Completion screening event of NHK drama SP "Ride Ride Ride"

The completion screening event of new NHK drama SP "Ride Ride Ride" was held on 5 September which was attended by the cast members Seto Koji, Hakamada Yoshihiko, Usuda Asami and Tsurumi Shingo. The drama SP which will be shown on 24 September at 10pm, is set in Nasu, Tochigi, where a trust bank employee played by Seto has to help a professional road racing team involved in boosting the local area's tourism industry become financially profitable again. Hakamada plays the leader of the racing team, Usuda plays Seto's girlfriend and an interpreter at Nasu Heisei Forest while Tsurumi plays the coach of the racing team. Tsurumi who is a big fan of road cycling, revealed during the event that he appeared as an extra in the racing scenes and asked the viewers to try if they can spot him.

The theme song of the SP i.e. "Wonderland" is written and sung by Saito Kazuyoshi whose hometown is in also Tochigi Prefecture.

Source: Sanspo

First-day-screening of new movie "In The Hero"

The first-day-screening event of new movie "In The Hero" was held on 6 September at Marunouchi TOEI 1 which was attended by the cast Karasawa Toshiaki, Fukushi Sota, Wakui Emi, Kurotani Tomoka, Terajima Susumu and the director Take Masaharu. They were greeted with cheers as they appeared in front of the audience.

In relation to the movie's title, Karasawa was asked who he regarded as his hero and he replied that it should be Bruce Lee. As such, he hopes to be the Bruce Lee of the entertainment world in time to come although he thinks that this is a very difficult target to achieve. At the same time, Fukushi also "complained" how Karasawa was making fun of him during their event and TV appearances to promote the movie which led to the latter trying to pull a prank on him. In return, Fukushi jokingly "told off" Karasawa not to do that. Later on, Karasawa put on a straight face and asked for everyone to support Fukushi who is his junior from the same agency as he believes that Fukushi will be an actor worth looking out for in time to come.

Source: Sanspo

Top 10 fashion leaders as chosen by women (Oricon)

1) Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

2) Rola

3) Amuro Namie

4) Karina

5) Kiritani Mirei

6) Becky

7) Nishino Kana / YOU / Rika

10) Kitagawa Keiko

Source: Oricon

Cast announcements for "First Class 2"

FujiTV announced new cast members in the upcoming Autumn 2014 drama "First Class 2" which will be starting from October in the Wednesdays 10pm timeslot. The sequel will depict what happens to the lead Yoshinari Chinami (Sawajiri Erika) six months later when she becomes a new designer at a fashion brand.

Natsuki Mari will play the founder of the fashion brand who is regarded as the godmother of the fashion world while Yo Kimiko will play the new president of a rival fashion brand. Kimura Yoshino will be the creative director who is in charge of rejuvenating the brand while the designers will be played by Kurashina Kana, Shinohara Tomoe, Ichikawa Miwako and Tomosaka Rie. In addition, singer Shishido Kavka will be making her debut as an actress in this drama where she plays a designer with a strong character.

Source: Sponichi

Takenouchi Yutaka to star in FujiTV Autumn 2014 drama "Suteki na Sentakushi"

Takenouchi Yutaka will be starring in the FujiTV Autumn 2014 drama "Suteki na Sentakushi" which will be starting from October in the Tuesdays 10pm timeslot. The episodic drama's script is written by comedian Baka Rhythm and features Takenouchi as Edawakare, a talkative, nosy and humourous taxi driver who loves sweet food and helps his passengers return to the point in their lives where they can make choices again.

Baka Rhythm won the IPPON Grand Prix three times and was praised by Downtown's Matsumoto Hitoshi for being very talented and creative. He had experience writing the script for "Raisei Fudousan", one of the stories in FujiTV's "Yo ni mo Kimyou na Monogatari Autumn 2012" but this is the first time he is writing the script for a full-length drama. In fact, Takenouchi had also watched "Raisei Fudousan" before and wanted to work with Baka Rhythm one day so he was thrilled to get the offer.

Source: Sanspo

Fukiishi Kazue and Aoki Munetaka to star in TBS Autumn 2014 drama "Mama to Papa ga Ikiru Riyuu"

Fukiishi Kazue and Aoki Munetaka will be starring in the TBS Autumn 2014 drama "Mama to Papa ga Ikiru Riyuu" (The Reason Mum and Dad Lives) which will begin its run from November in the Thursdays 9pm timeslot. The drama is based on a novel by the late Mei titled "Watashi, Nyuugan. Otto, Haigan. 39-sai, Fuufu de yomei sengoku. ~ Watashi no inochi wo akiramenai" which talks about a married couple who were diagnosed with cancer and that their days were numbered. This is Fukiishi's first leading role in a TBS drama.

Fukiishi plays the role of Yoshioka Shuko, a housewife who has two kids and living a happy life but is suddenly diagnosed with breast cancer in the advanced stage. At the same time, her husband Kenichi (Aoki) is also diagnosed with lung cancer. Despite the circumstances, the family gets together to support one another through the difficult period.

Source: Sanspo

Ichimura Masachika holds press conference to talk about his recovery from cancer

Ichimura Masachika who had announced previously that he was diagnosed with stomach cancer, held a press conference on 3 September to talk about his treatment and recovery process in front of 100 members of the press. He revealed that it was all thanks to his wife Shinohara Ryoko that the cancer was discovered early.

According to Ichimura, he was admitted to hospital in late June for acute gastritis after feeling unwell due to eating fish. However, Shinohara felt that something was amiss because her husband was in too much pain that it didn't look like it was just gastritis so she asked the doctor to conduct more detailed tests on him. It was then that they found the cancer in his stomach so Ichimura credited the early discovery to his wife and said that she is his life saver.

Ichimura was admitted to hospital on 28 July for the 4.5 hour surgery where he had half of his stomach removed. Shinohara was waiting for him throughout the surgery and they were very happy to hear that the cancer was completely removed. Their elder son who is six years old, went to the hospital to visit Ichimura and remarked that the wound made his father look like he was in great pain. After Ichimura was discharged on 9 August, their younger son who is just 2.5 years old, was very happy to see him back home and would stick to him all the time since Ichimura has been recuperating at home. Ichimura who lost 4.5kg after the surgery, said that his wife felt as if there was a new child born into the family because Ichimura has to eat food such as porridge these days as part of the recuperation process.

Shinohara's birthday was on 13th August but the family didn't get to celebrate as Ichimura had just been discharged. However, Ichimura was very touched when his wife said that his health is the best present for her and he expressed his thanks to her for giving him a new lease of life.

Source: Sanspo

Mr.Children to sing the theme song for FujiTV Autumn 2014 drama "Nobunaga Concerto"

Mr.Children will be singing the theme song of FujiTV Autumn 2014 drama "Nobunaga Concerto" starring Oguri Shun which will begin its run from 13 October in the Mondays 9pm timeslot. This makes it the first period drama to be shown in the Gekku period since the timeslot started in the late 80s. It will be also be the first Gekku theme song from Mr.Children in 13 years since their song "youthful days" was used for the Autumn 2001 drama "Antique". The title of the new theme song is still undecided but it's said to be a medium rock number.

Oguri plays the role of Saburo, a high school student in the modern era who accidentally goes back into the Warring Era (1549) where he resembles the young Oda Nobunaga. He is then told to impersonate as Nobunaga while the real heir of the Oda family goes away to somewhere else.

Source: Sanspo

Screening event of new NHK morning drama "Massan"

The screening event of new NHK morning drama "Massan" was held at the TV station's HQ on 3 September which was attended by the cast members Tamayama Tetsuji, Charlotte Kate Fox and Izumi Pinko. The drama which will begin its run from 29 September, is set in 1920 when Kameyama Masaharu (Tamayama), the heir of a brewery in Takehara, Hiroshima, who has the nickname of Massan, strives to make the first domestically-made whisky in Japan. His wife Eri who was from Scotland, will be played by Fox who comes from the US. Izumi plays Massan's mother in the drama.

Filming already began in May. Tamayama revealed that when he saw how hard Fox tried to memorise the Japanese lines, he felt that he couldn't complain about how tough the filming was and that this filming period is an important milestone in his career.

Source: Sanspo

"Fushigi na Misaki no Monogatari" & "Soko nominite Hikari Kagayaku" win awards at The 38th Montreal World Film Festival

Japanese films "Fushigi na Misaki no Monogatari" and "Soko nominite Hikari Kagayaku" won awards at the 38th Montreal World Film Festival on 1 September (local time). "Fushigi na Misaki no Monogatari" which is due to be shown in cinemas from 11 October and is conceptualised by and starring Yoshinaga Sayuri, won the Judges Special Award Grand Prix and the Ecumenical Award given by the Christian groups for the film's contribution towards the film-making art while Oh Mipo, the director of "Soko nominite Hikari Kagayaku" starring Ayano Go, won the director's award.

Yoshinaga and Abe Hiroshi went on stage to give their speeches in French when the award was presented. As for Oh, she expressed thanks for the late Sato Yasushi, the author of the novel which the movie is based on.

Source: Sanspo

Fukada Kyoko & Terajima Shinobu to star in TBS Autumn 2014 drama "Onna wa sore wo yurusanai"

Fukada Kyoko and Terajima Shinobu will be working together in the TBS Autumn 2014 drama "Onna wa sore wo yurusanai" (A woman can't forgive that) which will begin its run from 21 October in the Tuesdays 10pm timeslot. This is the first private network for Terajima in six years and the first lawyer role for Fukada.

Fukada plays the role of Iwasaki Rei, a "paper" lawyer who can't bear to stand in court after she messed up her first court appearance and can't get over that traumatic experience. On the other hand, Terajima plays a capable lawyer Ebisawa Rinka who lived a celebrity lifestyle and would do anything to win her cases but ends up having her licence to practise law suspended due to the use of questionable methods for a case. The two lawyers then team up to handle cases related to women issues e.g. maternity harrassment and marriage fraud despite their completely opposite personalities.

Source: Nikkansports

Matsushita Nao & Ishihara Satomi to play sisters in FujiTV Autumn 2014 drama "Dear Sister"

Matsushita Nao and Ishihara Satomi will be playing sisters in the upcoming FujiTV Autumn 2014 drama "Dear Sister" which will begin its run from October in the Thursdays 10pm timeslot. This is the first time that they are working together and the scriptwriter of this drama is Nakatani Mayumi who had previously worked on "Last Cinderella".

Matsushita plays the role of the 29-year-old elder sister Fukazawa Hazuki who is meticulous, great at her studies but somewhat naive and not too good with seeking attention. She hopes to marry her boyfriend who is her colleague at the ward office. In addition, she holds a grudge against her younger sister who hogged their mother's love and attention when they were kids. On the other hand, Ishihara plays the 27-year-old younger sister Misaki who's lousy at her studies but is good at seeking attention and acting like a spoiled child. After graduating from high school, Misaki left home without a word and suddenly ends up at Hazuki's place without warning.

As the age setting of their characters are the same as their real ages and Matsushita has a younger sister while Ishihara has an elder brother, they both commented that it's easier for them to get into their roles due to the similarities with their real lives. Matsushita also praised Ishihara for being a cute sister while Ishihara commented that she feels slightly nervous in front of Matsushita because the latter is very beautiful.

Source: Yomiuri Hochi

Sakai Ayana announces the birth of her first son

Sakai Ayana announced the birth of her first son on 1 September through her blog although she did not give any details on his name nor his exact date of birth. In her blog entry, Sakai mentioned that she had a smooth delivery and is experiencing new things as every day goes by. She pledged to work harder to be a good mother and enjoy the experience at the same time.

Sakai got married to L'arc en Ciel's tetsuya in 2007.

Source: Yomiuri Hochi

Aijima Kazuyuki announces the birth of his second child

Aijima Kazuyuki announced through his blog on 2 September that his second daughter was born on the previous day. According to his statement, both mother and daughter are doing well. He also revealed that his daughter weighed slightly more than 3000 grams. Aijima reflected that his second daughter's arrival was a miracle especially after he was diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2008 and it took him 6 long years to make a full recovery. At the end of his post, he expressed his thanks to everyone and hoped for their continued support.

Source: Oricon

Nikkansports Dorama Grand Prix - Spring 2014

Numbers in brackets indicate the number of votes received:

Best Drama
1) Shinigami-kun (853)
2) Roosevelt Game (144)
3) Gunshi Kanbee (132)
4) Hanasaki Mai ga damatte inai (129)
5) BORDER (116)


Best Leading Actor
1) Ohno Satoshi - Shinigami-kun (873)
2) Okada Junichi - Gunshi Kanbee (209)
3) Oguri Shun - BORDER (167)
4) Nishijima Hidetoshi - MOZU (161)
5) Karasawa Toshiaki - Roosevelt Game (152)

Best Leading Actress
1) An - Hanasaki Mai ga damatte inai (487)
2) Ueno Juri - Arisu no Toge (351)
3) Yoshitaka Yuriko - Hanako to Anne (307)
4) Koizumi Kyoko - Zoku Saigo kara nibanme no Koi (256)
5) Nakatani Miki - Gunshi Kanbee (214)

Best Supporting Actor
1) Suda Masaki - Shinigami-kun (576)
2) Kamikawa Takaya - Hanasaki Mai ga damatte inai (206)
3) Shibata Kyohei - Gunshi Kanbee (126)
4) Eguchi Yosuke - Roosevelt Game (85)
5) Miura Tomokazu - Gokuaku Ganbo (72)

Best Supporting Actress
1) Kiritani Mirei - Shinigami-kun (609)
2) Nakama Yukie - Hanako to Anne (205)
3) Kiritani Mirei - Gunshi Kanbee (134)
4) Maki Yoko - MOZU (121)
5) Dan Rei - Roosevelt Game (85)

Source: Nikkansports

Preview of "Kabuka Bouraku" - Autumn 2014

Title: Kabuka Bouraku (Steep Fall in Stock Prices)
Official website: here
O.A. Start Date: 19 October 2014
Timeslot: Sundays 10pm
Number of episodes: 5
Broadcast by: WOWOW
Original novel by: Ikeido Jun
Cast: Oda Yuji, Takashima Masanobu, Seto Koji, Kawashima Umika, Hirayama Hiroyuki, Ryu Raita, Tsuruta Mayu, Itao Soji, Ishiguro Ken, Ishibashi Ryo, Yajima Kenichi, Watanabe Ikkei etc.

Preview of "Guu Guu datte Neko de aru" - Autumn 2014

Title: Guu Guu datte Neko de aru
Official website: here
O.A. Start Date: 18 October 2014
Timeslot: Saturdays 10pm
Broadcast by: WOWOW
Original manga by: Oshima Yumiko
Director: Inudo Isshin
Cast: Miyazawa Rie, Nagatsuka Keishi, Kuroki Haru, Nakaoka Soichi, Ichikawa Miwako, Kikuchi Rinko, Iwamatsu Ryo, Tanaka Min

Ozawa Maju gives birth to baby girl

Ozawa Maju announced through her Facebook page on 29 August that she had given birth to her daughter a day earlier. In her statement, Ozawa mentioned that both her daughter and her are doing well and revealed that tears started to flow uncontrollably when she heard her daughter's cries for the first time. Ozawa also commented that it is a happy thing for her to be looking at her daughter's sleeping face and pledged to work hard at being a mother and continue working as an actress in future.

Ozawa got married to a dentist 8 years younger than her in February this year and this is the couple's first child.

Source: Sponichi

First-day-screening event of new movie "Lupin Sansei"

The first-day-screening event of new movie "Lupin Sansei" was held on 30 August in TOHO Cinemas Nichigeki 1 at Yurakucho which was attended by the cast Oguri Shun, Kuroki Meisa, Asano Tadanobu, Tamayama Tetsuji and Ayano Go as well as the director Kitamura Ryuhei. According to the movie company Toho, the movie has already broken the JPY 3 billion mark in box office takings which is higher than Oguri's previous movie "Crows ZERO II" in 2009.

Source: Sanspo

Hasegawa Kyoko to star in FujiTV drama SP "Natsu no Owari ni, Koi wo Shita"

Hasegawa Kyoko will be starring in the FujiTV drama SP "Natsu no Owari ni, Koi wo Shita" (Fell in love at the end of summer) which will be shown at 11pm on 26 September. This is the first drama which has a tie-up with luxury brand Tiffany and will be shot entirely in New York. The love comedy which is written by Kitagawa Eriko, will be Hasegawa's first drama in a leading role since TV Asahi's "Angel Bank" in 2010. Hasegawa's romantic interest in this SP will be played by Kudo Asuka. The two of them had appeared in the NHK Taiga "Yae no Sakura" as Yae's sister-in-law and Yae's younger brother so this will be the second time they are working together.

Hasegawa will play the role of Chikage, a woman who is around the age of 40 years old and gets dumped by Tomonori (Tanihara Shosuke), her boyfriend of 5 years, who is going to marry a younger woman Nanami (Nanao). When she hears that Tomonori and Nanami are heading to New York for their honeymoon, she tails them there and accidentally comes to know Shunpei (Kudo Asuka), a Japanese studying there. Chikage and Shunpei then end up falling in love but the day of her return to Japan is approaching soon...

Source: Sanspo

Esumi Makiko exposed for allegedly instigating former manager to commit vandalism

According to the 28th August issue of "Shukan Bunshun", Esumi Makiko's former manager was reported to have exposed her for instigating him to commit vandalism at  former pro-baseball player Nagashima Kazushige's new house back in 2012 due to a feud with the latter's wife. The manager who was working with Esumi at that time before she left her agency Ken-On in March this year and is still currently being employed by Ken-On, admitted to using spray paint to write abusive words such as "fool", "idiot" and "stupid son" on the outside walls of Nagashima's newly-built house in late 2012 which were published in the magazine. The manager also admitted to receiving JPY 100,000 for buying the spray paint. Industry insiders speculated that this manager could have been misled into thinking that Esumi's daughter had been bullied in school and that he was merely helping Esumi and had no  personal grudge against the Nagashima family.

Apparently, the reason why this case came to light arose from the bullying controversy which Esumi had revealed recently on her blog. In her post one month ago, she had said that she was bullied by another group of mothers whose children are attending the same private school as her eldest daughter and that she had no idea why she was treated in this manner. However, soon after her post came to light, there was a report in Shukan Bunshun which had accused Esumi of being the bullying party rather than the victim and was said to have stirred up trouble among some of the mothers by telling untrue stories after receiving complaints from some of the members in the group said to be at odds with Esumi. At that time, the Nagashima family was not mentioned in such reports although it was hinted that one of the mothers in the rival group had celebrity connections. According to Shukan Bunshun's report, it was believed that Nagashima's wife is the leader of the group of mothers at odds with Esumi thus the vandalism act was said to be directed at her.

Ever since the report came to light, neither Esumi nor Nagashima have released any comments confirming or denying the story.

This is the second big crisis in Esumi's career ever since she was exposed for not paying the national pension insurance premium for 17 years despite being the image character of the campaign to promote prompt payment of the premiums. As a result, she had her CM deals withdrawn and had to take a break from acting until she bounced back into the limelight due to Ken-On's strong industry influence. However, it is believed that since she had already left Ken-On and that the agency would not want anything to do with this scandal, Esumi will find it more difficult to overcome this crisis especially if it is proven that the report is true.

Before this scandal, Esumi had declared widely that she is planning to retire from showbiz when she hits 50 years old i.e. three years later. However, due to this issue, she might have to retire sooner than expected if things get out of hand.

Source: Tokyo Sports Web / Real Live

Top 10 bands that fans wish to see again (Oricon)

The following is the list of top 10 bands that survey respondents wish to see again after they disbanded. Dates in brackets indicate when the bands were dissolved or stopped their group activities:

1) JUDY AND MARY (March 2001)

2) BOOWY (April 1988)

3) THE YELLOW MONKEY (July 2004)

4) THE CHECKERS (December 1992)

5) ZONE (April 2013)

6) Princess Princess (December 2012)

7) ELLEGARDEN (May 2008)

8) Off Course (February 1989)

9) THE BLUE HEARTS (1995)

10) FUNKY MONKEY BABYS (June 2013)

Source: Oricon

Oizumi Yo, Mitsushima Hikari & Toda Erika in new movie "Kakekomi Onna to Kakedashi Otoko"

Oizumi Yo, Mitsushima Hikari and Toda Erika will be starring in the new movie "Kakekomi Onna to Kakedashi Otoko" (The woman who wants to get in and the man who wants to get out) which is based on the last work of late writer Inoue Hisashi. The movie which will be set in cinemas in May 2015, is set in the latter part of the Edo era where women who wanted to get a divorce from their husbands would escape into a temple for protection (kakekomi).

Oizumi plays the role of an aspiring writer who is just starting out as a doctor and staying at a place near Tokeiji (a temple in Kamakura). Tokeiji was recognised then by the Edo government as an official institution providing aid and shelter to women who wanted to get divorced. Through his interaction with the women staying there, Oizumi's character uses unusual methods to help them achieve their aims and begin new lives. As Oizumi's character has to say long lines quickly, he was seen as the best candidate to take up this role. His co-stars Toda and Mitsushima play women who take shelter at Tokeiji and get Oizumi's help. This is Toda's first attempt at a period movie but she overcame her initial apprehension over this and was very happy by the time she completed filming for this movie.

Filming was done at Engyoji, a temple in Himeji, Hyogo, and places such as the Shochiku studio in Kyoto between February and April this year.

Source: Sponichi

Hey! Say! JUMP's Yamada Ryosuke to star in new movie "Ansatsu Kyoshitsu"

Hey! Say! JUMP's Yamada Ryosuke will be starring in his first leading role in a movie when he appears in the new movie "Ansatsu Kyoshitsu" (Assasination Classroom) which will be shown in cinemas from March 2015. The movie is based on the manga by Matsui Yusei which has released 10 volumes and accumulated sales of 10 million copies to date. The story is set in a famous junior high school where the worst class in the standard i.e. class 3E has a new form teacher who appears in a octopus-form, boasts of various special powers and declares that it will destroy the world in one year. The students in the class are tasked by the government to kill their form teacher and resort to various ways to do so including using guns. Among them, Yamada plays an ordinary student Shiota Nagisa who will have to play a part in eliminating their form teacher. Co-stars include Shiina Kippei who plays the class' assistant form teacher and Suda Masaki who also plays a student in class 3E.

Source: Sanspo

Osawa Takao to star in FujiTV drama SP "Tokyo ni Olympic wo Yonda Otoko"

Osawa Takao plays the lead character Fred Wada Isamu in the upcoming FujiTV drama SP "Tokyo ni Olympic wo Yonda Otoko" which will be shown at 9pm on 11 October. Fred was a Japanese-American who had contributed greatly in helping Tokyo secure the hosting rights of the 1964 Olympics and the drama SP will be based on the intensive research compiled by writer Takasugi Ryo on what Fred had done for the hosting bid.

Fred was a successful businessman who owned a supermarket business in Los Angeles and even offered his house as a hostel for Japanese swimmers who were in the US to take part in the National Swimming Championships there. As such, he was widely regarded as a great contributor to the sporting interaction between US and Japan in the modern era.

Filming began in mid July split between Tokyo and New Zealand where the cast and crew spent 10 days there. Co-stars include Tokiwa Takako who plays Fred's wife Masako, Katsuji Ryo and Nakao Akiyoshi who play swimmers taking part in the swimming championships and staying at Fred's place and Nishida Toshiyuki who plays Tabata Masaji, the chairman of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) that got Fred to help in the Olympic bid.

Source: Sanspo

20th Century reunites on stage for the musical "ON THE TOWN"

V6's sub-unit 20th Century i.e. Sakamoto Masayuki, Nagano Hiroshi and Inohara Yoshihiko will be acting in a musical together for the first time in 10 years when their new stage play "ON THE TOWN" begins its run at Aoyama Theatre between 28 September and 14 October. The trio will play sailors in the comedy-musical set in New York. Although it's been 10 years since they last worked together on stage, Inohara commented that they didn't feel the gap in time and pledged to work hard together. As Aoyama Theatre will be closed next March and was the place where the trio began their pre-debut career as backdancers for Shonentai, Sakamoto commented that they were grateful for what the existence of the theatre in their careers and will try their best to make the musical a success.

Source: Sanspo

Filming wraps up for NHK morning drama "Hanako to Anne"

The filming for NHK morning drama "Hanako to Anne" finally ended on 26 August at a studio in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, where the cast met the press to share their thoughts about the drama. Yoshitaka Yuriko who plays the heroine Muraoka Hanako reflected that she will look back upon the 10-month filming period lovingly and is so touched about completing the drama that she was at a loss for words. Co-star Nakama Yukie who plays Hanako's best friend Renko was also at the ceremony and commented that thanks to everyone's hard work, they managed to produce such a brilliant drama.

"Hanako to Anne" is a drama based on the life of Muraoka Hanako who translated "Anne of Green Gables". The drama has enjoyed high ratings throughout its run with its peak up till 25 August at 22.6% when Renko eloped with her lover. The last episode will be shown on 27 September and the next drama to be aired in the same timeslot will be "Massan".

Source: Sanspo

Production press conference of FujiTV afternoon drama "Hottokenai Majotachi"

The production press conference of new FujiTV afternoon drama "Hottokenai Majotachi" was held on 26 August which was attended by the cast members Asano Yuko, Muroi Shigeru, Matsumoto Akiko, Shaku Yumiko and V6's Miyake Ken. The drama will begin its run from 1 September at 1.30pm on weekdays and features the actresses as four sisters. Unlike past afternoon dramas which were tales about love and hatred, this drama will be a light human comedy where the sisters and Miyake's character i.e. a chef at the Italian restaurant owned by Asano solve happenings around them. Asano jokingly said that she's looking forward to developing a relationship with Miyake in the drama and praised him for being so cool and cute that she wants to bring him home. In response, Miyake commented that he has been treated well by the female cast and appreciates their affection for him.

The theme song of this drama "Sky's The Limit" will be sung by V6.

Source: Sanspo

Takei Emi & Ayano Go to star in FujiTV Autumn 2014 drama "Subete ga F ni naru"

Takei Emi and Ayano Go will be working together in the FujiTV Autumn 2014 drama "Subete ga F ni naru" (Everything becomes F) which begins its run from October in the Tuesdays 9pm timeslot.  This is the first time in four years since they've appeared in the same drama after 2010's "GOLD". The drama is based on the same-titled novel series "S & M Mysteries" by Mori Hiroshi which has sold 3.5 million copies to date and each story will be completed in 2 episodes.

Ayano plays the role of Saikawa Sohei, an associate professor teaching architecture in university, who forms an unlikely partnership with his student Nishinozono Moe, a clever girl from a rich family and has great analytical powers. They become known as the S & M pair because of their initials and combine forces to solve various difficult cases.

Filming will begin next month.

Source: Sanspo

Ichihara Hayato & Mukoyama Shiho expecting their first child

Ichihara Hayato and Mukoyama Shiho who were reported in spring this year to be preparing for marriage but have yet to submit their marriage application, will be parents soon. According to Mukoyama's agency on 25 August, she is currently six months' pregnant and will be due to give birth between the end of this year and early next year. Mukoyama is said to have begun her maternity leave but as to when she will return to work after giving birth, that is yet to be undecided.

The couple got to know each other in the summer of 2011 and were first reported in May 2014 to be making marriage preparations.

Source: Sanspo

Kato Haruhiko gets married after a two-year courtship

Kato Haruhiko married his girlfriend of two years who's in her 30s in late July as reported on 24 August. Kato's wife is currently working at a TV station in Nagoya which is also his hometown. The couple were said to have known each other through a mutual acquaintance when Kato was commuting between Nagoya and Tokyo for work. The couple will still be based in Nagoya with Kato commuting to Tokyo for work when the need arises.

When interviewed, Kato confirmed the news and expressed his wish to have a child soon although his wife is not pregnant yet.

Source: Nikkansports

Nakama Yukie to star in TBS autumn 2014 drama "SAKURA ~ Jiken wo Kiku Onna ~"

Nakama Yukie will be starring in the TBS autumn 2014 drama "SAKURA ~ Jiken wo Kiku Onna ~" (SAKURA ~ The woman who listens to cases) which will begin its run from 20 October in the Mondays 8pm timeslot. The first episode which will be a 2-hour SP, will start from 7pm instead. This is the first time in 7 years that Nakama is playing a police detective since 2007's TBS drama "Joshideka!".

Nakama will play the role of an undercover police detective Mizusawa Sakura who works as a DJ at a radio station in the morning and as a customer service officer at the Komagome Chuo Police Station in the afternoon where she listens to the complaints of the residents. Through the collection of intelligence via these mediums and listening to the regulars at a restaurant she frequents, Sakura uses the information to solve cases together with her partner played by Sato Ryuta.

Filming will begin in early September after Nakama wraps up filming for the ongoing NHK morning drama "Hanako to Anne" at the end of this month.

Source: Yomiuri Hochi

Completion press conference of new movie "Kami no Tsuki"

The completion press conference of new movie "Kami no Tsuki" was held in Tokyo on 21 August which was attended by the cast Miyazawa Rie, Oshima Yuko and Kobayashi Satomi as well as the author of the original novel Kakuta Mitsuyo and the director Yoshida Daihachi. The movie will be shown in cinemas from 15 November.

Miyazawa plays the role of an ordinary OL working at a bank who has a extramarital affair with a man younger than her and ends up embezzling money from her employer. This is Miyazawa's first leading role in a movie in 7 years and she commented that she felt as if the energy built up during this period was all used up in the movie and expressed disbelief at seeing a different side of herself in the movie which she had not known before.

As for Oshima who plays Miyazawa's colleague, this is her first movie appearance since graduating from AKB48 and she commented that she was very honoured to be working with Miyazawa and Kobayashi who are great actresses.

Source: Sanspo / Nikkansports

Yonekura Ryoko to be back in TV Asahi Autumn 2014 drama "Doctor X ~ Gekai Daimon Michiko ~"

Yonekura Ryoko will be back in the third series of TV Asahi's "Doctor X ~ Gekai Daimon Michiko ~" which is due to begin its run from October in the Thursdays 9pm timeslot. She will play the same role of Daimon Michiko, a freelance surgeon who hates being restricted by power and rules and will be sent to work in the highest medical institution in Japan made up of two rival hospitals in East and West Japan where she will be caught in the power struggle between both sides.

Yonekura commented that she is doing this latest installment as if it is her last and jokingly said that the length of her skirts are getting shorter with each season.

Filming started on 20 August and co-stars include Endo Kenichi, Uchida Yuki, Katsumura Masanobu, Kishibe Ittoku, Ito Shiro, Furuya Ikko, Nishida Toshiyuki as well as new members Watanabe Ikkei, Nakao Akira, Ibu Masato, Takahata Atsuko and Kitaoji Kinya.

Source: Sanspo / Nikkansports

Oikawa Mitsuhiro & Kuroki Meisa work together in new WOWOW drama "Akka"

Oikawa Mitsuhiro and Kuroki Meisa will be working together in the new WOWOW drama "Akka" (Evil Currency) which consists of 5 episodes and will be shown from November. The drama which is based on the finance suspense novel by Shimada Masahiko, features Oikawa as Nonomiya Fuyuhiko, a mysterious tycoon who tries to destroy the Japanese economy through the use of counterfeit currency and Kuroki as Miyazono Erika, a police detective who tries to stop his plan.

This is Oikawa's first leading role in a drama in 10 years since 2004's TV Asahi drama "Mystery Minzoku Gakusha Yagumo Itsuki". Although he plays good characters most of the time, Oikawa is happy about playing a dark hero this time which is a good form of stress relief. He also praised Kuroki who he is working for the first time, for being a very cheerful person who can switch to becoming a cool beauty quickly which is a trait he deeply admires. As for Kuroki, she commented that her character this time will be a tough one to play so she has to work extra hard on portraying the character.

Source: Yomiuri Hochi / Sponichi

Nakayama Miho reveals the truth behind her divorce

Nakayama Miho who got divorced from musician Tsuji Hitonari in July this year, revealed the truth behind their divorce in the October issue of female magazine "Bi ST" published on 19th August. In the interview, Nakayama revealed that she had already been thinking about divorce some years ago but was persuaded not to do so until her son grows up. However, the turning point came when Nakayama had to return to Japan temporarily for treatment as she was suffering from uterine myoma. At that time when her condition was rather serious, she met another man who went to great lengths to take care of her by looking up suitable treatment methods, finding a hospital for her operation and even taking care of her when she was recuperating. This led to her feeling that it was impossible for her to continue with her marriage.

As for what hurt her the most during the divorce proceedings, it was being labelled as someone who abandoned her child. However, Nakayama revealed that agreeing to give custody of her son to her ex-husband was a condition she had to agree to before she could go through the divorce so there was no way she could do anything about this. With regard to her future, Nakayama said that she had no intention of erasing what happened in the past because she had made the decision out of her own accord and would proceed with her new life from now on.

Source: Oricon

Happy 8th anniversary and hoping for many more years to come!

It felt not so long ago that I put up the 7th anniversary post on the blog and before I realised it, today's already the 8th anniversary of Dorama World! Somehow, time seems to pass by so quickly especially when you are busy (which I think everyone living in this modern world would be too) but I have to admit that I almost forgot about today amid the daily rush.

Words can't really express how thankful I am for your continued support and for reading my lengthy reviews and news updates. I am glad for the fact that I've been able to post more drama and movie reviews in the past year compared to previously when I could only spare time to do news updates. I'm still trying to do more as I continue to catch up on my ever-expanding list of dramas-watched-but-not-yet-reviewed so please be patient with me in the meantime. I would also welcome recommendations on dramas you've watched and liked. I may or may not watch every recommended drama due to time constraints and personal preferences but I would still like to hear from you so that I can uncover gems which I missed somehow, unwittingly or purposely.

I confess, there were times when I had to stop writing a review halfway because it wasn't going the way I wanted. Maybe it was my mood or fatigue kicking in but it sometimes do take a sudden spark of inspiration or a good mood to write a proper review. Much as I am mindful of the pressure to keep up with updating the blog with new content, I keep reminding myself too that I have to enjoy what I am doing or else I might just take a hiatus again like what I did a few years ago when too many things were clamouring for attention at the same time. This blog is where I turn to for stress relief and reaching out to those who share the same interests in J-ent like I do. In order to keep this blog going for many more years to come, I'll have to strike a balance between being conscientious and not letting this feel like a burden.

Here's ending the anniversary post with a shot of one of the best cakes I've tasted recently. Too bad there wasn't a candle or this would have been a good birthday cake for the blog. ^__^ Once again, thank you for reading this blog and I hope to interact with more readers as we approach the 9th year mark!

Eikura Nana to star in TBS Autumn 2014 drama "N no tame ni"

Eikura Nana will be starring in the new TBS Autumn 2014 drama "N no tame ni" (For the sake of N) which is due to be shown from October in the Fridays 10pm timeslot. The drama which is based on the same-titled novel by popular writer Minato Kanae, is a pure love mystery that will span over 15 years. Eikura plays the role of Nozomi, one of the individuals with a name beginning with N, who happened to be at the crime scene of a murder involving a rich celebrity couple. Through the lives of these people initialed N spanning over 15 years, the truth behind the murders is also revealed.

Nozomi was 17 years old and in the second year of junior high when the murder took place and her life underwent an upheaval after that. She had been born and raised on an island in the Setouchi Inland Sea but was thrown out of her house with her mother after her father brought his lover back home. From a rich man's daughter, Nozomi was thrown into the depths of poverty and had to take care of her mother who became mentally unstable as a result of her husband's infidelity. Later, she moved to Tokyo and the drama will depict her life all the way up till she is 32 years old.

This is the first time that Eikura is participating in a drama based on Minato's works and she commented that she finished the original novel in just one day and was impressed by the complicated human relationships involving the characters. As such, she is thrilled to be able to take on the role of Nozomi and is eagerly awaiting the start of the filming at the end of this month.

Source: Sanspo

Kanjani 8's Maruyama Ryuhei to star in NTV Autumn 2014 drama "Jigoku Sensei Nube"

Kanjani 8 member Maruyama Ryuhei will be taking on his first leading role in a primetime drama when he appears in the NTV Autumn 2014 drama "Jigoku Sensei Nube" which begins its run from October in the Saturdays 9pm timeslot. The drama is based on the same titled manga by Makura Sho and Okano Takeshi that was serialised between 1993 and 1999. Maruyama will play the role of a senior high school teacher by the name of Nueno Meisuke who uses his supernatural powers to protect his students from evil spirits. Even though he is clumsy most of the time, he is well-liked by his students and his left hand is nicknamed "Oni no Te" for its power to ward off evil spirits. Co-stars include Kiritani Mirei, Hayami Mokomichi, Yamamoto Mizuki and Takahashi Hideki.

Source: Sanspo

Review of "Kami no Tsuki" (drama) - Winter 2014

To make it clear, this review is about the drama version of "Kami no Tsuki" (Paper Moon) starring Harada Tomoyo, not the movie version starring Miyazawa Rie which will be shown in cinemas from 15 November. I would assume that the storyline for both versions would be largely the same since they are based on the same novel by Kakuta Mitsuyo.

To begin with, here is a summary of the storyline. As usual, if you do not wish to know the developments nor ending of this drama, please skip this review.

Umezawa Rika (Harada Tomoyo), an ordinary housewife becomes the centre of media attention as she is the suspect in an embezzlement case involving a huge sum of JPY 100m and has skipped town before the police arrested her. The story shows Rika having escaped to a Southeast Asian country (location shooting in Chiangmai, Thailand) as details of what happened to her prior to her escape get disclosed through her reflections and the recollections of her best friends from senior high school i.e. Chujo Aki (Nishida Naomi) and Okazaki Yuko (Mizuno Maki).

Rika came from a very wealthy family and was studying in a private girls' high school when she met Aki and Yuko. Even at this young age, Rika had a strong opinion of her own and would not hesitate to make her point known e.g. object to the school imposing a limit on how much money the students could donate to charity but not on contributing money to the school's expansion. However, Rika's family underwent an upheaval later on, causing them to sell off their assets to pay off their debts. After graduating from college, Rika worked briefly at a credit card company before she met her husband Masafumi (Mitsuishi Ken) and became a housewife. At the suggestion of Aki, Rika later began working part-time at a bank.

On the surface, all seemed fine between Rika and Masafumi. However, Masafumi would from time to time ignore or hurt Rika's feelings by putting her down and emphasizing that her part-time job was nothing compared to his career or avoiding the issue of having children. As time went by, Rika realised that Masafumi would never change his ways and gave up on having children. She also decided to switch to full-time work at the bank since Masafumi had no objections nor supported her decision.

One day, while at a house visit to one of the bank's important customers named Hirabayashi Kozo, Rika meets his grandson Kota. The relationship between Kozo and Kota is far from rosy as Kozo thinks that his family members are just eyeing his fortune. This encounter turns out to be the turning point in Rika's life as she and Kota start to meet up and later develops a relationship. Kota misunderstands that Rika is a rich man's wife and starts to depend on her financially as well. In a bid to keep up appearances and continue supporting Kota's needs, Rika starts to embezzle money from her clients' accounts by forging deposit receipts and tricking them into buying fictitious financial investment products.

When Masafumi gets transferred to Shanghai for work, he automatically assumes that Rika will follow him there. However, Rika's reluctance to give up her job as well as her relationship with Kota makes her say no. By the time Masafumi returns to Japan after his Shanghai stint, he seems to have undergone a change and has become more understanding towards Rika. However, Rika's relationship with Kota has hit the rocks and she has sunk too deep into the financial trap she created for herself that the only way out for her is to go on the run. In a bid to spend time with Masafumi before she does that, Rika agrees to going on a short trip with him and later disappears under the pretext of heading overseas for a friend's wedding.

After Rika's escape, the media goes wild about her case especially how she embezzled money seemingly for the sake of Kota. Surprisingly, Masafumi expresses faith in his wife and even apologises to those affected by what Rika did. Meanwhile, Rika's buddies Aki and Yuko who are concerned about Rika's case and her whereabouts, have their own issues to contend with as well. Aki who appears to be a successful career woman on the surface, suffers from a shopping addiction which led to near bankruptcy for her ex-husband, the breakdown of their marriage and the loss of her daughter's custody to her ex-husband. Years later, Aki tries to reach out to her daughter again but ends up using money to buy the latter whatever she wants in a bid to compensate for the years of neglect and inability to stay with her daughter. However, Aki realises that she is merely repeating the same mistake as she did in the past by spending beyond her means to buy her daughter's love and decides to stop doing it which makes her daughter very angry. On the other hand, Yuko appears to be a happily-married housewife but her obsession with saving money for the family's future, alienates her from her husband and daughter who think that she is going overboard. This makes Yuko feel indignant that her efforts are not appreciated by the people who she is doing all these things for.

Rika is faced with the dilemma of having to extend her visa by crossing over to another country but she is scared of being nabbed if she is flagged as a wanted person at the customs. On the other hand, the toll of being on the run makes Rika toy with the idea of going to the customs anyway since she should be repatriated. At the end of the drama, Rika is shown walking towards the customs checkpoint but it is not stated specifically if she's caught by the authorities or allowed to cross the border without any problems.

Technically, this drama is all about Rika's downward spiral in life. Much of what we know about Rika actually comes from her own narrative and the missing bits and pieces are filled in by those who know her i.e. her husband, close friends and colleagues. To everyone who knows Rika, they cannot understand why she would embezzle so much money and what she had used it on. It may be easy to blame Kota entirely for what happened to Rika but the very first time that Rika used a client's money for her own benefit (although she did put the money back later) was when she bought a range of skincare products for herself. All along, Rika probably wasn't too concerned with her appearance and seemed to be content with being a good wife to Masafumi and wishing to be a mother one day. However, Masafumi's attitude towards her especially when he kept undermining her importance and value in life made her give up in the end and that's when Rika started to do things for her own sake. It's true that Rika subsequently had the need to keep up pretenses to play a rich man's wife in front of Kota and continue earning his respect and admiration and she needed to help him financially as well but I think the awakening of Rika's self-awareness thanks to Masafumi and the subsequent desire to be needed by someone i.e. Kota were the two key factors that led to Rika going out of control. Back then in school, Aki and Yuko already revealed the fact that Rika had the desire to be needed and be important to someone. That trait has never changed over the years thus Kota's appearance was the catalyst that led to this trait being resurrected.

Honestly speaking, I do not think that Rika really loves Kota. She probably wasn't attracted to his looks nor personality in the first place. However, Kota's need for her and her money was what Rika was drawn to. Since Masafumi didn't seem to think of her as being important to him, Rika found her desire to be needed in Kota. That's why she didn't seem overly upset when Kota was seeing another woman later. If she had been truly in love with him, she would have reacted more strongly instead of letting him go so easily.

What I found really surprising was Masafumi's attitude towards Rika after the case came to light and she had skipped town. Going by his obnoxious attitude towards her in the past, I would have expected him to express rage at his wife's affair with Kota and draw a clear line between him and her actions. However, seeing him apologise in public for what she did and him obviously being willing to wait for Rika to come back just seems to suggest that he still had some feelings for her and was ready to reconcile with her if she did come back. Perhaps the time they spent apart did good after all as it made Masafumi see how Rika mattered to him?

Harada Tomoyo who has this air of elegance and pure image all along, was clearly suited for the role of Rika. Just like Rika who was seen to be someone who would stand up for noble causes and didn't look like she had a lot of material desires, Harada had the same type of image. That is why when the case came out into the open, it took many people by surprise because they wouldn't have associated Rika as someone who could commit such an embezzlement case and used that money to support the guy she was having an affair with. She managed to show the fact that Rika probably was more obsessed with being needed rather than having a need for all that money so it did help to push up the sympathy factor for Rika's circumstances. Then again, Rika also needed to be blamed for her obsession in giving to others what they may or may not have wanted. Kota probably didn't expect right from the start that Rika would give him money or meet his needs. However, when that started, Kota got too used to taking while Rika was too hung up over giving until it reached the point of no return. On the other hand, I thought that her chemistry with Mitsushima Shinosuke was a bit lacking which I attributed partly due to the fact that she had to show that love was probably not a key factor in what led to Rika's actions. There was something obviously missing especially in the scene where they slept together for the first time which I think Miyazawa Rie and Ikematsu Sousuke might be able to do better in the movie version.

As for the supporting cast, due to the limited airtime given to them, it was hard for them to make a deep impression since the story is all about Rika. Nonetheless, I thought Aki's story was more interesting compared to Yuko's which was a bit too cliche.

If I am to judge this story solely as a narrative about Rika's downward spiral in life, I think it is quite complete and offers you slightly different perspectives about Rika. However, being too intensive on one person's development gives the impression that the rest of the characters are simply not important and it sort of upsets the balance in the story. For example, Masafumi's change of mind after returning from Shanghai may seem a bit abrupt while Aki and Yuko don't seem too emotionally involved in what happened to Rika and seem to be talking about it as if it was about someone unrelated to them. Before the drama started, it was said that what Rika did was supposed to affect them or change their mindset in a way or another but this was somewhat not so obvious. In this sense, I didn't enjoy this drama too much because it was too heavily skewed towards one person and neglected the developments of the supporting characters too much.

And my ratings for this drama...

Story: 6 out of 10 (There were times when I wished that the pacing would pick up and more attention given to Aki's and Yuko's character developments which would make the story more interesting.)

Acting: 6.5 out of 10 (Harada Tomoyo does a credible job as Rika but too bad the story didn't allow the other actors to have a chance to shine.)

Theme song/BGM: 5 out of 10 (The ending theme did not leave much of an impression on me.)

Visual effects / Scenery: 5 out 10 (Other than the scenes shot in Thailand, and some random outdoor scenes in Japan, there really wasn't much scenery to talk about.)

Teamwork / Chemistry: 5 out of 10 (I don't know if the lack of chemistry between Harada and Mitsushima was on purpose. In addition, due to Rika not having met her friends for most of this drama, there really wasn't much chemistry to speak of.)

Total: 27.5 out of 50

Romaji lyrics of "Tanin no Kankei" by Hitoto Yo feat. SOIL&"PIMP"SESSIONS (Theme song of "Hirugao ~ Heijutsu Gogo Sanji no Koibitotachi")

Title: Tanin no Kankei
Artist: Hitoto Yo feat. SOIL&"PIMP"SESSIONS
Lyrics: Arima Mieko
Melody: Kawaguchi Shin

au toki ni wa itsudemo tanin no futari
yuube wa yuube soshite konya wa konya
kusuguru you na yubi de
hokuro no kazu mo ichi kara kazoe naoshite
souyo hajimete no kao de otagai ni
mata mo moeru no

aishita ato otagai tanin no futari
anata wa anata soshite atashi wa atashi
otonadoushi no koi wa kotori no you ni
itsudemo jiyuu de itai wa
soshite aishiau toki ni nani mo kamo
ubai au no yo

au toki ni wa itsudemo tanin no futari
kimama to kimama soshite otona to otona
au tabi itsumo chigau kuchizuke wo shite
odoroki  au sono kibun
souyo hajimete no kao de otagai ni
mata mo moeru no

aishita ato otagai tanin no futari
otoko to onna soshite hitori to hitori
anata wa atashi no koto wasurete ii wa
mayotte kite mo ii no yo
watashi nando demo kitto hiki modosu
modoshite miseru

Naka Riisa to star in NHK BS drama "Yube no Curry, Ashita no Pan"

Naka Riisa will be starring in her first leading role since she got married to Nakao Akiyoshi and became a mother in October last year when she appears in the NHK BS premium drama "Yube no Curry, Ashita no Pan" (Last Night's Curry, Tomorrow's Bread" which consists of 7 episodes and will be shown from October in the Sundays 10pm timeslot. She plays the role of Tetsuko who lost her husband to cancer and is living with her father-in-law played by Kaga Takeshi. While keeping the grief of their loss deep within themselves, they come to meet some people with various problems and this unwittingly helps them to get over the sorrow they have. Co-stars include Mizobata Junpei, Mimura and Katagiri Hairi.

The drama which is based on the same-titled novel by Kizara Izumi, was published in April this year and chosen as the No.2 novel in the "Honya Taisho". Kizawa is the joint pen-name of two scriptwriters who are married to each other and they had written scripts such as "Nobuta wo Produce" in the past. This novel is their debut work.

Source: Sponichi

Sawajiri Erika to be back in sequel of "First Class" this autumn

Sawajiri Erika's Spring 2014 drama "First Class" will be making its return in just three months since it ended in June with its sequel due to be shown in the Autumn 2014 drama. The FujiTV drama will also enjoy an elevation in status from late night on Saturday to primetime at 10pm on Wednesdays.

The sequel "First Class 2" will feature Yoshinari Chinami (Sawajiri) who has become a new designer at a fashion brand but the people who will attempt to stop her climb to the top will be changed. Nonetheless, cast members from the first series including Sasaki Nozomi, Nanao and Itaya Yuka will make appearances in the new drama although details have not been finalised. Sawajiri expressed her happiness at being able to work on this drama again and revealed that her character will also become an evil woman in order to overcome her enemies who will be even more malicious and powerful than those in the original series.

Source: Sanspo 1 / Sanspo 2

Ikuta Toma & Toda Erika to work together in new movie "Yokokuhan"

Ikuta Toma will be playing a cyber terrorist in the new movie "Yokokuhan" (Advance Warning Criminal) which is based on the same titled manga by Tsutsui Tetsuya and will be shown in cinemas next summer. Ikuta will be the lead character Gates who wears a mask made of newspapers whenever he appears in his advance warning videos to tell the world that he will be punishing criminals who cannot be dealt with by the law. As a result, Ikuta will not be showing his face in at least 30 percent of the movie's running time. Co-stars include Toda Erika who plays a chief inspector trying to catch Gates while Suzuki Ryohei, Hamada Gaku and Arakawa Yoshiyoshi will be Gates' accomplices.

Filming of the movie begins this autumn.

Source: Sponichi

Tsumabuki Satoshi reportedly dating actress Maiko since 2012

Tsumabuki Satoshi and Maiko are said to be dating as reported in various sources on 11 August. When asked about the report, both artistes' agencies did not deny this and said that they will leave things up to the artistes since this is a private matter. According to reports, Tsumabuki and Maiko got to know each other when they worked together in the 2012 FujiTV drama "Higashino Keigo Mysteries" and started dating soon after that.

Maiko has a American father and Japanese mother and was seen in dramas such as "Ryomaden", "Ohisama" and her latest movie is "Kuime". Tsumabuki's latest drama is the ongoing "Wakamonotachi 2014" showing on FujiTV.

Source: Sponichi