcomed Shun at Gimpo airport.

While Shun was staying in Korea, there was a shoot for a TV talk show with both Shun and Kim Hyun Joong. Both of them played the role of “Hanazawa Rui” in “Hana yori Dango” (Boys over flowers), and this was the first time they have seen each other in person.

Shun was asked what kind of role he would want to give to Kim Hyun Joong as a director, Shun answered, “I want to see him playing a very manly role, which fans may not expect.”

The showing of “SURELY SOMEDAY” was a big success in Korea! (tokyohive)

Ishihara Satomi FRIDAY'd with 30 year old photographer

The latest issue of FRIDAY reports that popular actress Ishihara Satomi(23) was out on a date with 30-year-old photographer Emori Yasuyuki. The two were seen together at the end of last month in Tokyo's Setagaya ward.
According to FRIDAY, Emori drove Ishihara to a Chinese restaurant in Setagaya. After having a meal together, they went to a nearby Don Quijote discount store, where the reporter captured a photograph of the two getting along well as they browsed through the electronics section. FRIDAY also reported on another occasion when Ishihara was seen leaving Emori's apartment.
During his university days, Emori was discovered by director Genjiro Arato (63) and was chosen to handle the photography for the movie "Akame 48 Waterfalls." Since then, he has been gaining popularity. He first worked with Ishihara last year when he was in charge of the official photobook for Arato's "Ningen Shikkaku," which opened in theaters this past February. In that movie, Ishihara played the wife of lead actor Ikuta Toma.
Ishihara's agency explained that she and Emori are friends through work and are definitely not dating. Emori stated that the two have become close since "Ningen Shikkaku" finished filming last summer, but also denied that there is a romantic relationship. (Tokyograph)

Kondo Masahiko displays support for Akanishi Jin as a solo artist

Kondo Masahiko is currently on his national tour for his 30th year anniversary and he gave a comment about Akanishi Jin as a senpai, or more senior member of Johnny’s Entertainment.
Masahiko said, “I’m sure Jin knows that it’s not easy to be successful in the US Many singers have challenged the US and got beaten up, but I still support his courage. If he really wants to do it, I hope he does not give up.”
He also cheered for other KAT-TUN members saying “I hope the 5 members put each of their powers to one and become even more successful.” (tokyohive)

These two seem to share a special relationship... Remember this article where Jin defended Masahiko?

Viewership rating of 15.7% for episode 1 of Matsumoto Jun's dorama.

The first episode of new drama “Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku", which Matsumoto Jun (Arashi) and Takeuchi Yuko star in, was broadcasted on the 19th.

The rating of the first episode was 15.7%.

Let’s see how good it will get by the final episode! (tokyohive)

Honestly, I expected it to be higher. :/

Narimaya Hiroki releases special 10th anniversary photobook

Actor and model Narimiya Hiroki is looking back on the 10 years since his debut and has released his "Narimaya Hiroki 10th Anniversary Book". In 100 pages, he is showing photos specially for this book and reviews his 10 year history in a 20,000 character interview. The charm of this collection lies in the Narimiya "element" of expression and is something to look forward to.
About the sexy shots, which are also included, he said, "Usually I don't wear that many clothes at home either so that's pretty real (laughs). In my generation there are a great number of rivals. There is Oguri Shun or Eita, Fujiwara Tatsuya. We are all of the same age yet with individual characters. I think I have my own character too. From now onwards, I plan and look forward to being active for another 10 years - not just in Japan, but also China, Korea, maybe Hollywood and Europe and I would like to go to each place energetically as they come in sight and take up activities there." (Music Japan+)

Ueto Aya, Koide Keisuke to potray blind couple in upcoming dorama

Actress Ueto Aya (24) is going to portray the life of the 28 year-old blind singer-songwriter Tatemichi Satoko in Fuji TV's upcoming drama special called "Ai wa Mieru".
Ueto spent one month practicing all the gestures of visually impaired people and will try her best to play the role modeled after Tatemichi, a devoted musician and mother. "Whenever she had to climb over another obstacle, her family was there to support her," she admired their family bond.
Tatemichi was a premature baby and only weighed 850g. Additionally she had retinopathy of prematurity, an eye disease that affects prematurely born babies and caused her to be blind right after she was born. However, at the same time she got blessed with a perfect pitch and eventually managed to make a major debut as a singer-songwriter. In 2004 she got married to man she met in a school for blind, a man suffering from total blindness just like her and in 2006 she even gave birth to a son despite all the criticism from the people around her. She did all that without letting go of her dream to be a musician. Ueto truly is going to play of an amazing and very strong woman.
The producer about their choice to cast Ueto for that role, "There was no better choice than Ueto for portraying the ever cheerful and strong Satoko who never stops being positive despite all the obstacles in her life." Koide Keisuke (26) is going to play her husband who eagerly tries to support his wife by working as a guitarist and masseur despite his own blindness.
Ueto and Koide both practiced together with the staff of an organization that helps blind people and learned how to use a blindman's stick and how to move like a blind person for a whole month. They also visited Tatemichi and her husband at their apartment in Tokyo and talked with them to find out more about living together as a blind couple, including the arrangement of the furniture and all kind of goods you need in your daily life. Both of them tried their best to portray their roles as realistically as possible and Ueto even had to act out the birth of their son.
The human drama "Ai wa Mieru" will air sometime this September on Fuji TV. (Kawaii Joyuu)

sounds like a really touching story~

Eiji Wentz dating Oshima Yuko (AKB48)?

A new AKB48 romance rumor has surfaced, involving top member Oshima Yuko (21) and WaT's Eiji Wentz (24). Sports Hochi claims that the two have been dating since a few months ago.
Sources say that Oshima and Wentz met when they both appeared in the TV Asahi drama series "Angel Bank ~ Tenshoku Dairinin," which aired this past winter. After that, Wentz has reportedly visited AKB48's Akihabara theater to watch Oshima perform, and he even attended the group's concert at Yoyogi National Gymnasium earlier this month. The two are said to have a lot in common, such as starting in show business at a very young age and enjoying soccer.
Their agencies have acknowledged that Oshima and Wentz are acquaintances but denied that there is any romance between the two stars. (Tokyograph)

Akanishi comments on leaving KAT-TUN

Akanishi Jin (26) has written a comment on the official Johnny's mobile site, his first since the news of his expected removal from KAT-TUN. In his message, Akanishi formally announced that he is going solo.
Akanishi explained that he and KAT-TUN have different directions, but he also assured fans that he does not dislike the other members nor have personal problems with them. He apologized to the members of KAT-TUN for causing them trouble in both big and small matters, while also thanking them for his time with them.
Akanishi stated that he hopes to be active as a solo artist not just in America, but also in other parts of the world such as Asia and Europe. He also said that he naturally wants to be active in Japan as well. (Tokyograph)

Oguri Shun tossed into the air by "SURELY SOMEDAY" cast

 

“SURELY SOMEDAY“, which is Oguri Shun’s first movie as a director, was released to the public on the 17th and the main cast members appeared at Marunouchi Piccadilly, Tokyo.

A teary eyed Shun greeted the full house audience, “It feels completely different to come on the stage as a director. It feels like I’m showing my naked body“.

At the end, the cast members tossed Shun into the air and expressed their thanks to Shun. (tokyohive)

Ikuta Toma, Aragaki Yui attend summer event

The starring actors of the upcoming movie "Hanamizuki", Aragaki Yui (22) and Ikuta Toma (25) attended the opening ceremony of the summer event "Summer Sacas 2010 akasaka Big Bang" at akasaka Sacas in Tokyo.


Several attractions have been established for the summer event within the Sacas area and Aragaki would like to try some of them. "I'm easily scared, but I would really like to try that out," she said looking at the haunted house that has been built for TBS variety show "Lincoln." However, when the host told her that it's actually a full-blown haunted house and not just a setting for the show, she smiled and corrected herself, "Oh, then.. maybe I shouldn't… ."

This year it's the 3rd time that Sacas is doing such a summer event, but it's the first time they used TBS TV shows and movies as themes for some the attractions. There even is a 6m (20 ft) tall hanamizuki tree (Flowering Dogwood) towering the surrounds, which is why Aragaki and Ikuta had the honor to participate in the opening ceremony.
During the interview on stage, both of them talked about each other's first impressions. Ikuta, "She's a beautiful woman with a strong heart. You wouldn't guess it by just looking at her appearance, but she's actually a really strong woman." Aragaki had some nice words for him as well, "The first impression about him was very good and that never changed."
In the movie they portray a couple during a timespan of more than 10 years. The love story begins when they are still in school and they were worried whether the school outfits would still suit them. Ikuta, "The school uniform absolutely still suited Yui-chan, but I was really worried about myself." However, once they were in Hokkaido to film those scenes, Ikuta became a bit more relaxed. "When we first tried on the outfits I honestly was like 'Huh?!' when I saw him in the school uniform, but once we were in Hokkaido his expression adapted to the atmosphere and he really seemed like a senior high school student," Aragaki added.
The summer event of akasaka Sacas in Akasaka, Tokyo will last until August 31. "Hanamizuki" will open in cinemas on August 21. (Kawaii Joyuu)

Goo keyword rankings for the first half of 2010

Ranking of keywords users search for in Goo between 1st January 2010 and 30th June 2010.


Top 20 Celebrities
1. Hoshino Aki
2. Akanishi Jin
3. Inoue Mao
4. Uchi Hiroki

5. Kitagawa Keiko
6. Matsumoto Jun
7. Maeda Atsuko
8. Sawajiri Erika
9. Kamenashi Kazuya
10. Lee Byung Hun
11. Ohno Satoshi
12. Fukuyama Masaharu
13. Nishino Kana
14. Kimura Kaela
15. Sasaki Nozomi
16. Mihiro
17. Oshima Yuko
18. Mizuki Nana
19. YUI
20. Kusakari Tamiyo

Top 20 Male Celebrities
1. Akanishi Jin
2. Uchi Hiroki
3. Matsumoto Jun
4. Kamenashi Kazuya
5. Lee Byung Hun
6. Ohno Satoshi
7. Fukuyama Masaharu
8. Sato Takeru
9. Yamada Ryosuke
10. Ikuta Toma
11. Kimura Takuya
12. Ninomiya Kazunari
13. Michael Jackson
14. Yamashita Tomohisa
15. Yuzu
16. Shibata Hidetsugu
17. Hiraoka Yuta
18. Tamaki Hiroshi
19. Yazawa Eikichi
20. Daito Shunsuke

Top 20 Female Celebrities
1. Hoshino Aki
2. Inoue Mao
3. Kitagawa Keiko
4. Maeda Atsuko
5. Sawajiri Erika
6. Nishino Kana
7. Kimura Kaela
8. Sasaki Nozomi
9. Mihiro
10. Oshima Yuko
11. Mizuki Nana
12. YUI
13. Kusakari Tamiyo
14. Hamasaki Ayumi
15. Hosokawa Fumie
16. Ayase Haruka
17. Shinoda Mariko
18. Yuki Maomi
19. Horikita Maki
20. Tsuji Nozomi


Top 20 TV Programs1. Gegege no Nyobo
2. Ryomaden
3. Hanamaru Market
4. Nakanai to Kimeta Hi
5. MOTHER
6. Sunao ni Narenakute
7. Shiru Shiru Mishiru
8. Shop Channel
9. Shofu to Shukujo
10. Tameshite Gatten
11. Kaibutsu-kun
12. Nodame Cantabile
13. Tumbling
14. IRIS
15. Ainori
16. Kaidan Restaurant
17. Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge
18. Tsuki no Koibito ~Moon Lovers~
19. Magerarenai Onna
20. Code Blue

Matsumoto Jun has a new CM for Fasio mascara!

Hooray! Matsumoto Jun from Arashi has made a new Fasio mascara CM! KOSE’s cosmetic brand “Fasio” released a new cosmetic item “mascaliner”, which is a combination of mascara and eye-liner. For this new product a new CM with Jun was created and started airing on the 16th.
The new CM is titled “Big invention! Mascaliner – Part I” and Jun is a “matsugeya-san” who makes ladies’ eyelashes beautiful.
Jun has also finished shooting “Big invention! Mascaliner – Part II” which will air in fall 2010. Rumor has it that somebody unexpected will co-star with Jun – so we’ll have to wait to see who.
See the new CM and the making of the CM at the Fasio website here. (tokyohive)

Seriously, Jun's Fasio mascara CMs are my favourite!

Akanishi Jin to leave KAT-TUN

It's official: KAT-TUN's Akanishi Jin (26) will graduate from the group later this year, it has been announced. KAT-TUN held a concert at the Tokyo Dome yesterday, Friday night, and Johnny's Entertainment president Johnny Kitagawa spoke to the press there on the same day. He said that the final decision will be made after Akanishi's U.S. tour this fall, but at this point it appears to already be guaranteed.

Since May, Akanishi has been in the United States, working on his solo career. He performed concerts in Los Angeles in June, and he has scheduled a 7-city tour for September and October. Kitagawa also revealed that Akanishi is already planning further concerts for 2011. Meanwhile, KAT-TUN has been continuing as a 5-member group, just as they did when Akanishi temporarily left in 2006 to study abroad.

Kitagawa explained that right now, the focus is only on Akanishi becoming successful in the U.S. He said that it would be too soft on Akanishi to let him return to KAT-TUN as a fallback if he doesn't succeed. It would also be unforgivable to KAT-TUN fans to have Akanishi dragging the group on, or returning the same way he did in 2007.

Kitagawa once again assured fans that KAT-TUN is not breaking up. Although the group's name is based on the initial characters of the members' names, it is said that Akanishi's "A" will be replaced by extending Kazuya Kamenashi's "K" to "KA." There are no plans to bring in a new member, as Kitagawa stated that there is no need to have six people in the group. He said that the five remaining members are currently doing fine without Akanishi. (Tokyograph)
 
Oh well, this was expected, but it's still saddening. :/ Let's hope both KAT-TUN and Jin do well in the future!

Toda Erika has an new boyfriend? (Ayano Gou)

After the high-profile breakup between actress Toda Erika (21) and Murakami Shingo  (28), popular member of Johnny's boyband Kanjani8, in January this year, it appears that Erika has recovered enough to have a new boyfriend... Ayano Gou!

On a weekend night in early July, Toda Erika and her friend Ayaka Nishikawa (A-chan, 21) from electropop group Perfume went for dinner at an upscale sushi establishment just off the main street of Ginza. They were accompanied by

At the restaurant, Ayaka and Erika had a rather interesting conversation about love and marriage. The two spent some time discussing about the wonderful feeling of being in love and having someone you could trust. A-chan mentioned that Shingo was "too serious, but you two still had a good relationship". Toda Erika replied, agreeing with her that it had been a good relationship, although media reports might say otherwise...

Toda Erika themn mentioned actor Ayano Gou (28), whom she said she had met a while back. Ayano Gou recently acted in "Crows Zero II" and "Surely Someday" (hey their both Oguri's shows!)

Anyway, this is a pretty drastic change for Toda Erika, who was just last year photographed by tabloids when she was passionately in love with Murakami Shingo. But then, she has always been known for being strong-willed and generally not very concerned about her agency's opinion. (Entame)

And here's a tabloid photo of Erika and Shingo!

Kitano Kie apologises over tabloid FRIDAY photos

Rising actress Kitano Kie (19) apologized on her official blog for the trouble she recently caused. Last week, the magazine FRIDAY published photos of her and actor Sano Kazuma (21) spending a night together at a Shibuya hotel and kissing in public the next morning.
Kitano addressed her fans, apologizing for hurting them with her thoughtless behavior. She also acknowledged that she has caused problems for the people she works with. She stated that is deeply reflecting on her actions and plans to place priority on her work from now on.
The comments from her fans have been very supportive. At the moment, it is not clear whether this incident will significantly affect her career. (Tokyograph)

Who would you like to go on vacation with to a Southern island? (untagged post)

In a recent poll, goo asked their members about female and male celebrities with whom they'd like to travel to a southern island. Let's see the results!

Female Celebrities Top 20:

01 – Aragaki Yui
02 – Ayase Haruka
03 – Ueto Aya
04 – Nakagawa Shoko
05 – Miyazaki Aoi
06 – Nagasawa Masami
07 – Toda Erika
08 – Kitagawa Keiko
09 – Aibu Saki
10 – Sasaki Nozomi
11 – Kato Rosa
12 – Akina Minami
13 – Horikita Maki
14 – Ishihara Satomi
15 – Eikura Nana
15 – Inoue Mao
17 – Suzanne
17 – Ichikawa Yui
19 – Kuroki Meisa
19 – Yoshitaka Yuriko

Male Celebrities Top 20:
01 – Ikuta Toma
02 – Ichihara Hayato
03 – Yamashita Tomohisa
04 – Matsuyama Kenichi
05 – Miura Haruma
06 – Wentz Eiji
07 – Sato Takeru
08 – Koike Teppei
09 – Okada Masaki
10 – Matsuda Shota
11 – Hayami Mokomichi
12 – Yamamoto Yusuke
13 – JOY
14 – Mizobata Junpei
15 – Hiraoka Yuuta
16 – Nishikido Ryo
17 – Shirota Yuu
18 – Kamenashi Kazuya
19 – Tegoshi Yuya
20 – Seto Koji
(Kawaii Joyuu)

This post doesn't have tags on each artists name because blogger only allows up to 200characters for all my tags. I tried splitting it up into two posts for male and female celebrities but there's still too many names! :(( If you want to find more articles on a particular artist, try the search at the top of my sidebar. ^^

Koda Kumi and many other artists take part in CM to bread Guiness record

NTT DoCoMo has just started its campaign "Transform Your Xperia'100 Design Collection" to promote their Android smart phone "Xperia". For the campaign, a premium line-up of 10 artists has come together for a collaboration, challenging the entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most number of artists in a CM.
The contents of the campaign is to gather outstanding artists, famous designers from various fields and popular brands for a collaboration of 100 people and design the cover or mobile themes for the Xperia phone. It could be songs and music videos for people to watch and buy, photo albums of the artists or any kind of application, all as presents for the customers of the Xperia. The artists that have until now taken part in the campaign are ACIDMAN, AI, Dragon Ash, JAY'ED, Koda Kumi, lego big morl, May J., MINMI, moumoon and SOIL＆"PIMP"SESSIONS, a so-far total of 10.

The CM with the concept"Transform Your Xperia", the released application for Xperia are being presented, with which you can enjoy or purchase the songs and videos of the above mentioned artists, as well as their photo albums. Moreover, the covers and mobile themes are available, whereas the CM has just gone on air on July 14th. (Music Japan+)

Even a rugby player is scared of Nagasawa Misami

The tabloid "Josei Seven" has an interesting article describing a certain incident that happened at the set of the drama "GOLD" involving actress Nagasawa Masami (23).
The incident happened in June when they filmed at the pool of a certain university in the suburbs of Tokyo. Josei Seven actually got this story from students who witnessed the incident. Anyway, they obviously didn't tell the students that they would occupy the pool in the evening to film a drama, but of course it was impossible to keep it a secret. Several curious onlookers gathered around the set as well as the rugby team that was training right next to them.
Soon Nagasawa Masami appeared at the location and tried to make her way to the set, accompanied with one manager to her right and one manager to her left. Of course everyone was really excited to get a glimpse of somebody like Nagasawa and one of the rugby team even took out his mobile phone to take a picture of the cute actress. She noticed the camera and suddenly approached him.
"Masami-chan had her famous offended expression on her face when she suddenly approached that person of the rugby team. 'Don't take pictures!' She said and grabbed his mobile phone. Before his eyes she browsed to the picture he took and erased it. She really looked like some kind of big VIP with both of her managers on either side. Even the rugby player, with his muscular body and height of 180cm or even taller, was overwhelmed by Masami-chan's power. (laughs)" The tabloid quoted one student. (Kawaii Joyuu)

Shibasaki Kou and TAKUYA∞ dating... Again?

It seems that singer and actress Shibasaki Kou (28) might be back to dating her ex-boyfriend TAKUYA∞ (30) from popular rock band UVERworld.

Shibasaki was reported to have stayed over at Matsumoto Jun (Arashi)'s house two months back. You can read about that incident here.

Back to the main point. Shibasaki Kou was spotted together with TAKUYA∞ at PUFFY's concert on 24 June, about three weeks ago. The concert was held at SHIBUYA-AX. A female audience member said that 10 minutes before the start of the concert, she saw a slim man with red hair walking with a pretty woman. Obviously, that pretty woman was none other than Shibasaki Kou. Shibasaki was described as cheerful and wearing sunglasses. The same audience member later saw the two at the VIP seating area.

The two first announced that they were a couple in  December 2008, but eventually drifted apart and broke up end 2009. This Japanese source also commented that it could be possible that they are simply just friends and meeting up to keep their relationship friendly. (Entame)

Arashi take 1st and 2nd spots on Oricon - first time in (almost!) a decade

Last week, Arashi released their single “To Be Free” which is currently ranked at #1 on Oricon Charts. And this week, Ohno Satoshi released his solo single “Yukaitukai Kaibutsukun”, which is ranked #2 on the charts. To Be Free and and Yukaitukai Kabutsukun sold 46 200 and 14 300 copies respectively.

This is the first time in nine years and ten months since a simultaneous achievement like this has been made. (Tokyohive)

AWESOMEZ.

Surely Someday Press Conference

The movie "Surely Someday", directed by Oguri Shun, held an event at the Tokyo International Forum right before the premiere. It was Oguri's first time working as a director and he praised himself, "Yes, it's a good movie!" while sitting in the audience. Actors of the movie such as Koide Keisuke also went on stage as the band in the movie "Takumi with Surely Stars". It was announced that the theme song will be released as their CD debut. The song was written by Tortoise Matsumoto, who offered himself to Oguri.
After performing the song, Oguri asked Koide, "Were you nervous?", and he replied with a quick "Yes!" But he eventually relaxed with a smile aftter Oguri told him "You were very good. Well-done!"
"Though we kept on saying it was hard, the hardest part was for the director, Oguri. But he never showed any sign of it, and we have gained a lot of power from him." said Koide with a warm smile. Tortoise Matsumoto also made his appearance and played acoustic version on the stage, which made it a special day for the movie.

The movie will be released on 17 July. (Music Japan+)

Kitagawa and Lin Chi-ling are good friends?

Kitagawa Keiko made a new blog entry on July 11th. Keiko visited Taiwan, because her new movie “Matataki” was showing at the “Taipei Film festival.”
She wrote that she met Lin Chi-ling who Keiko co-stared with in drama “Moon Lovers“. Keiko said on her blog entry, “Chi-ling visited my hotel today, even though she must be very busy. She gave me flowers, introduced me to a good Taiwanese massage place. In return for Chi-ling’s kindness, I promised her that I will guide her when she comes to Japan next time. We also exchanged letters. It’s very unmodern to exchange letters, not using emails, but I was happy and moved by her thoughtfulness. I am happy to be friends with her!”
Although the Taiwanese media reported that Keiko and Lin were on bad terms, it seems like they are good friends! (Tokyohive)

AKB48 is coming to Singapore, NMB48 is formed

AKB48 and SKE48 are soon going to get a new sister group. NMB48, named after the Namba area of Osaka, is going to officially launch this fall. The news was announced during an AKB48 concert on Saturday at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium.


NMB48 already has an official website and is currently gathering girls for an audition that will start this summer. The group is expected to start activities in November.

AKB48 also announced that they will perform in Italy this October, followed by performances in Singapore and Macau in November. (Tokyograph)

I've never listened to AKB48 music and I barely know much about their members, but AKB48 itself is already confusing enough, why do they need so many sister groups? I think the individual members are all sweet and innocent looking but they are really annoying in such a big group and how on earth do fans remember who's who? (my personal opinion, sorry if I offended anyone) I wish some other group like Arashi or KAT-TUN could come to Singapore... Maybe if AKB48's concert is a success, other bands will be more interested to come? Okay, Singaporean (and Malaysian) AKB48 fans, go for the Singapore concert if you can! Maybe we'll get more Japanese bands to hold concerts here! :D

Asami Reina and Katsuji Ryo on date, holding hands!

Just some time back, FRIDAY reported that actress Asami Reina (27) was in a serious relationship with actor Omori Nao (38). However, there were no further reports after that, and there have been sightings of Asami Reina holding hands with young actor Katsuji Ryo (23). Exciting~

On 28 June this year at around 7pm, Asami Reina and Katsuji Ryo attended a performance at a theatre in Shimo-kitazawa, Tokyo. The theatre seats about 400, and the two were sitting side by side. They were chatting animatedly, with smiles on their faces. :) Then, they did not really seem like a couple on a date but more of a casual outing, and the woman who saw this said that she thought they were part of a bigger group, but then she did not see any other actors around. She also reported that they looked good together, especially since the two of them are on the tall and thin side.

It was described that the two had a good aura about them. They held hands once during the three hour concert, when they were making their way through the crowd to the exit.

The source also adds that this relationship might work out as the age difference is now 4 years, instead of with Omori Nao, where they was a larger age gap of 11 years. (Entame)

No pictures, sorry. :/ For some reason, this news makes me feel all light and fluffy though I barely know anything about them, only Katsuji Ryo from Tokyo DOGS (teehee Horikawa)

Empty seats at SMAP concert due to overseas fans?

SMAP seems to have hit an all-time low, with rumors of them not getting on well and the depressing ratings of Kimura Takuya's currently airing dorama, Moon Lovers. However, it seems that they now have a new problem - Empty seats at their upcoming concert due to ticketing woes.

SMAP will begin their WE ARE SMAP! Tour 2010 on the 31st of July at Sapporo Dome. The entire tour consists of nineteen performances at five venues in Japan. The tour carries the same name as their new album, titled WE ARE SMAP, to be released on the 21st this month.

However, it seems that the folks over at Johnny's are afraid that there will be empty seats during the concert because of people who buy more tickets than they need or buy the tickets but then do not turn up. It is common for overseas fans to get Japanese netizens to buy tickets to the concerts for them and then fly over later for the concert. Some people who are looking to make money also buy the tickets in bulk, then sell them to fans at a higher price. (I don't really know much about this since I've never tried, so maybe you guys can understand it better)

Apparently, their ticketing office or ticketing system (again I don't know how it works) has seen the same people buying multiple tickets for all days of all venues, so it is pretty obvious that these people are buying them to sell to others. While the highest amount for a single ticket is 8 000yen, that amount can jump up to outrageous amounts like 50 000 yen in online auctions and such.

However, all this overseas transactions also mean more trouble. Overseas fans might get scammed and be put off by the bad experiece, or buy the tickets and then not be able to make it for the concert due to travelling issues, etc. Also, native Japanese fans who can attend the concert may not be able to get tickets because of all these people who buy in bulk. The result? Empty seats and upset fans, not just in Japan, but worldwide. (Entame)

Everyone out there, please be careful when buying tickets from overseas! And if you do have tickets, make sure you do go (or pass your ticket to someone else) and have a smashing great time! :)

Oops! Kojima Haruna tweets "Tegoshi" *update* She explains it all...

AKB48 member Kojima Haruna, tweeted the word “Tegoshi” on her twitter. Although she deleted it right away, her 45,000 followers are overflowing with curiosity.

The reason why people are going crazy over this tweet, is because there was a rumor before that Haruna was dating Tegoshi Yuya (NEWS). There are many threads about it on 2 channel (Japan’s biggest internet forum), and people are trying to decode what the tweet meant. Some people assume that Haruna is admitting to the rumor about dating Tegoshi Yuya.

Haruna has not said anything about the tweet yet. (japan_now)

Ooh, I saw this yesterday on Entame, but couldn't understand it. :(

*update*
At her concert today, Kojima Haruna replied to the ridiculous questions regarding her extremely specific and incriminating tweet, which contained Tegoshi's name - and nothing else. She explained that she was trying to reply to a friend, but got it wrong. The friend's tweet said that Tegoshi's new CM is cool.
Anyone who has seen Tegoshi's new CM would know that they were probably making fun of him but cannot admit it.
The great mass of human intelligence that is 2 channel has mostly agreed that there is no truth to the rumor; some have even thrown out her explanation and have decided that Kojima was searching for Tegoshi's name on Twitter for the lulz, just to see if anyone was discussing her in conjunction with him due to the recent rumors. (aramatheydidnt)

And for those who are curious, you can follow Kojima Haruna here. You can also follow me here for blog updates. :D

You can watch the CM on YouTube here, but first here's a clip on the making of the CM!

Cousin of Tanaka Koki makes modelling debut

Tsukamoto Airi, a cousin of KAT-TUN's Tanaka Koki (24), officially made her debut as a fashion model this month. She appeared in the new issue of the magazine Edge Style, which went on sale on Wednesday.
Tsukamoto is described as a "small-faced beauty" who stands at 168cm tall, with legs that she is proud of. She previously had a job at a brand shop but was scouted in Shibuya to become a model. It was later learned that she is Tanaka's cousin.
The magazine's editor-in-chief has high hopes for her. It appears that the publication may spread to Taiwan, China, and other parts of Asia, and the editor is already planning for Tsukamoto to be the magazine's face overseas.
Tsukamoto stated that she is aiming to be a distinctive model like Hinano Yoshikawa or Rinka. She also said that she wants to appear on television variety shows. (Tokyograph)

I. Need. Your. Feedback.

Hello everyone, I need your help here! This andwewonder blog has been up for over half a year, and I want to know your views on my site and how I can improve it. Please find a way to reach me, either through
1. Email andwewondergmailcom
2. Formspring me
3. Leave a comment to this post
4. Use the tagboard

I'd really appreciate it if you could take some time to give me some feeback, namely what you come to this blog for, what you like/dislike, and areas for improvement or things you want to see in the future. Also, feel free to tell me your favourite singers/actors or other interests so that I can be more specific in my articles. :) Even if you are a first time visitor! And my fellow lurkers, it's time for you to come out of your hiding hole! I would be glad if you can point our any flaws, but please do not use any vulgarities. I will not use your email for silly stuff like sending you chain mails or anything and I will not publish your email on my blog (unless you do so yourself) so feel free to email me!

Side note: Anyone wants to be my snail mail/email pen pal? Email me!

Whose nude photos would you want to see most?

Apparently there was a TV program that asked girls in Shibuya, Tokyo, which celebrity they would like to see the nude photos of. The results were pretty surprising...

10. Hoshino Aki

9. Narimiya Hiroki
8. Fukuyama Masaharu
7. Rinka
6. Sato Takeru
5. Ikuta Toma
4. Itano Tomomi (AKB48)
3. Ichihara Hayato
2. Mizushima Hiro
1. Sawajiri Erika
(aramatheydidnt)

There, who said that Mizushima Hiro was losing his job?! He's second only to Sawajiri Erika!

Kitano Kie and Sano Kazuma dating, caught kissing

The newest issue of FRIDAY reveals that actress Kitano Kie (19) and actor Sano Kazuma (21) are in a relationship. The magazine recently spotted the two staying at a hotel together and even sharing a kiss on the street.

Earlier this month, Kitano and Sano met up in the lobby of a large hotel in Tokyo's Shibuya ward. After checking in, they spent the night there and didn't leave the hotel until past 11:30am the next morning. FRIDAY speculates that Kitano may have been in a rush as they left, since her hair was still wet. Still, they walked on the street for about ten minutes while holding hands, then openly shared a kiss.

FRIDAY published several photos of the two, including their kiss together. Details about how their relationship started are sparse, but it seems that they both went to the same high school. This past February, another magazine reported that Kitano went on a date with actor Hayashi Kento (19), so her relationship with Sano may have started very recently. Indeed, some news outlets are reporting that they started dating after working together on a mobile drama that was filmed between late April and early May.

While FRIDAY was researching the article, they asked Kitano's agency about her and Sano, and the agency stated that the two are good friends. After the new issue hit the stands, Sankei Sports tried reaching the agency for comment but did not receive one. Meanwhile, Sano's agency stated that it would not touch on a private matter. (Tokyograph)

*update* (from Kawaii Joyuu)
Kitano's agency: "They are just close friends."

Sano's agency: "Since it's a private matter, we aren't in a position to make a comment."

Yarakashi misbehaving during KT-TUN concert due to Akanishi's absence! >:(

Johnny's Entertainment idol group KAT-TUN, is currently in the midst of their world tour without Akanishi Jin, who is in the USA to hold his (successful!) solo concerts. However, KT-TUN (minus Akanishi) have met with rowdy behaviour from concert attendees, who are unhappy that they are touring without Akanishi.

Apparently, a concert attendee has tried to aim a laser light at Kamenashi's eye. This is dangerous as the laser could result in retinal damage and loss of vision if aimed directly at the eye. Usually I don't add my comments into posts so blatantly so I'm sorry, but this is really low! As a Kame, Akanishi, and KAT-TUN fan, I do want to see KAT-TUN together, but how is it KT-TUN's fault that Jin isn't touring with them right now? Grrr. Anyway, if seems like it was pretty obvious that it was done on purpose, and security personnel actually escorted the fan out. Apaarently, these yarakashi (aggressive fans who attack those idols/ groups they dislike) are planning more vicious attacks, and some fans are planning on doing something "really big" during the last KAT-TUN concert in Tokyo (July 31). (Entame)

Ugh, this is both scary and infuriating!

Nino (Arashi) and Nagasawa Masami STILL together?

Are Ninomiya Kazunari (27) of Arashi and Nagasawa Masami (23) together or are they not? There has been much speculation about this since the two have been reported to be dating from 2005, when they co-starred in Fuji TV's dorama "Yasashii Jikan". In 2007, the relationship was "discovered", and in 2009, Nino openly admitted to dating Nagasawa. The buzz eventually died down and it was even reported that Nagasawa was dating someone else, a comedian. However, rumors are back again.

Neighbours of Nagasawa have reported seeing Nino at Nagasawa's apartment a few times this year. The resident of the apartment one floor above Nagasawa's unit reports seeing Nino quite often since March 2010. A staff of the convenience store near Nagasawa's also said that when Nagasawa comes in, she is often chatting on the phone to someone in a caring and gentle tone (like how you would to your boyfriend/girlfriend).

Apparently, the spread of this rumor is something of a catostrophe for entertainment professionals like Nino, especially since Johnny's Entertainment doesn't encourage it's members to date. Nino, who is currently doing three doramas and a movie, Gantz, is risking his popularity. It is commonly felt that while the two meeting up for meals outside is okay amongst "friends", it is too much for Nino to go to Nagasawa's house. However, there is no two-shot of them, so this could be, of course, all rumors. (Entame)

Seriously, these Japanese tabloids seem able to squeeze something out of everyone!

I got the tip-off about this source from a reader on Formspring:
hi i would really like to know the contents of an article on nino but i don't understand jap. If u are able to translate it will be a great help =D http://entameblog.seesaa.net/article/155574665.html

Okay, I've posted the article on my blog, do take a look! Oh, and thanks for the info source! ^^

So, if you guys know something that I don't or have asource that you don't understand, please comment, email me at the address up there, leave a tag or formspring me! Even if you don't have anything to tell me, just say hi! I'll be very happy. ^.^ And trust me, I won't delete your email! And I'm going to make it a point to reply to as many comments as possible, though I might not reply to all.

Yamada Yuu's 26th birthday wish is to be more composed

Today, actress Yamada Yuu turned 26 and celebrated her birthday at the set of her upcoming drama "Gakeppuchi no Eri".
Co-actor Koizumi Koutaro (31) and the others surprised her with a bunch of flowers and a cake. "I'm so happy I could cry! But I won't!" she joked around. "I'm now in the second half of my twenties and reaching up to my thirties. From now on I'd like to become more composed as a woman," she added.
"Gakeppuchi no Eri" actually marks Yamada's first starring role in a dorama and she couldn't hide her excitement when she received the present from Koizumi and the staff, "It's so great to make a drama." In the drama Yamada plays the young woman Eriko whose unique life is modeled after that of popular mangaka Saibara Rieko. "I hope I will be able to fully express all the characteristics of Eriko and all the nonsense in her life," she added with a great fighting spirit.
The nonsense can already be seen in the first episode with exploding cars, spicy drinks in a hostess club and a Yamada Yuu who couldn't care less about her image, much to the enjoyment of the viewers. TV Asahi will air the first episode on Friday, July 9. (Kawaii Joyuu)

Ooku press conference - Nino talks about kiss scene with Aoi

The cast of the upcoming movie "Ooku" recently held a press conference to commemorate the end of the filming.
The movie, based on a popular manga by Yoshinaga Fumi, is set during the Edo period with the twist that the roles between the genders have been completely reversed. In the story, the shoguns of the time are actually women, and the "ooku" (the "inner chambers" of the shogun’s castle) consists of thousands of men rather than women. Ninomiya Kazunari (27) and Shibasaki Kou (29) play the leading roles, but the supporting cast is packed with more great names such as Horikita Maki (21), Tamaki Hiroshi (30) and more.
Ninomiya, "The last scenes in the ooku were incredibly deep and strong, it made me quite sad when we finished filming everything. Whether I looked right or left, everyone was a leading actor in my mind and I'm really glad that I got to participate in such a wonderful movie." Shibasaki and Horikita both had nothing but high praises for Ninomiya as well. Shibasaki, "Ninomiya is such an openhearted person. He really lowered the threshold and made it easier for all of us." Horikita, "I had a lot of scenes together with Ninomiya and even during the more difficult scenes he was always so kind and looked out for me."
Speaking about difficult roles, Ninomiya also had to do a kiss scene together with young actor Nakamura Aoi (19). "It was soft and warm. If you think about it, I'm an 27 year-old ojisan, so it's me who has to be sorry for doing it with such a young person. We had to do that scene 4 or 5 times and each time I apologized to him," Ninomiya revealed. Did he maybe make the mistakes on purpose to repeat the kiss scene? "And so another rumor was born…," he bitterly smiled.
Horikita plays Onobu, a sweet neighborhood girl and childhood friend of Mizuno (Ninomiya) who is completely in love with him and while she had difficulties as well, they were on a far different level. "In the movie Onobu always calls Mizuno 'danna' (patron), but you usually don't say danna anymore these days. It was quite a difficult role," she said.
They've also asked the cast what they would want to be like, if they switched the gender. Horikita, "I'd like to be a man completely absorbed in sports, a real macho and muscle man." Shibasaki had similar thoughts and answered, "A lone traveler. I'd like to go wandering and go to places that would be too dangerous for women." Ninomiya would rather try to experience giving birth and Kanjani8's Okura Tadaoyshi (25) answered, "I'd like to be a Johnny's groupie."
Wakui Emi (39) and Abe Sadawo (40) also attended the event. "Ooku" will open in Japan on October 1, 2010. (Kawaii Joyuu)

Why I'm developing a crush on everyone in KAT-TUN

I've been becoming more interested in KAT-TUN than Arashi (oh no!), especially after watching like 75 episodes of Cartoon KAT-TUN, but I still don't really have a favourite member. So I've been taking some KAT-TUN quizzes. Haha! Yes, I do think they're silly but it's lots of fun! I've also included an extremely lengthy summary (how ironic) of what I think about each member as a love interest. Here's a page break to spare those who don't care about my fangirling rants or those Arashi purists who hate KAT-TUN...

Hayami Mokomichi loses 12kg for dorama role

Hayami Mokomichi (25) and the cast of TBS drama Hammer Session! (starting 10th July at 7:56pm) attended a press event held at Enoshima Beach on 4th July.
For his role as swindler Hachisuka Gorou who masquerades as a teacher, Mokomichi revealed that he had prepared himself physically beforehand. "For the past few months, I have shed about 12 to 13 kilograms for this role," he smiled confidently. Many scenes in the drama require him to bare his body. He asked Shida Mirai (17) what she thought of it. "He asks me that every time but I can't really answer," she replied, looking a little embarrassed. "This drama is a little different from normal school dramas, it's a little sexier. Please look forward to it," said Mokomichi confidently.
After the event ended, a beach volleyball tournament started and Mokomichi happily stripped to his waist and joined in the games. (unleashthegeek)

What I really want to know is how all these actors seem to lose weight so easily...

Kitagawa wants to find true love, and Okada Masaki wants...

Yesterday, actress Kitagawa Keiko (23) and actor Okada Masaki (20) attended a special stage greeting for their movie "Matataki" (also "Piecing Me Back Together"). The special event was held in order to thank their fans for pushing the movie to the first place for having the most tickets sold in advance and since it's only a few days until the Tanabata Festival (a star festival), both of them appeared in beautiful kimonons.
Kitagawa's wish in front of the Tanabata decorations, "I have the same Zodiac sign as the current year and will turn 24 this year. I think that's a critical point in my life and it would be great if an as twinkling (matataki) and true love was happening to me as well."
Okada's amusing wish, "It would be great if my curly hair would straighten out this year. It's always getting curled again. Recently I tried to counter it with moisture products…"
Matataki is a love story about true love. Kitagawa and Okada play the couple Izumi and Junichi. One day they end up in a traffic accident that leaves Junichi dead and the shock from her boyfriend's sudden death causes Izumi to lose her memory from the time of the accident. Later she slowly starts to remember the accident and all the deep feelings he had for him.
The movie already opened on June 19 and was supported by various PR activities that already started back in April. Today's event marked the end of their domestic campaign to promote the movie and they went on stage to thank everyone who went to see the movie so far. They received flowers from the staff and the audience even thanked them for making such a beautiful movie. "It was the first time I got thanked for making a movie," Kitagawa was moved and responded with a smile. (Kawaii Joyuu)

Horikita Maki gets Miss Lily award

The Flower Dream 2010 expo is currently taking place at the Tokyo Big Sight. On Sunday, the event presented its 9th annual Miss Lily award, given to the female celebrity who looks best with lilies.
This year's recipient was actress Horikita Maki (21). She revealed that she loves flowers, and she would be happy if someone surprised her with a bouquet on a first date.
Because lilies can represent "pure love," Horikita was asked whether she has recently experienced love, but she shyly answered no. She was also asked about her plans for children, and she declared that currently she hopes to have one around the age of 32. (Tokyograph)

Formspring!~

If you can live any place in the world where would it be and why?
Hmmm.... What a tough question! I've always wanted to live in an Asian city where the weather is cool and dry and I could have a bit of snow each year, since Singapore is so hot and humid and the only thing I reallyREALLY dislike about Singapore is the weather.

I think Tokyo or Taiwan would be on the top of my list. Taiwan would be nice since I can speak and read Chinese, and the environment there is rather similar to Japan. I like to think of Taiwan as a country of Chinese people who live like Japanese. And it's big, so if I get sick of the main city in Taipei I can go on a short vacation to the less popiulated areas. Tokyo... My obsession with all things Japanese definitely influences me a lot, but sometimes I think somewhere like Yokohama would be better for me. But overall, Japan is so expensive! (though I'm assuming that cost isn't a factor) When I went to Japan some time ago, I was at Sendai for a while and I really liked it because it was really quiet, but I think I'd get bored after a few months.

So, my answer is probably somewhere in Japan (not sure exactly where!) Hahaha I think that just by reading my blog, you'd be able to guess where I want to stay!


I LOVE ARASHI!!!!!!!!!! I JUST RAN INTO YOUR BLOG TODAY. Where do you hear all these news? Amazing gossip! Im never good at keeping up with the gossip but I would love to learn from you! xD
Hi there! I LOVE ARASHI TOO IT FEELS SO GOOD TO HEAR FROM OTHER ARASHI LOVERS! :DD

Thanks for your lovely compliments! =(>0.0<)= I usually get all this news and gossip from a few different sources, but most of the official-ish comes from http://tokyograph.com. For more gossipy Johnny's Entertainent news, I usually go to http://entameblog.seesaa.net. It's in Japanese though!
You can see the the link for the source at the end of each article, just click on it and it'll direct you to the exact webpage that I got the news from. Like that, it's easier, to find the sources that you're most interested in! Have fun!

Ask me a question here, or just use the widget in the sidebar!

Otsuka Ai is "very happy" about her marriage

Otsuka Ai (27), who got married to SU (36) of Rip Slyme recently on 25 June, expressed her happiness about her marriage during her regular radio show LIFE-LOVE CiRCLE bu Tokyo FM. She sounded slightly embarrassed when her husband's name was mentioned, and said that she was really pleased. She also thanked everyone for their many blessings. When asked if she wanted to have children, she said that she was looking forward to having kids. (Sanspo)

First live concert for Kuroki Meisa

It has been announced that actress Kuroki Meisa (22) will have her first live concert on October 6 at the Ebisu Garden Hall in Tokyo.

Kuroki debuted as a singer in June 2008 and just had her first live performance at the "GirlsAward2010" fashion show back in May this year. She only was able to perform two songs at the event, but the audience was blown away by her sexiness and fierce dancing skills. After that, many of her fans demanded to see more from her and her agency hurried to organize her first live concert.

At the concert she will sing around 10 different songs, including her most recent single "5 -FIVE-". The stage will reach halfway into the audience, so that really everyone will enjoy the concert to the fullest.
Kuroki about the concert, "It's the first 'one man show' in my life. I'd like to do the rehearsals while checking through the past event again and carefully prepare for the upcoming performance." (Kawaii Joyuu)

Nino's car accident case sent to prosecutor's office

Last month, Arashi member Kazunari Ninomiya (27) caused a traffic accident, resulting in minor injuries for a female bicyclist. On July 2, it was learned that the Meguro police have have sent the case to the public prosecutor's office.

On June 4, at around half past noon at an intersection in the Meguro ward, Ninomiya's vehicle bumped into a woman riding a bicycle. The woman suffered an injury in her left leg which reportedly took a week to fully heal.
Ninomiya is suspected of negligent driving resulting in injury, as it is believed that he was not paying proper attention to the road ahead of him. Police say that Ninomiya has already acknowledged his fault in the accident. The public prosecutor's office will decide whether to take the case to court. (Tokyograph)

Taguchi Junnosuke and Komine Rena photographed together in FRIDAY

Uh-oh. Taguchi Junnosuke (25), member of Johnny's Entertainment band KAT-TUN, has been photographed with actress Komine Rena (30) in FRIDAY, a popular gossip magazine in Japan. It is said that even though Junno is in the midst of a tour with the rest of KAT-TUN (except Jin who's in LA), he still finds time to go on dates with Komine Rena.

Their relationship has been going on for quite a while, with pictures of the two together surfacing all over the internet in 2008. Then, Komine often hinted about her relationship with Junno on her blog even though Johnny's Entertainment frowns upon its boys getting into relationships. The two of them also had the same limited edition Disney necklace at one point of time. Komine had said on her blog that it was given to her by a close friend as a birthday gift. Junno was then seen wearing the same necklace in a few episodes of Cartoon KAT-TUN. This sparked many rumors, with many fans upset that Komine was so open about their relationship and putting Junno's job in danger.

It has been remarked that Junno's relationshiop with Komine is as obvious as the two of them going on a trip together (LMAO). Well, we can only hope that old Kitagawa Johnny won't take this too seriously. After all, Junno's bandmate Ueda Tatsuya was also FRIDAY'd with Kobayashi Ryoko before here, and there was no follow-up action. (Entame)