Preview of "Ishitachi no Renai Jijo" - Spring 2015

Title: Ishitachi no Renai Jijo 医師たちの恋愛事情 (Doctors' Affairs)
Official website: here
O.A. Start Date: 9 April 2015
Timeslot: Thursdays 10pm
Broadcast by: FujiTV
Theme Song: Don't be love feat. Saito Kazuyoshi by Shishido Kafka
Cast: Saito Takumi, Ishida Yuriko, Aibu Saki, Hirayama Hiroyuki, Miyake Hiroki, Itaya Yuka, Ihara Tsuyoshi, Namase Katsuhisa

Preview of "Kokoro ga Pokitto ne" - Spring 2015

Title: Kokoro ga Pokitto ne 心がポキッとね (The Heart Snaps)
Official Website: here
O.A. Start Date: 8 April 2015
Timeslot: Wednesdays 10pm
Broadcast by: FujiTV
Scriptwriter: Okada Yoshikazu
Theme Song: SUN by Hoshino Gen
Cast: Abe Sadao, Mizuhara Kiko, Fujiki Naohito, Yamaguchi Tomoko, Tokunaga Eri, Yamashita Rio, Nagase Tasuku, Ikezu Shoko, Yamanishi Atsushi

Preview of "Tatakau! Shoten Girl" - Spring 2015

Title: Tatakau! Shoten Girl 戦う！書店ガール (Fight! Bookstore Girl)
Official website: here
Official Twitter: here
O.A. Start Date: 14 April 2015
Timeslot: Tuesdays 10pm
Broadcast by: FujiTV / Kansai TV
Original novel by: Aoino Kei
Theme Song: Deai no Tsuzuki by Watanabe Mayu
Insert Song: Girlfriend by SOLIDEMO
Cast: Watanabe Mayu (AKB48), Inamori Izumi, Chiba Yudai, Daito Shunsuke, Suzuki Chinami, Inoo Kei (Hey! Say! JUMP), Makita Sports, Kinoshita Hoka, Hamada Mari, Inoue Shun, Tanabe Seiichi

Mizuki Arisa announces her marriage

Mizuki Arisa announced through her agency on 22 March that she has married her boyfriend of one and a half years i.e. Aoyama Koji, the president of a construction-related company, a day earlier. The statement which was handwritten by Mizuki, was sent by fax to the media in the evening of 22 March where it was mentioned that the couple submitted the marriage application and are already living together. However, there are no plans for a wedding yet and Mizuki is currently not pregnant and will continue working as an actress. Aoyama was previously married to another celebrity Uehara Sakura but they split up in April 2013. Mizuki and Aoyama had been friends for some time but only started dating in the autumn of 2013. They were caught by the paparazzi for having gone on trips together to Tahiti in April last year and France in July of the same year.

Mizuki made her debut as a singer when she was 14 in 1991 and currently holds the record for having taken on leading roles in dramas for 24 consecutive years.

Source: Sponichi

Matsuyama Kenichi & Koyuki expecting their third child in summer

Matsuyama Kenichi and Koyuki who got married in April 2011, are expecting their third child to be born in July this year, as announced on 23 March. Koyuki is currently 6 months pregnant and commented that both her husband and her are looking forward to the arrival of their new family member and hopes for the support of everyone around them.

Koyuki gave birth to their first son in January 2012 and their daughter in January the following year. During the birth of their second child, Koyuki went to Seoul, South Korea for the delivery as she had been impressed with the post-birth services there. However, as announced by her agency, she will stay in Japan for the delivery this time. Koyuki is expected to return to work for the promotion of her movie "Sugihara Chiune" in autumn this year.

Source: Sponichi 1 / Sponichi 2

First-day-screening event of new movie "Eiga Ansatsu Kyoshitsu"

The first-day-screening event of new movie "Eiga Ansatsu Kyoshitsu" was held on 21 March at TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills which was attended by the cast members Hey! Say! JUMP's Yamada Ryosuke, Suda Masaki, Yamamoto Maika, Jiyoung, Shiina Kippei and the director Hasumi Eiichiro. The movie which will be shown in 313 cinemas nationwide, is based on the same-titled manga by Matsui Yusei, features junior high students in class 3E who are ranked the lowest in their level who tries to kill their form teacher Koro-sensei which is an alien and has declared its intention to destroy the earth.

Yamada who is acting in a movie as the lead character for the first time, commented that he had always wanted to work with Suda because of his great acting skills so he's full of respect for him in this respect. On the other hand, he unexpectedly found out that Suda is a strange person who behaves in a weird manner. Shiina also chipped in by saying that they had a meal gathering involving 70 people on the set once but Suda brought a guitar along not with the intention of performing for them and instead kept singing a meaningless phrase repeatedly during the gathering. In response, Suda said that there was a meaning in what he had sung but apparently, those around him didn't understand it. The cast also expressed great joy in seeing the movie being screened nationwide so that those in their hometowns could also watch the movie along with everyone else. Shiina revealed during the event that Director Hasumi's child was also born in the same morning as the first-day-screening which was a miracle because the due date was not supposed to be so early.

During the event, the lights in the theatre were suddenly turned off. When the lights were back on, the cast and audience were surprised to see Arashi's Ninomiya Kazunari on stage. His guest appearance was kept a secret from everyone including his identity as the voice actor behind Koro-sensei. Ninomiya revealed that he was offered the role of voicing Koro-sensei in autumn last year after the cast had finished the filming. He was told to keep it a secret including from Yamada who is his junior from Johnny's Jimusho and worried about when he might unwittingly let the cat out of the bag since he often met up with the latter. Yamada also revealed that his parents were convinced that the voice actor behind Koro-sensei should be Ninomiya but he was insistent that they had got it wrong because he didn't think that he would be kept in the dark as the lead if Ninomiya was indeed the voice actor. As such, Yamada apologised for doubting his parents and stressed that he did not lie to them because he was truly unaware.

Source: Eiga.com 1 / Eiga.com 2

Sada Masashi to sing the theme song for TBS Spring 2015 drama "Tenno no Ryoriban"

Sada Masashi will be singing the theme song for the TBS Spring 2015 drama "Tenno no Ryoriban" which will begin its run from 26 April in the Sundays 9pm timeslot. This will be his first theme song in 17 years since he wrote the song "Yasuragibashi" for the 1998 TV Tokyo drama "Drama Series Kazoku Uogokoro Areba Umegokoro". The new song titled "Yumemiru Hito" (The Person Who Dreams) will be Sada's 11th drama theme song to date and was recorded between December last year and February this year.

"Tenno no Ryoriban" features Sato Takeru as the lead character who dreams of becoming a chef during the volatile Meiji and Showa eras and how his family supports his journey to realise his dream.

Source: Sanspo

Top 10 celebrities who you would want as your superior at work (Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance)

Top 10 most desired male superiors
1) Ikegami Akira

2) Matsuoka Shuzo

3) Tamori / Hasebe Makoto

5) Ichiro / Abe Hiroshi

7) Tadokoro George

8) Tsutsumi Shinichi

9) Yamanaka Shinya

10) HIRO (EXILE)

Top 10 most desired female superiors
1) Amami Yuki

2) Nakama Yukie

3) Maya Miki

4) Becky

5) Takigawa Christel

6) Shinohara Ryoko

7) Matsushima Nanako

8) Maki Yoko

9) Yonekura Ryoko

10) Kichise Michiko

Source: Oricon

Naka Riisa to star in new WOWOW drama "Temisu no Kyukei"

Naka Riisa will be starring in the new WOWOW drama "Temisu no Kyukei" which will begin its run from 10 May in the Sundays 10pm timeslot and consists of 4 episodes. The drama which is based on the same-titled novel by Daimon Takeaki, features Naka as a prosecutor's assistant officer whose father was murdered but she later realises that the supposed culprit who was convicted for the crime may be innocent. In relation to this revelation, a series of new cases happen. Naka's character will be a very serious and plain woman who wears suits all the time so this will be a great deviation from most of the roles she used to play. With regard to this, Naka commented that she hopes that by playing someone very different from her own character, this will help her to improve as an actress.

Source: Sponichi

Uchimura Teruyoshi & Kimura Tae star in new NHK drama "Boku no tsuma to kekkon shite kudasai"

The press conference for new NHK BS Premium drama "Boku no tsuma to kekkon shite kudasai" (Please get married with my wife) was held on 15 March which was attended by the leads Uchimura Teruyoshi and Kimura Tae. The drama which will begin its run from 10 May in the Sundays 10pm timeslot, is based on the same-titled novel by Higuchi Takuji while the script is written by Okada Yoshikazu. and the drama directed by Fukagawa Yoshihiro. Filming began in January and is expected to be wrapped up at the end of this month.

Uchimura who is starring in his first leading role in a drama since 2002's TBS drama "Boku ga chikyu wo sukuu", plays the role of Shuji, a salaryman working in the sales department of a TV station who finds out that he has only six months to live due to cancer at the advanced stage. He sets out to find a man for his wife (Kimura) to remarry. When asked if he would do the same as Shuji when caught in a similar situation in real life, Uchimura said that he wouldn't go to the extent of finding another man for his wife but he will tell her to go ahead to remarry after he is dead.

Source: Sponichi

2015 Top 10 ranking of most desired female celebrities who you want as a girlfriend (Oricon)

1) Ayase Haruka

2) Ishihara Satomi

3) Horikita Maki

4) Aragaki Yui

5) Arimura Kasumi

6) Nounen Rena

7) Honda Tsubasa

8) Miyazaki Aoi

9) Hirose Suzu

10) Ueto Aya

Source: Oricon

Sawajiri Erika to be the heroine in FujiTV Spring 2015 drama "Youkoso, Wagaya e"

Sawajiri Erika will be the heroine in the upcoming FujiTV Spring 2015 drama "Youkoso, Wagaya e" which will be shown in the Mondays 9pm timeslot from April. The drama which is based on the same-titled novel by Ikeido Jun, features Aiba Masaki as the eldest son in the Kurata family which is facing harassment from a stalker and strives hard to find the culprit. Sawajiri will play an original character who doesn't appear in the novel and is a magazine reporter who helps Aiba's character in his search. As compared to the meek and peace-loving lead character, Sawajiri's role is one who speaks her mind and doesn't shy away from arguing with others. In preparation for the filming, Sawajiri dyed her hair black. As for working with Sawajiri for the first time, Aiba expressed his wish for them to cooperate well and make the drama better.

Source: Sanspo

Hirosue Ryoko announces her third pregnancy

Hirosue Ryoko announced on 13 March that she is currently 5 months' pregnant with her third child and is due to give birth this summer. According to her agency, the announcement was made now because they wanted to wait till her condition was more stable. In her statement, Hirosue expressed her joy over the pregnancy and commented that she will continue to work hard on the filming of her works in the meantime.

Hirosue first got married in 2003 to a former model and gave birth to her first son the following year. However, the couple divorced in 2008 and she later married candle artist Candle JUNE in 2010. Hirosue gave birth to her second son in 2011.

Source: Sanspo 1 / Sanspo 2

Terajima Susumu announces the birth of his second child

Terajima Susumu issued a fax statement through his agency to the media on 12 March where he announced the arrival of his second child. In the statement, Terajima said that his son was born on 10 March and expressed his joy about the fact that his family has grown bigger. He also asked for the warm support from everyone.

Terajima married his wife who is 18 years younger than him in November 2009 and their first daughter was born in June the following year.

Source: Sponichi

Haru to be the heroine for NHK's 2015 morning drama "Asa ga kita"

Haru was announced to be the heroine for NHK's 2015 morning drama in the second half of the year during a press conference on 12 March held in NHK Osaka. The drama titled "Asa ga kita" (Morning Comes) which will begin its run from 28 September, features Haru in the lead character Shiraoka Asa who is a sumo lover that comes from a merchant family in Kyoto and marries into a moneychanger family in Osaka. After that, she begins to dabble in various businesses and even sets up Japan's first women university.

Haru had gone for auditions for previous NHK dramas i.e. "Teppan" shown in 2010 and "Jun to Ai" in 2012 and "Ama-chan" (2013) but did not get the roles even though she was shortlisted in the final selection round. However, she did not want to give up and decided to try again the fourth time. Haru managed to win the role after multiple rounds of auditions involving 2,590 candidates. She commented that she hopes that this drama will be an opportunity for her to improve as an actress and vowed to work hard to play her character.

The cast lineup will be announced next month and filming which will begin in May, will be at places such as Osaka, Kyoto and Shiga Prefecture's Omihachiman.

Source: Sponichi

Kurokawa Tomoka announces her marriage

Kurokawa Tomoka announced her marriage to her boyfriend who is three years older than her through a statement via her official website on 10 March. In her message which was signed by her, she revealed that she got married on 7 March and described her husband as a person who is considerate and gentle. She expressed her wish for them to develop a relationship where they would respect each other and mature together. Kurokawa also thanked everyone for supporting her since she made her debut as a teenager and asked for their continued support as she tries to improve further as an actress.

Kurokawa reportedly met her husband two years ago through mutual friends and they are expected to hold their wedding overseas this summer which only family members would be attending. She is currently not pregnant and is expected to continue with her work as per normal.

Source: Sponichi 1 /  Sponichi 2

Kimura Fumino to take on the leading role in TBS Spring 2015 drama "Mother Game ~ Kanojotachi no Kaikyu ~"

Kimura Fumino will be taking on her first leading role in a drama series when she appears in the upcoming TBS Spring 2015 drama "Mother Game ~ Kanojotachi no Kaikyu ~" (Mother Game ~ Their ranking~) which will begin its run from 14 April in the Tuesdays 10pm timeslot. She will play the role of Kanbara Kiko, a divorced single mother who has an annual salary of JPY 2.5m only but ends up sending her son to a high-class kindergarten where most if not all the kids there have rich parents. Kiko feels as if she's the odd one out but unwittingly helps some of the "rich" mothers there solve their unspeakable problems. Co-stars include Hasegawa Kyoko, Kanjiya Shihori, Adachi Yumi and Dan Rei.

This is Kimura's first leading role in a drama since she made her debut 10 years ago. She revealed that the early years of her career was tough as she was not making much progress and had to take on part-time jobs in order to make ends meet. It was only until she was scouted by her current agency in 2010 that her career began to pick up in the following year so she is very happy about this opportunity given to her.

Filming will begin on 15 March.

Source: Sponichi 1 / Sponichi 2

Completion screening event of new movie "April's Fools"

The completion screening event of new movie "April's Fools" was held on 3 March which was attended by the cast Toda Erika, Matsuzaka Toori, Yusuke Santa Maria, Nanao, Ozawa Yukiyoshi, Owada Shinya, Terajima Susumu, Hamabe Minami, Yamaguchi Sayaka, Takashima Masanobu, Kubota Masataka, Yano Masato, Kinami Haruka, Fuji Sumiko and the director Ishikawa Junichi. The movie which will be shown in cinemas from 1 April, is set in Tokyo on April's Fools Day where 27 characters get caught in a web of various lies. Guest stars include Totsugi Shigeyuki, Shishido Miwako, Takahashi Tsutomu, Lily, Okada Masaki, Namase Katsuhisa, Chiba Masako, Koike Eiko, Uragawa Seiju, Chiba Shinichi, Furuta Arata, Takito Kenichi and Satomi Kotaro.

Toda plays a woman named Ayumi who has a one night stand with Wataru, a surgeon having sex dependency issues who is played by Matsuzaka and she ends up pregnant as a result. Toda commented that she was glad that the movie turned out well while Matsuzaka revealed that he thought that his character was such a mean fellow who is unlikely to exist in real life. On the other hand, Kubota who had intimate scenes with Yano said that the audience will probably find those scenes quite entertaining which led the female audience to cheer.

During the event, the cast members were also asked to crack jokes in line with the theme of the movie. Yusuke Santa Maria joked that they were originally supposed to have made the film "Legal High The Movie" but Sakai Masato quit at the last minute so they ended up making the movie "April's Fools".

Source: Eiga.com

Completion press conference of new movie "Eiga Ansatsu Kyoshitsu"

The completion press conference of new movie "Eiga Ansatsu Kyoshitsu" was held on 4 March which was attended by the director Hasumi Eiichiro and cast members Hey! Say! JUMP's Yamada Ryosuke, Suda Masaki, Yamamoto Maika, Jiyoung and Shiina Kippei. The movie which will be shown in cinemas from 21 March, is based on the manga by Matsui Yusei that had accumulated sales of 13.5 million copies to date. The story is set in an elite junior high school Kunigigaoka where the students in Class 3E who are poor in their studies resolve to kill their form teacher which is a non-human. Initially, the students are not too keen on doing this but get tempted at the reward of JPY 10 billion offered by the Japanese government. Yamada plays the leading role of Shiota Nagisa in the movie.

Yamada recounted that he was told about the movie offer when he was given a file containing details of the movie minutes before he was due to appear on stage for a live concert. As a result, he was unsure how he should go ahead with his concert as his mind was in a whirl over the sudden news. In addition, he realised that the character Nagisa resembled a girl in the manga and wondered if he was the right person to be taking on the role and felt that other people should be a better match. However, when he was praised by Shiina about having assimilated into his role.

Suda who is a big fan of the manga, revealed that he had met the author Matsui before during an interview, plays the role of Nagisa's buddy Akabane Karuma in the movie. He expressed his excitement at being able to take part in this movie but commented that he did feel the pressure when Matsui told him that Karuma was the most popular character as voted by readers so he wanted to meet up to these expectations. As for Jiyoung who makes her debut in a movie through the character Irina, she revealed that she had to do research on how to speak and cross her legs in order to show the sexiness of this character. In addition, this was the first time she had stayed for an extended period in Japan and went to the suburbs for filming so it had been a learning experience for her every day. Shiina who plays the class' assistant form teacher Karasume Tadaomi, revealed that this was his first role as a teacher in his acting career so far and it had been a refreshing experience for him to stand in front of 30 students in the classroom. Hasumi also said that the crew had built an open set in Gunma Prefecture for the filming which everyone had to stay at for one month thus allowing them to bond and become closer as a result.

Source: Eiga.com

Production press conference of NHK drama SP "Sachi to Mayu"

The production press conference of NHK drama SP "Sachi to Mayu" was held on 2 March which was attended by the leads Kadowaki Mugi and Hirose Arisu. The drama SP which will be shown on 17 March at 10pm, is the winning work in the 38th Sousaku TV Drama Award and features Kadowaki as a 20-year-old who had been abandoned by her mother and Hirose as a 17-year-old girl who left home. By chance, the two of them end up living together.

The two actresses recounted that there was a scene where they had to eat gyoza and they ended up eating so much that they went without dinner that night. Hirose revealed that they ate about 30 pieces each during the filming. As the two of them are close in terms of age and this is the first time they are working together, Kadowaki praised her co-star for being so immersed in her role while Hirose said that Kadowaki's great acting made her resolve to work even harder.

Source: Sponichi

Chiba Yudai to act in FujiTV Spring 2015 drama "Tatakau! Shoten Girl"

Chiba Yudai will be acting in the upcoming FujiTV Spring 2015 drama "Tatakau! Shoten Girl" which will begin its run from April and features Inamori Izumi and AKB48's Watanabe Mayu as its leads. Chiba plays the role of an employee in the same bookstore where they work in and is caught in a love triangle between both women. On one hand, he is pursued relentlessly by Watanabe's character who is his junior at work but he also takes an interest in his senior played by Inamori.

Chiba commented that he's very excited about being able to know more about the operations of bookstores which he frequently visits through acting in this drama. As for working with Inamori and Watanabe, Chiba admitted that he's not the type to strike up conversations with others but hopes that they will be able to work happily together.

Source: Sanspo

Announcement of supporting cast lineup for TV Asahi Spring 2015 drama "I'm Home"

The supporting cast lineup for TV Asahi Spring 2015 drama "I'm Home" starring Kimura Takuya and Ueto Aya has been announced on 5 March. Mizuno Miki who last worked with Kimura in the 2000 TBS drama "Beautiful Life" and played the best friend of Tokiwa Takako then, will be playing his ex-wife in this drama. With regard to this, Mizuno jokingly commented that it is a major progression to be "promoted" to ex-wife from being the buddy of Kimura's girlfriend in a span of 15 years.

Kimura plays the role of Ieji Hisashi who goes into a coma due to an accident but finds himself being unable to remember what happened in the last five years when he regains consciousness. With the 10 keys in his possession, he tries to find his lost past while struggling with the fact that he sees his current wife Megumi (Ueto) and son as people with masks on their faces as well as taking a keen interest in his ex-wife Nozawa Kaori (Mizuno) and finding out why he married and divorced her.

Upon his recovery, Hisashi is transferred to the 13th sales department where his new boss Kozukue Yukio will be played by Nishida Toshiyuki. Hisashi's neuro-surgeon Tsukuba Yoshiaki will be played by Oikawa Mitsuhiro. Tanaka Kei will play the coach of Hisashi's son Yoshio's soccer club while Higashi's colleagues Watanuki Shinji and Todoroki Haruki will be played by Suzuki Kosuke and Mitsuishi Ken. Watanabe Ikkei will play the director of Hisashi's company while Arai Hirofumi will play the ace of the first sales department who used to be rivals with Hisashi. 4-year-old Yoshio will be played by child actor Takahashi Rai while Hisashi's 13-year-old daughter Subaru will be played by Yamaguchi Mayu.

Source: Oricon

Gouriki Ayame & Watabe Atsuro team up in TV Asahi Spring 2015 drama "Tenshi to Akuma - Mikaiketsu Jiken Tokumei Koshoka -"

Gouriki Ayame and Watabe Atsuro will be teaming up in the TV Asahi Spring 2015 drama "Tenshi to Akuma - Mikaiketsu Jiken Tokumei Koshoka -"which will begin its run from April in the Fridays 11.15pm timeslot. Gouriki plays the role of a newbie police officer Maita Hikari who trusts others wholeheartedly, keeps making mistakes at work and ends up being sent to work in an insignificant position while Watabe plays Chajima Ryunosuke who is a lawyer with no morals and doesn't believe in people. The two of them who are 24 years apart in age, form an unlikely alliance to crack unresolved cases in the Mikaiketsu Jiken Tokumei Koshoka by using plea deals to get suspects and the accused to testify against the true culprits responsible for committing the crimes. Plea deals are not used in Japan yet but this topic is expected to be debated in the parliament this year.

Gouriki and Watabe last appeared together in the TBS 2013 drama "Kurokochi" but this will be the first time that they will be working closely together.

Source: Sanspo

Completion press conference of new movie "Kaze ni tatsu Lion"

The completion press conference of new movie "Kaze ni tatsu Lion" was held on 24 Feb which was attended by the director Miike Takashi and the cast Osawa Takao, Ishihara Satomi, Maki Yoko, Hagiwara Masato, Suzuki Ryohei and the author of the original novel Sada Masashi. The idea for the novel and movie came from Sada's same-titled hit song in 1987 and the novel was released in 2013 after Osawa approached Sada to come up with it. Osawa plays the role of Shimada Koichiro, a doctor who goes to Kenya to provide humanitarian aid and leaves his girlfriend behind in Japan.

Osawa reflected on the tough filming in Kenya which ended in mid December and was proud of the end-product which he hoped that everyone would see for themselves. Ishihara who was also in Kenya with Osawa, said that it had been extremely difficult for them to battle flies during the filming and Osawa himself was also caught in the middle of a sandstorm.

The movie will be shown in cinemas from 14 March.

Source: Eiga.com