Tsutsumi Shinichi announces his wife's pregnancy on official site; to be a father this autumn

Tsutsumi Shinichi announced via his official site on 29 June that his wife is currently 6 months pregnant with their first child and that she is due to give birth in October. He mentioned in his comments that he waited till his wife's condition is stable before making the announcement and promised to make it known when his baby is born. Tsutsumi married his wife who is 16 years younger than him on 1 March this year and will be a father just one year before he turns 50 next year.

Source: Sponichi

Shiina Kippei to take on lead role in spin-off drama SP of "Nazotoki wa Dinner no ato de"

Shiina Kippei will be taking on the lead role in the spin-off drama SP of "Nazotoki wa Dinner no ato de ~ Kazamatsuri Keibu no Jikenbo" which will be shown via FujiTV on 2 August at 9pm before the movie version's release in cinemas on 3 August. He will be reprising his role as Kazamatsuri in the SP who usually stumbles upon a critical clue to solving the case without knowing. Besides the lead actors Sakurai Sho and Kitagawa Keiko, there will be a new member in the lineup i.e. Yo Kimiko who plays Kazamatsuri's maid and is as good as Kageyama (Sakurai) in terms of her ability to solve cases. Filming of the SP is currently in progress.

Source: Sanspo

Preview of "Star Man - Kono hoshi no koi" - Summer 2013

Title: Star Man - Kono Hoshi no Koi
Official site: here
O.A. Start Date: 9 July 2013
Timeslot: Tuesdays 10pm
Broadcast by: FujiTV
Theme song: STARMANN by YUKI
Cast: Hirosue Ryoko, Fukushi Souta, Koike Eiko, Arimura Kasumi, Ishii Masanori, KENCHI (EXILE), Yamada Yuuki, Honda Daisuke, Muramatsu Toshifumi, Moto Fuyuki, Oonishi Ryuusei, Kuroda Hiroyuki, Igarashi Hinata, Yoshiyuki Kazuko, Kunimura Jun

Kato Rosa's contract with Ken-On ends; official site to be closed from 1 July 2013

Kato Rosa's contract with Ken-On has ended, according to an announcement on her official site released on 29 June. Her website will also be closed from 1 July 2013. Kato married former national soccer player Matsui Daisuke in June 2011 and gave birth to their first son in December the same year. It is rumoured that her husband may be returning to play in the J-league from his current team Slavia Sofia in Bulgaria.

Source: Sponichi Annex

First-day screening event of movie "Manatsu no Houteishiki"

The first-day screening event of movie "Manatsu no Houteishiki" was held on 29 June which was attended by Fukuyama Masaharu, Yoshitaka Yuriko, Kitamura Kazuki, An, Yamazaki Hikaru and the director Nishitani Hiroshi. The movie which is based on Higashino Keigo's Galileo novel series that has sold more than 10 million copies to date, is the second film in the Galileo series where Yukawa (Fukuyama) has to protect a young boy by helping to solve a murder case even though his character dislikes children. After the film screening, the cast appeared on stage to greet the audience where Fukuyama asked how they felt about the film. With response to that, the audience said the line "jitsu ni omoshiroi" (it's really interesting) which is a pet phrase of Yukawa in the Galileo series.

Having gone to Hong Kong for the premiere screening of the film on 27 June, Yoshitaka praised Fukuyama for looking radiant after the overseas trip. She also revealed instances where she played tricks on Fukuyama by hiding the snacks he was eating while reading the script or changing a red bean bun to chocolate bun and relished seeing his frustrated and sad expressions. In response, Fukuyama apologised for Yoshitaka's words being too difficult to understand.

At the end of the event, the host asked Fukuyama if he thinks that this movie marks the last of Yukawa's appearance and he said that if the viewers want to see Yukawa again and the author Higashino Keigo agrees to it, there may be a likelihood. As such, he jokingly urged the audience to send letters about this to Higashino so as to make it happen.

Source: Model Press

Preview of "Kyuumei Byoutou 24 Ji" - Summer 2013

Title: Kyuumei Byoutou 24 Ji
Official site: here
O.A. Start Date: 9 July 2013
Timeslot: Tuesdays 9pm
Broadcast by: FujiTV
Theme song: "Saa, Kane wo Narase" by DREAMS COME TRUE
Cast: Matsushima Nanako, Sasaki Kuranosuke, Kazama Shunsuke, Ashina Sei, Haru, Kashiwabara Shuji, Kojima Kazuya, Okamoto Rei, Yamada Maho, Shukugawa Atomu, Ito Yuko, Tezuka Tooru, Anju Mira, Danta Yasunori, Tokito Saburo

Preview of "Gekiryuu ~ Watashi wo oboete imasuka? ~"

Title: Gekiryuu ~ Watashi wo oboete imasuka?
Official website: here
O.A. Start Date: 25 June 2013
Timeslot: Tuesdays 10pm
Broadcast: NHK
Original novel: Shibata Yoshiki
Cast: Tanaka Rena, Kiritani Kenta, Kuninaka Ryoko, Tomosaka Rie, Yamamoto Koji, Kariya Yuiko, Takeda Shinji, Kaku Chikako, Tanaka Misako

Preview of "Furueru Ushi"

Title: Furueru Ushi
Official website: here
O.A. Start Date: 16 June 2013
Timeslot: Sundays 10pm
Broadcast by: WOWOW
Cast: Mikami Hiroshi, Fukiishi Kazue, Kobayashi Kaoru, Hirayama Hiroyuki, Kimura Fumino, Nukumizu Yoichi, Endo Kaname, Tanaka Kotaro, Shiraishi Miho, Ryu Raita, Haba Yuuichi, Onodera Akira, Sano Shiro, Furuta Arata

Preview of "Kaibutsu" (drama SP)

Title: Kaibutsu
Official website: here
O.A. Date: 27 June 2013 at 9pm
Broadcast by: NTV / YTV
Original novel by: Fukuda Kazuyo
Cast: Sato Koichi, Mukai Osamu, Tabe Mikako, Yajima Kenichi, Ishino Youko, Yashiba Toshihiro, Fujiwara Kaoru, Kuriyama Chiaki, Kaname Jun

Preview of "Machi Isha Jumbo" - Summer 2013

Title: Machi Isha Jumbo
Official website: here
Official Facebook page: here
O.A. Start Date: 4 July 2013
Timeslot: Thursdays 11.58pm
Broadcast by: NTV
Cast: Maki Daisuke, Kutsuna Shiori, Yoshida You, Yamaguchi Daichi, Fueki Yuuko, Omi Toshinori

Preview of "Frenemy - Dobunezumi no Machi" - Summer 2013

Title: Frenemy - Dobunezumi no Machi
Official site: here
O.A. Start Date: 3 July 2013
Timeslot: Wednesdays 1.29am
Broadcast: NTV
Cast: SHOKICHI, NAOTO, Otozuki Kei, Yamashita Kenjiro, Sakata Rikako, Arai Moe, Jinbo Satoshi, Kyoumoto Masaki

Preview of "Woman" - Summer 2013

Title: Woman
Official website: here
Official Twitter: here
O.A. Start Date: 3 July 2013
Timeslot: Wednesdays 10pm
Broadcast by: NTV
Theme song: Voice by androp
Cast: Mitsushima Hikari, Tanaka Yuko, Oguri Shun, Tanimura Mitsuki, Nikaidou Fumi, Miura Takahiro, Usuda Asami, Takahashi Issei, Suzuki Rio, Kobayashi Kaoru

Spring 2013 drama ratings ranking

Here is the ranking of the spring 2013 dramas based on their average ratings at the end of the season:

1) Galileo (FujiTV) - 19.85%
2) Last Cinderella (FujiTV) - 15.16%
3) 35-sai no Koukousei (NTV) - 13.10%
4) Kazoku Game (FujiTV) - 12.96%
5) Sora tobu Kouhoushitsu (TBS) - 12.55%
6) Keiji 110kg (TV Asahi) - 12.06%
7) Doubles ~ Futari no Keiji (TV Asahi) - 11.76%
8) Kasukana Kanojo (FujiTV) - 11.51%
9) Iryu Sousa (TV Asahi) - 11.48%
10) TAKE FIVE (TBS) - 10.07%
11) Kakusho ~ Keishicho Sousa 3ka (TBS) - 9.90%
12) Sennyuu Tantei Tokage (TBS) - 9.86%
13) Otenki Oneesan (TV Asahi) - 9.84%
14) Kamo, Kyoto e Iku (FujiTV) - 9.80%
15) Kumo no Kaidan (NTV) - 9.25%
16) Machigawarechatta Otoko (FujiTV) 6.10%

Fukuyama Masaharu in Hong Kong for premiere event of "Manatsu no Houteishiki"

Fukuyama Masaharu made an appearance in Hong Kong on 27 June for the premiere event of his new Galileo movie "Manatsu no Houteishiki" where he was greeted by 3,000 fans who had gathered for the red carpet event despite a high temperature of 30 degrees Celsius and humidity as high as 80%. This was Fukuyama's first visit to Hong Kong for work purposes since he made his debut 23 years ago and he was very happy to see the strong support from local fans. Fukuyama commented that if he had known about the strong support for him in Hong Kong earlier, he would have gone there earlier in the past so he hopes to hold a concert there soon.

When Fukuyama arrived at the Hong Kong airport on 26 June, about 700 fans were there to greet him including some from China. Due to the large turnout, he had to go through the VIP gate instead and the fans chanted his nickname Masha as Fukuyama waved to the fans and boarded the car.

"Manatsu no Houteishiki" will be screened in Hong Kong on the same day as Japan i.e. 29 June and will be shown in 27 cinemas which is more than what the last Galileo movie "Yogisha X no Kenshin" achieved.

Source: Sponichi

Hayami Mokomichi & Natsuna to join Nakama Yukie in drama SP "Jinsei ga tokimeku Katazuke no Mahou"

Hayami Mokomichi and Natsuna will be joining the cast of NTV's drama SP "Jinsei ga tokimeku Katazuke no Mahou" starring Nakama Yukie which will be shown this autumn. Nakama plays a lecturer who teaches people how to tidy up their homes and solve their life problems while Hayami will play her colleague and supporter. The two of them last worked together in the Gokusen series' 2009 movie where Nakama played Hayami's teacher. Hayami will also show off his cooking skills by making desserts in the drama to help Nakama's character relax. On the other hand, Natsuna plays a woman who can't get her life in order and seeks Nakama's help. Baisho Mitsuko will also play one of Nakama's clients in the story.

Source: Sanspo

Sashida Fumiya to sing theme song for summer 2013 drama "Naru you ni Naru sa"

Singer-songwriter Sashida Fumiya will be singing the theme song for TBS summer 2013 drama "Naru you ni Naru sa" starring Tachi Hiroshi which will begin its run from 12 July at 10pm on Fridays. This is the first new drama written by Hashida Sugako in 16 years which depicts a couple operating a restaurant at their house and how they interact with three young people who have sought refuge with them. This will also be the first Hashida drama to have a theme song. Sashida was suggested as a possible candidate to sing the theme song by the producer and Hashida agreed to it immediately after hearing the song titled "Ballad".

Source: Yomiuri Hochi

Top 10 bestselling music DVDs in the first half of 2013 (Oricon)

Numbers in figures indicate the number of units sold. For the ranking of No.11 to No.50, please go to Oricon's site:

1) AraFes - Arashi (785,949)

2) ARASHI LIVE TOUR Popcorn - Arashi (680,798)

3) namie amuro 5 Major Domes 2012 ~ 20th Anniversary Best ~ - Amuro Namie (213,085)

4) KANJANI 8 LIVE TOUR! BEST ~ Minna no omoi wa dou nan dai? Bokura no omoi wa mugendai!! - Kanjani 8 (208,949)

5) YOSHIO - new member - Kis-My-Ft2 (140,948)

6) Mr.Children TOUR POPSAURUS 2012 - Mr.Children (93,613)

7) NEWS LIVE TOUR 2012 ~ Utsukushii koi ni suru yo - NEWS (86,129)

8) BUMP OF CHICKEN GOLD GLIDER TOUR 2012 - BUMP OF CHICKEN (71,736)

9) Twinkle Twinkle A.B.C-Z - A.B.C.-Z (70,393)

10) B'z LIVE GYM 2005 - CIRCLE OF ROCK - B'z (69,291)

Top 10 bestselling albums in the first half of 2013 (Oricon)

Figures in brackets are the number of units sold. For the ranking of no.11 to no.50, please go to Oricon's site:

1) Teppen Tottan de! - NMB48 (411,800)

2) Funky Monkey Babys LAST BEST - FUNKY MONKEY BABYS (365,021)

3) EXILE BEST HITS - LOVE SIDE / SOUL SIDE - EXILE (313,493)

4) TIME - Tohoshinki (292,623)

5) MIRACLE - Sandaime J-Soul Brothers (262,933)

6) Good Ikuze! - Kis-My-Ft2 (260,324)

7) Baradon - Ikimonogakari (258,822)

8) 5th Dimension - Momoiro Clover Z (223,192)

9) Take Me Home - One Direction (221,978)

10) Matsutoya Yumi 40th anniversary best album Nihon no koi to, Yumin to - Matsutoya Yumi

Top 10 bestselling singles in the first half of 2013 (Oricon)

Numbers in brackets indicate the number of units sold:

1) Sayonara Crawl - AKB48 (1,926,445)

2) So long! - AKB48 (1,126,674)

3) Calling / Breathless - Arashi (879,129)

4) Choco no Dourei - SKE48 (671,623)

5) EXILE PRIDE ~ Konna sekai wo aisuru tame ~ EXILE (582,525)

6) Endless Game - Arashi (516,216)

7) My Resistance - Tashikana mono - / Unmei Girl - Kiss-My-Ft2 (373,149)

8) Hesomagari / Koko ni shikanai keshiki - Kanjani 8 (328,538)

9) Joy!! - SMAP (327,505)

10) Seifuku Mannequin - Nogisaka 46 (303,474)

For the rest of the ranking from No.11 to No.50, please visit Oricon's site.

Source: Oricon

THE SECOND from EXILE to sing theme songs for "Machi Isha Jumbo" & "Frenemy ~ Dobunezumi no Machi"

EXILE's 5-member spin-off unit "THE SECOND from EXILE" will be singing the theme songs for two NTV summer 2013 dramas as announced on 25 June. The unit will be releasing a double A-side single on 14 August which contains two songs titled "SURVIVORS feat. DJ MAKIDAI from EXILE" and "Pride". The first song will be the theme song of "Machi Isha Jumbo" which begins its run from 4 July at 11.58pm on Thursdays and stars EXILE member Maki Daisuke while the latter will be the theme of "Frenemy" which starts on 3 July at 1.29am on Wednesdays and stars SHOKICHI in his first leading role.

Source: Sanspo

Yoshitaka Yuriko chosen as lead of first half of 2014's NHK morning drama "Hanako to Anne"

NHK held a press conference on 25 June at its headquarters in Shibuya where it announced that Yoshitaka Yuriko is going to be the lead for "Hanako to Anne", its morning drama for the first half of 2014. The script of the drama will be written by Nakazono Miho.

Yoshitaka will play the role of Muraoka Hanako, the Japanese translator of Anne of Green Gables, in the drama which depicts her turbulent life during the Meiji, Taisho and Showa periods. Muraoka was actually born to a poor family in Yamanashi Prefecture before she attended school with the rich and royalty and later became a translator after the war. When told that she had been selected for the role, Yoshitaka admitted that she was worried that she might not be good enough to do it and said that she was very nervous at the beginning of the press conference. The media asked Yoshitaka why she thought that she was unsuitable and she replied that her face probably doesn't suit the image of morning dramas. However, her grandmother is a big fan of the morning dramas so she felt that it would be a good thing to do for her grandmother.

Source: Nikkansports

Mizukawa Asami to take on two roles in horror movie "Bilocation"

Mizukawa Asami will be taking on two contrasting roles in the upcoming horror movie "Bilocation" which will be screened in cinemas from 18 January 2014. The movie is based on a novel by Houjou Haruka which won the 17th Nippon Horror Long Novel Award in 2010 and describes how a person splits into two due to an incident and the copied person attempts to kill the original. Mizukawa will play the role of Takamura Shinobu who is an ordinary woman but has a violent side hidden within her. One day, Shinobu is framed for using counterfeit notes in a supermarket and is shown a surveillance video clip of her 10 minutes before she was caught but Shinobu cannot believe that she appeared in the video. At the police station, Shinobu hears about bilocation from the police officers and this induces the split of her violent self from her original self whereby the copy will always attempt to kill the original. Filming began from 7 June.

Source: Sanspo

Japan premiere screening of movie "Manatsu no Houteishiki"

The Japan premiere screening of movie "Manatsu no Houteishiki" was held at TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills on 23 June which was attended by the lead cast Fukuyama Masaharu and Yoshitaka Yuriko as well as the movie's director Nishitani Hiroshi. The movie will be shown in cinemas from 29 June and is the second film under the Galileo series from Higashino Keigo which features Fukuyama as the genius physics expert Yukawa Manabu. It is also scheduled to be shown in Hong Kong from 27 June and Taiwan from 4 July and Fukuyama will attend the premiere screenings in both countries.

During the press conference, Yoshitaka commented that she was glad to find that Fukuyama is someone who gets along well with others and even remarked that he behaves like a middle-age uncle in the second half of the filming. With regard to that, Fukuyama said that Yoshitaka is his junior from the same agency so he has no qualms about saying anything to her.

Source: Sanspo

Production press conference of FujiTV summer 2013 drama "SUMMER NUDE"

The production press conference of FujiTV's upcoming summer 2013 gekku drama "SUMMER NUDE" was held beside a pool in Tokyo on 24 June where cast members such as Yamashita Tomohisa, Karina, Toda Erika and Takahashi Katsunori appeared and took part in a barbecue party with the media. The drama will begin its run from 8 July at 9pm on Mondays. Yamashita revealed that he got his water scooter licence recently as part of preparations for this drama and commented that his idea of a perfect date was to ride the water scooter with someone he loves.

In response to recent reports about how Karina and Toda Erika became arch enemies after working on the 2007 drama "Ushi ni negai wo Love & Farm", the actresses who play rivals for Yamashita's affection in this drama laughed off the rumours and said that they had simply no idea where the rumour came from. They also revealed that they recently chatted about this topic and found that it was so interesting that the newspaper articles were making it sound like it was true. Takahashi teased the actresses if they were trying too hard to show that they are on good terms by taking pictures together to which they jokingly admitted that they are indeed enemies.

Source: Daily Sports

Top 10 nice couples of the first half of 2013 (Oricon)

This is a survey conducted by Oricon on 1,000 of their Oricon Monitor Research members in their teens, 20s, 30s and 40s on which couples (married or engaged in the first half of 2013) that they view favourably:

1) Sakai Masato & Kanno Miho

2) Yabe Hiroyuki & Aoki Yuko

3) Bibiru Oki & AKINA

4) Nakao Akiyoshi & Naka Riisa

5) Kitajima Kosuke & Chisa

6) Tsutsumi Shinichi & his wife (non-celebrity)

7) Ozaki Yoichi & Yasuda Kei

8) Saotome Taichi & Nishiyama Maki

9) Onoe Kikunosuke & Namino Yoko

10) HITOE (SPEED) & her husband (non-celebrity)

Source: Oricon

Mimura gets married for the second time

Mimura got married to a non-celebrity on 20 June as reported on 21 June. Her husband is a self-employed businessman who is in her 40s and they got married after dating for 18 months. After wrapping up her filming for the spring 2013 drama "Sennyuu Tantei Tokage", Mimura then proceeded to register her marriage with her husband in the morning of 20 June. She is currently not pregnant and will continue her career as an actress.

Mimura had been previously married to composer-conductor Kim Seong Hyang between 2006 and 2010.

Source: Sanspo

Tamaki Hiroshi, Honda Tsubasa, Kimura Fumino, Higashide Masahiro etc. to star in movie "Subete wa kimi ni aeta kara"

There will be a new movie titled "Subete wa kimi ni aeta kara" (Everything is because I met you" which is produced in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of Tokyo Station and will be shown in cinemas from 22 November this year. The Christmas romance movie which has the full support of JR Higashi Nihon and consists of 6 stories, features 10 actors including Tamaki Hiroshi, Takanashi Rin, Kimura Fumino, Higashide Masahiro, Honda Tsubasa, Tokito Saburo, Ootsuka Nene, Ichikawa Miwako, Baisho Chieko and Kobayashi Nenji and their stories involving Tokyo Station which is used by more than 1 million commuters every day. Tamaki and Takanashi will pair up in one of the stories as a couple who fall in love after a chance encounter at the station. Kimura and Higashide will be a pair of lovers involved in a long-distance relationship.

As Tokyo Station is the starting point for 13 railway lines and has as many as 4,600 train trips per day, filming can only be done between 1am and 4am when the trains are not running. This will also be the first movie filmed in the new Marunouchi train terminal building since its renewal opening in October last year.

Source: Sanspo

Romaji lyrics of "Endless Game" by Arashi (Theme song of "Kazoku Game")

Title: Endless Game
Artist: Arashi
Lyrics: 100+
Melody: Chris Janey / Dyce Taylor
Theme song of FujiTV spring 2013 drama "Kazoku Game"

sekasareru mama ni koware sou nan da
(Warning...) abaredasu shunkan
nemurezu asa wo mukaeru in my head
(Question) sono koe wa mimi wo fusaidemo
kono mama de sono mama de ii no ka?
(Warning...) nejirete yukunda
moshimo shitteiru no nara hold my hands
(Answer) Yes me wo tojita

fushigi na yume wo miterunda
chippoke de karappo na yuganda yokan ga tomaranai

arienai koto bakari sa mukau shikanai no sa
"seihirei ni miete sono omoi wa hanpirei"
wakaranai koto bakari sa demo mitai mono ga aru yo
"owarinaki sekai kurikaesu play the game"
doko e yukeru no? nozomeba itsu demo zero kara hajimaru replay
ichi ka bachi ka no phase e nidoto modorenakutemo

tsumari are mo kore mo subete
(Warning...) ozanari nanda
itsunoma ni ka nomi komareteta
(Question) kara no naka munashiku utsuru
konna ni mo sugu soba ni iru no ni
(Warning...) minai furi shitenda
moshi mo shiritakunai nara in your heart
(Answer) No matowari tsuku

ate no nai mama tadayoun da
tegotae no nai aijou yusaburareteiru bokura wa

kanashimi wo nugi sutete mukiaeba ii no sa
"uso mo hontou mo dochira demo nai kara"
kudaranai koto bakari sa demo shinjite itai yo
"usureteku sekai maki modosu memory"
nani ga aru no? sono door wo akeyou real to tsunagaru reset
susumu beki ketsumatsu ni kotae wa mienakutemo

nani mo tsugeru koto nai mama
(Silence) jikan dake wa
futashika na mama sugiteyuku
susume yo sore demo

itsumo aru hazu dakara kawaranai mono ga
"nakushita mono to umare yuku mono"
kono sekai wa muzukashii koto bakari janai darou
"kimi no kokoro ni ikizuita Endless"

kanashimi wo nugi sutete mukiaeba ii no sa
"uso mo hontou mo dochira demo nai kara"
kudaranai koto bakari sa demo shinjite itai yo
"usureteku sekai maki modosu memory"
nani ga aru no? sono door wo akeyou real to tsunagaru reset
susumu beki ketsumatsu ni kotae wa mienakutemo

Eita & Ono Machiko win the 39th Housou Bunka Foundation acting awards for their roles in "Saikou no Rikon"

Eita attended the prize presentation ceremony for the 39th Housou Bunka Foundation Award on 21 June where he received an acting award for his performance in "Saikou no Rikon". His co-star Ono Machiko who had played his wife in the same drama, also received the same award but was absent from the ceremony. Eita commented that it had been physically draining for him during the filming and by the time he was halfway through the season, he had even gone to a therapist for treatment of his hands and shoulders which were experiencing tightness due to the pressure.

Other prize awards (drama-related) are as follows:

Main Award (TV drama category): Legal High / FujiTV (prize money of JPY 800,000)
Excellence Award (TV drama category): Made in Japan / NHK (JPY 400,000)
TV Drama Award: Saikou no Rikon / FujiTV & Hitori Shizuka / WOWOW (JPY 200,000 each)
Individual Acting Award: Eita / Saikou no Rikon & Ono Machiko / Saikou no Rikon (JPY 100,000 each)
Best Script: Kosawa Ryota / Legal High (JPY 100,000)

Source: Sponichi / Housou Bunka Foundation

Osawa Takao reportedly on a date with new girlfriend?

Osawa Takao reportedly has a new girlfriend in her 30s according to some female weekly magazines published on 20 June. The reports mentioned that Osawa met the lady in May before he was to depart for Cannes to take part in the 66th Cannes film festival. However, Osawa has denied the reports through his Twitter account and said that he was on a meeting with staff members before leaving for Cannes and he was shocked by the untrue reports.

Source: Sponichi

Tsutsumi Shinichi, Eita, Kamiki Ryunosuke & Nikaido Fumi co-star in Flets Hikari CM

Tsutsumi Shinichi, Eita, Kamiki Ryunosuke and Nikaido Fumi will be appearing in the new NTT Higashi Nihon Flets Hikari CM which will be broadcast on TV from 21 June. The setting of the CM is in a western-style sharehouse located on a quiet residential street where its residents include Frankenstein (Tsutsumi), Dracula (Eita), Wolfman (Kamiki) and they are told by the estate manager's granddaughter (Nikaido) that the rent is going to be raised.

Source: Sponichi

Mitsushima Hikari & Oguri Shun to star in NTV summer 2013 drama "Woman"

Mitsushima Hikari and Oguri Shun will be starring in the NTV summer 2013 drama "Woman" which begins its run from 3 July at 10pm on Wednesdays. The drama features Mitsushima as a young single mother who has to raise her child in poverty after her husband (Oguri) passed away.

The theme song of the drama "Voice" will be sung by 4-member band androp which is also their third single since their debut in 2011. Previously, they had another song "Rainbows" which was used as the theme for the movie version of "Suzuki-sensei".

Source: Yomiuri Hochi

Open filming of NHK drama "Meoto Zenzai"

As the filming of NHK drama "Meoto Zenzai' was coming to a close, the media was invited to the open filming at the set in Kyoto's Toei Uzumasa Movie Village on 20 June where the lead actors Moriyama Mirai and Ono Machiko were interviewed. The drama will be shown via NHK from 24 August at 9pm on Saturdays. The drama set was modeled after Osaka's Hozenji Yokocho in the late Taisho era and early Showa period.

Source: Sanspo

GReeeeN to sing the theme song for summer 2013 drama "Oh, My Dad!"

GReeeeN will be singing the theme song for FujiTV's summer 2013 drama "Oh, My Dad!!" which begins its run from July in the Thursdays 10pm timeslot. The theme song titled "Itoshi Kimi e" (For you who I love) was one of a few songs written specially for the drama and is the group's 6th drama theme song. The remaining songs which did not get selected will be used as insert songs in the drama. The release date for the theme song's single has not been decided yet but the group just released their new album titled "Iine!" on 19 June.

Source: Sanspo

Kutsuna Shiori quits university to concentrate on her acting career

Kutsuna Shiori reportedly quit university this year to concentrate on her acting career after passing the entrance exams in 2010 and attending class since 2011. According to insiders, although Kutsuna felt that it was a waste to give up her studies, her tight filming schedule made it difficult for her to go to school thus she decided to give that up and concentrate on her career. As a result of this decision, there is speculation that this might change the way things are in the young actresses market.

Kutsuna had been nicknamed as the Oscar trio along with her peers Takei Emi and Gouriki Ayame as the next generation of stars who will support their agency Oscar. In the beginning, Kutsuna's achievements seemed to pale in comparison to Takei and Gouriki who were getting lots of CM deals and getting involved in various dramas and movies. As Kutsuna faced a bit of difficulty in accepting work offers due to her studies, it made her schedule less flexible than the others. However, now that she's free to concentrate on her acting career and that she had hit dramas under her belt e.g. "Kaseifu no Mita" as well as her reputation for being the best in terms of acting in the trio, that has given Kutsuna an advantage to be on par with Takei and Gouriki or even surpass them.

Source: Tokyo Sports Web

YUKI to sing theme song of summer 2013 drama "Star Man Kono Hoshi no Koi"

YUKI who celebrates her 11th anniversary as a solo singer this year, will be singing a drama theme song for the first time in 6 years. This time, she will be singing the theme song of FujiTV's summer 2013 drama "Star Man Kono Hoshi no Koi"and the song "STAR MANN" was written after reading the script. The drama will begin its run from 9 July at 10pm on Tuesdays. The last theme song YUKI sang was for TBS summer 2007 drama "Papa to Musume no Nanokakan".

Source: Yomiuri Hochi

Nagasaku Hiromi gives birth to second child

Nagasaku Hiromi announced the birth of her second child through a fax statement via her agency on 19 June. She gave birth to her daughter at 7.30am on 18 June in a Tokyo hospital and the baby weighed 3,124 grams. Nagasaku will focus on taking care of her children for the time being thus she will not be returning to acting soon.

Nagasaku married visual creator Naito Maro in 2009 and gave birth to their first son in May 2010.

Source: Sanspo

Ooku's stage play marks its 150th performance

The Ooku stage play which started in 2011 and has been performed at various plays such as Tokyo and Nagoya, marked its 150th performance on 18 June. To celebrate this occasion, the leading ladies of the stage play Matsushita Yuki and Suzukaze Mayo were presented with bouquets of flowers from the child actors during the curtain call. Matsushita who had participated in the Ooku series since it was made as a drama shown via FujiTV, commented that she was glad to be in Osaka for the 150th performance and vowed to continue putting up a good performance.The stage play will be held until 21 June in Osaka's Shochiku Za.

Source: Sanspo

Ayase Haruka at special screening event for NHK Taiga "Yae no Sakura"

Ayase Haruka appeared at the special screening of NHK Taiga drama "Yae no Sakura" on 18 June where the 30th June episode was shown. As this episode featured scenes from the Tsuruga Castle Siege which is the climax of the first half of the drama, Ayase commented that everyone put in their best to film this important battle where Yae dressed as a man and led the army to fight against the enemy.

Source: Nikkansports

Saeki Hinako reportedly preparing to divorce her husband Oku Daisuke

Actress Saeki Hinako is reportedly preparing to file for divorce from her husband Oku Daisuke who is also a former player of Japan's national soccer team after the latter was arrested for making death threats against his wife on 6 June. According to insiders, Oku who is still under custody at Totsuka Police Station for investigations, and Saeki have both engaged lawyers to start the divorce proceedings discussions.

Saeki commented that she does not feel hatred only towards her husband of 11 years and hopes that both parties can restart their lives when it's still possible thus she does not plan to fill any charges against him. Both parties reportedly hope to reach an agreement before Oku is due to be released on 27 June.

Oku was arrested in his parents' house at Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, because he called Saeki on 4 June and threatened to kill her. Saeki had also filed a report saying that she had been subjected to domestic violence after the arrest. It was reported that even before the couple got married in 2002, Oku had the tendency of flaring up easily as he was also suspicious about Saeki seeing someone else. These outbursts allegedly escalated into acts of violence after marriage.

Source: Nikkansports

Matsuyama Kenichi to star in movie "Ieji" set in Fukushima after March 11 crisis

Matsuyama Kenichi will take on the lead role in the movie "Ieji" (The Road Home) which will be shown next spring. The movie which is set in Fukushima after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami crisis, features Matsuyama as Sawada Jiro, the second son of an influential family in Fukushima who left his hometown when he was in the second year of senior year after being framed for a crime he didn't commit. Although his hometown was designated as an out-of-bounds area due to the radiation, Jiro still decides to return home to reunite with his elder brother Soichi (Uchino Masaaki), his sister-in-law (Ando Sakura) and his mother (Tanaka Yuko). Other co-stars include Yamanaka Takashi, Mitsuishi Ken, Tanaka Yoji and Ishibashi Renji. The filming is done entirely in Fukushima and will wrap up on 22 June.

Source: Yomiuri Hochi

Ohno Satoshi to star in NTV 24 Jikan Terebi 36's drama SP "Kyou no hi wa sayonara"

Arashi's leader Ohno Satoshi will be starring in NTV 24 Jikan Terebi 36's drama SP "Kyou no hi wa sayonara" which will be shown during the annual charity programme between 24 and 25 August. This is the first time Ohno is acting in a lead role of the programme's drama SP and features him as a 29-year-old man named Kota who is told one day that he is suffering from cancer and on the verge of dying. The drama SP will feature the journey of this man's preparation for his impending death and is based on the novel "Oozora e no tabidachi Gan to tatakai nagara mo yume miteita mirai" by Miyuki Kazuya. The script is written by Hashibe Atsuko who was responsible for the 2010 drama "Freeter, Ie wo Kau".

Ohno is the 3rd Arashi member who has appeared in the 24 Jikan Terebi drama SP following Matsumoto Jun's "Myu no Anyo Papa ni Ageru" in 2008 and Ninomiya Kazunari's "Kuruma isu de boku wa sora wo tobu" in 2012. The producer in charge of the programme Kawano Hidehiro commented that Ohno would not be expected to act in an exaggerated manner but rather portray the character's gradual preparation for death in a peaceful way.

Besides his involvement with the drama SP, Ohno has also designed the programme's T-shirt for this year which makes it twice in a row.

Source: Nikkansports

Newcomer singer Serena to sing the theme song for "Shomuni"

Newcomer singer Serena who is a 19-year-old university student, will be making her major debut by singing the theme song for FujiTV's summer 2013 drama "Shomuni" which will be shown from 10 July at 10pm on Wednesdays. The theme song titled "Pink no Dangan" (Pink Bullet) will be released as a single on 21 August.

Serena started to get interested in music after singing the song "We Are The World" during a homestay in the United States where she was on a short-term study trip. Upon returning to Japan, she raised the idea of creating her own demo tape to her father who later passed it to an acquaintance who was working at Ken-On. The agency then offered Serena a contract to be a singer under them the following day after receiving the demo tape. Serena performed in front of a 10,000-strong audience at Yokohama Arena before her high school graduation in spring this year and is now attending university in Tokyo.

Source: Sanspo

Fukuyama Masaharu to appear in special programme for "Galileo" over four nights

Fukuyama Masaharu will appear in the special programme for "Galileo" titled "Fukuyama Masaharu, drama Galileo and music Galileo +"  which will look back at the 6-year history of the Galileo series from 18 June over four nights via FujiTV. He will also release the album "Galileo+" on 26 June which features the music used in the "Galileo" series.

The programme which will be music-centric, will focus on KOH+ on 18 June at 12.45am while the second episode at 19 June at 1am will talk about the current drama series' theme song "Koi no Maryoku". The third episode on 20 June at 1am takes a look at "Galileo" entering the global market while the finale on 21 June 2.05am is a review of the series.

Source: Sanspo

First-day-screening of movie "Ore wa mada honki dashitenai dake"

The first-day-screening of movie "Ore wa mada honki dashitenai dake" was held at Shinjuku Picadilly on 15 June where cast members such as Tsutsumi Shinichi, Hashimoto Ai and Yamada Takayuki appeared. Tsutsumi "complained" that he was forced to make his debut as a singer under his character name Oguro Shizuo through the release of the movie's insert song "Ore no Jidai" which will be available for download from 15 June onwards for a limited period. Tsutsumi said that he thinks that he is tone-deaf and doesn't sing when he goes to the karaoke with friends so he didn't know what the director was thinking of by asking him to release such a song. With response to this remark, the director Fukuda Yuichi admitted that he had doubts too about releasing the song which was seemingly less than perfect and that led the audience to laugh at his comment.

Source: Sanspo

Aoi Yu & Suzuki Kosuke announce their breakup

Aoi Yu and Suzuki Kosuke announced on 14 June that they have gone their separate ways in less than a year since they went public with their relationship in July last year. The two of them had met through the stage play "Sono Imouto" in December 2011 and started dating the following year. Although the two of them did not give details on the reason for the breakup, Suzuki mentioned in his statement that they reached this decision after much discussion.

Source: Sponichi

Fujiwara Tatsuya to star in TV Asahi drama SP "Inemuri Sensei"

Fujiwara Tatsuya will play the lead role in TV Asahi's new drama SP "Inemuri Sensei" (Dozing Teacher) which is based on the autobiography of writer Ijuuin Shizuka, marking his first drama appearance since he announced his impending marriage this year on 31 May. The drama SP is due to be shown this autumn and features Ijuuin's life after his actress wife Natsume Masako suddenly passed away at the age of 27 years old in 1985 due to acute myelocytic leukaemia. Ijuuin became an alcoholic and was living a messy life until he was introduced to the late Naoki award writer Irokawa Takehiro and the two went on holidays while immersed in the joy of gambling. Fujiwara will play the role of Ijuuin while Nishida Toshiyuki will play Irokawa who was popular but hid the fact that he was suffering from narcolepsy from his friend. The story will describe how these two men struggle to move ahead despite their own problems. Co-stars include Abe Sadao, Tanihara Shosuke and Yo Kimiko.

Source: Sponichi

Toda Erika, Tabe Mikako & Maki Youko star in UULA's original drama "I LOVE YOU"

Toda Erika, Tabe Mikako and Maki Youko will be the leads in Softbank's smartphone entertainment application platform UULA's original drama "I LOVE YOU". The drama is based on a 2007  compilation of love stories written by six different writers where three stories were selected and adapted. In the first episode "Toumei Polar Bear" (The transparent Polar Bear) based on Isaka Koutaro's work, Toda plays a woman who is troubled over her long-distance relationship with her boyfriend. In the second episode titled "Mahou no Button" by Ishida Ira, Tabe plays a woman who's not good at relationships and holds a torch for her childhood friend. In the last episode "Sidewalk Talk" by Honda Takayoshi, Maki will play a career woman who is on the verge of divorce.

The theme song of the drama will be "I LOVE YOU" by the late Ozaki Yutaki and it will be covered by BIG BANG member D-LITE a.k.a. Daesung and played by violinist Hakase Taro.

Source: Sanspo

"Last Cinderella" grabs top spot in Internet viewing ranking for spring 2013 dramas

Japan Brand Strategy released the results of the top 15 spring 2013 dramas which had the most page views and downloads from their respective TV stations' websites between 1 April and 9 June:

1) Last Cinderella (FujiTV)  / 766,000 unique viewers / 9.987 million page views

2) Galileo (FujiTV)  / 529,000 unique viewers / 3.989 million page views

3) Sora tobu Kouhoushitsu (TBS) / 461,000 unique viewers / 9.898 million page views

4) Kazoku Game (FujiTV) / 460,000 unique viewers / 3.605 million page views

5) Kumo no Kaidan (NTV) / 407,000 unique viewers / 3.95 million page views

6) 35-sai no Koukousei (NTV)  / 333,000 unique viewers / 3.199 million page views

7) TAKE FIVE (TBS) / 264,000 unique viewers / 2.26 million page views

8) Kasukana Kanojo (FujiTV) / 218,000 unique viewers / 1.772 million page views

9) Kamo, Kyoto e Iku (FujiTV) / 185,000 unique viewers / 1.249 million page views

10) Oteni Oneesan (TV Asahi) / 165,000 unique viewers / 807,000 page views

11) Sennyuu Tantei Tokage (TBS) / 157,000 unique viewers / 1.278 million page views

12) Doubles ~ Futari no Keiji (TV Asahi) / 133,000 unique viewers / 507,000 page views

13) Iryu Sousa (TV Asahi) / 77,000 unique viewers / 383,000 page views

14) Kakusho ~ Keishicho Sousa Sanka (TBS) / 72,000 unique viewers / 477,000 page views

15) Keiji 110kg (TV Asahi) / 60,000 unique viewers / 266,000 page views

Looking at what we have here, it seems like Last Cinderella has a very strong following and these viewers don't actually watch the drama during the first broadcast but rather choose to download it to view at their own free time. In the TV ratings world, Galileo reigns supreme but interest in the drama seems to be low because it only had 3 million plus of page views compared to No.1 and No.3 which have about 9 million. These results seem to show that what's popular on TV may not be what netizens prefer to watch. What comments do you have about these results?

Source: Sponichi / Japan Brand Strategy

KARA's Gu Hara to be guest in 10th episode of "Galileo"

KARA member Gu Hara will be making her first solo appearance in a Japanese drama when she takes on the role of an office lady in the 10th episode of spring 2013 drama "Galileo" shown on 17 June. Hara's role will be that of an OL who works in a company where the male boss was poisoned to death and Kishitani (Yoshitaka Yuriko) goes to the office to interview employees as part of the investigation. Although Hara has few lines in the scene, she said that it was difficult to pronounce the words clearly.

Gu Hara is also in charge of singing the Korean version of the drama's theme song "Koi no Maryoku" but she had not been able to meet Fukuyama Masaharu at all during the recording of the song and filming of the music video. With regard to this, Hara expressed disappointment and regret that they couldn't meet up but hoped that they can do so next time.

Source: Sponichi