MissMonika wrote:

• The Yoshimoto Kogyo travelling comedy roadshow hit Los Angeles at the weekend and got a rousing reception. The troupe, led by Imada Koji and including other stars like Higashino Koji, Yamada Hanako and Razor Ramon HG (Hard Gay), performed a new two and a half hour show called "Sapuraizu Darake no Uedingu" (Wedding Full of Surprises). It was the first show by a Japanese theatrical group at the famous Kodak Theater, home of the annual Academy Awards show. The audience of 2,600 was made up almost entirely of Japanese living in the city, but the arrival of the show got a 2-page spread in the L.A. Times that asked, "Will Japanese Humor Travel Well?"

Anyone from SoCal catch this? Or heard of this?

i saw an ad/commercials for it, that's about all.

Entertainment news from Japan-zone.com-Your Guide to Japan and Japanese Culture:

July 4, 2006

Japan's most successful soccer star Nakata Hidetoshi (29) shocked the country with the announcement of his retirement yesterday. He issued a statement on his official website, nakata.net, saying "About six months ago, I decided to end my ten-year career in professional football, making the World Cup in Germany my final event before retirement. There was no one particular event that triggered this. And there is no single reason behind my decision." This was no doubt an effort to dispel speculation that he was devastated by Japan's lackluster performance at the World Cup. He added, "But what I can say now is that I felt that it was time for me to graduate from the journey of professional football, and set out on a new journey." The media are already speculating on the chances of a career in the media. Nakata currently has sponsorship contracts with five major companies and is a regular in TV commercials. He is in the same class as Major League baseball stars Ichiro and Matsui Hideki, making \50-100 million a year for commercials. While sports stars usually lose commercial value when they retire, Nakata's World Cup performance and analysis and the timing of his retirement are thought to have sponsors and media outlets coveting him even more.

• Actress Shaku Yumiko (28) is romantically involved with another company president. According to the latest issue of Shuukan Josei women's magazine, Shaku is dating Nojiri Yoshitaka (33), CEO of bridal planning startup Take and Give - Needs. The company is listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Nojiri is considered one of japan's most eligible bachelors. The pair are said to have met while Shaku was working on a recent drama series and started off as "meerutomo" (e-mail friends). They started dating after filming finished in mid-June, and were spotted together at a kabuki performance in Tokyo on June 24. Shaku was previously involved with Tanigawa Hiroto (35), president of the management agency that represents singer Misia. They are said to have broken up in January 2005. Meanwhile, Nojiri was linked with TV Asahi announcer Takeuchi Emi (29) at the end of last year, but they split up in the spring.

• This year's Tokyo International Fantastic Film Festival has been cancelled due to financial problems. The festival's executive committee said they currently have no plans to restart the event, which has been held every autumn since 1985.
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MissMonika wrote:

Entertainment news from Japan-zone.com-Your Guide to Japan and Japanese Culture: July 4, 2006 Japan's most successful soccer star Nakata Hidetoshi (29) shocked the country with the announcement of his retirement yesterday. He issued a statement on his official website, nakata.net, saying "About six months ago, I decided to end my ten-year career in professional football, making the World Cup in Germany my final event before retirement. There was no one particular event that triggered this. And there is no single reason behind my decision." This was no doubt an effort to dispel speculation that he was devastated by Japan's lackluster performance at the World Cup. He added, "But what I can say now is that I felt that it was time for me to graduate from the journey of professional football, and set out on a new journey." The media are already speculating on the chances of a career in the media. Nakata currently has sponsorship contracts with five major companies and is a regular in TV commercials. He is in the same class as Major League baseball stars Ichiro and Matsui Hideki, making \50-100 million a year for commercials. While sports stars usually lose commercial value when they retire, Nakata's World Cup performance and analysis and the timing of his retirement are thought to have sponsors and media outlets coveting him even more.

At 29 years old, he could still play for another 4 years and maybe have a few more success in his soccer career. That age is still young for retirement.
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Entertainment news from Japan-zone.com-Your Guide to Japan and Japanese Culture:

July 5, 2006

Someone has finally won the heart of Japan-based Korean beauty Yoon Sona (30). Renowned for her "majime" (seriousness) and refusal to enter into relationships easily, the popular talento surprised everyone with yesterday's announcement of her engagement. Her eligibility has been used more than once on variety shows that try and fix celebrities up with each other, but she has refused every time. The man who has finally won her over is described as a 36-year old Korean entrepreneur, who runs businesses connected with the movie industry and restaurants in Seoul. They are said to have been introduced by a mutual friend in March and, with the approval of both sets of parents, have already planned their wedding. It will be held at the plush ShinRa Hotel in Seoul on September 16. Yoon, who plans to continue her career in Japan, shuttling back and forth to Seoul, will hold a press conference at the hotel on Friday. An up and coming star of Korean TV drama, Yoon gave it up to come to Japan six years ago. The timing couldn't have been better, as it was before the co-hosted World Cup in 2002 and the subsequent boom in Korean culture here. She has mastered the Japanese language and established herself as a regular on the variety show circuit as well as appearing in TV dramas. She has also launched a singing career using the name Sona.

• Another Asian starlet was back in Japan for the first time in four years. Taiwanese talento Vivian Tsu (31) was in Tokyo to promote the movie "Kutsu wo Koisuru Ningyo" (The Shoe Fairy). She met up with comedy duo Kyaeen, with whom she recorded a hit single "Timing" back in the 90s, when she was a TV regular here.

• "Hero", Monday's one-off reprisal of the hugely successful 2001 Fuji TV drama, managed a very respectable 30.9% audience rating. It is the 7th-highest rating for the year, and the best by a non-sports related show. With SMAP heart-throb Kimura Takuya (33) in the lead role, the show's success was hardly a surprise - the original managed over 30% for each of its 11 episodes. But with a subtitle announcing the retirement of soccer star Nakata Hidetoshi appearing on the screen just after the show started, it was perhaps only the idol appeal of Kimutaku that could have kept viewers from changing the channel.
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Entertainment news from Japan-zone.com-Your Guide to Japan and Japanese Culture:

July 6, 2006

The recent early-morning test launch of a missile by North Korea caused NHK to alter its broadcast schedule abruptly for the first time since the Great Hanshin Earthquake 11 years ago. NHK had the scoop on the story over the other networks by about 15 minutes and broke into its live coverage of the World Cup semi-final between Germany-Italy. During the second half, coverage of the soccer game was switched to the NHK Education channel. The daily morning drama was dropped for the first time since January 1995, as was its scheduled afternoon re-run and much of the day's programming. The missile itself is said to have failed about 40 minutes after launch and posed no threat to Japan. But the fact that it was launched at all has considerably raised tensions in the region.

• Johnny's Jimusho band KAT-TUN member Kamenashi Kazuya (photo, 20) romances an older woman, played by Ito Misaki (29), in the highly anticipated upcoming Fuji TV drama series "Sapuri". At a PR event yesterday, the media were expressly forbidden to ask any questions about Kamenashi's rumored real-life romance with former idol singer Koizumi Kyoko (photo, 40). Some reporters tried to subtly tie it into questions about how he prepared for the TV romance with an older woman, but they were simply ignored. The series will air from July 10 at 9pm on Mondays, the hottest time slot for dramas.

• Singer/actress Tsuchiya Anna (22) and model Joshua (23) have divorced, it was revealed yesterday. They married in June 2004 and had a son the following November. Tsuchiya will have custody of the child. Joshua is the younger brother of talento Kozue Rin (26).

• Baseball legend Oh Sadaharu (66) has been forced to take a break from his duties as manager of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks to undergo surgery for a tumor in his stomach. Among the celebrities wishing him well was enka singer Yashiro Aki (55), a long-time close friend to whom Oh gave the bat he used to hit his world-record 846th home run.
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Entertainment news from Japan-zone.com-Your Guide to Japan and Japanese Culture:

July 7, 2006

NHK recently broadcast a history program that repeatedly showed the British flag upside down. Not exactly a major diplomatic incident but the failure of staff responsible to take appropriate action led to an apology at the British consulate on Wednesday and on air last night. One look at the Union Jack reveals that it's not an easy mistake to spot, but one eagle-eyed viewer did notice it and contacted NHK. The error was in the June 21 edition of the history program "Sono Toki Rekishi ga Ugoita". The viewer had noticed the error in a preview of the show and called the Osaka bureau to inform them. The producer decided it was not worth the time and expense involved in correcting it. The same viewer called NHK again after the show was broadcast unchanged and received an apology, but the producer failed to report the matter to management. The matter came to light after a weekly magazine contacted NHK with questions.

• NHK also received more than 2,400 telephone calls from viewers upset about the sudden rescheduling of programs on Wednesday morning that followed the North Korean launch of several missiles. Affected programs included the live coverage of the World Cup and the morning drama series. While the changes may have annoyed some, viewership of NHK's news shows that day was about double the average. The public broadcaster has also started sending out letters to households that have failed or refused to pay annual subscription fees. Letters were sent to homes in Tokyo yesterday with the rest of the country to follow, but it remains to be seen how the over 1 million "mibarai" viewers nationwide will respond.
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MissMonika wrote:

• Johnny's Jimusho band KAT-TUN member Kamenashi Kazuya (photo, 20) romances an older woman, played by Ito Misaki (29), in the highly anticipated upcoming Fuji TV drama series "Sapuri". At a PR event yesterday, the media were expressly forbidden to ask any questions about Kamenashi's rumored real-life romance with former idol singer Koizumi Kyoko (photo, 40). Some reporters tried to subtly tie it into questions about how he prepared for the TV romance with an older woman, but they were simply ignored. The series will air from July 10 at 9pm on Mondays, the hottest time slot for dramas.

haha, kyon kyon helping him prepare eh?
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Entertainment news from Japan-zone.com-Your Guide to Japan and Japanese Culture:

July 10, 2006

Hollywood star Johnny Depp (43) arrived in Japan yesterday to promote the latest "Pirates of the Carribbean" movie. The crowds grew at Narita Airport during the morning as producer Jerry Bruckheimer and co-star Orlando Bloom (29) also flew in separately. But the biggest reception came from 3,500 screaming fans as Depp arrived from Paris on a private jet around 1:20pm. He was accompanied by 9 people including his sister. "Dead Man's Chest" opened on Friday in a massive 4,133 cinemas across the US, the third-largest opening ever. Depp and the other cast and crew members are scheduled to give a press conference today before attending the Japan premiere, and the movie will open in theaters here on July 22.

• Russian talento Solntsev Ivan (24) has been arrested for drug possession. He was questioned by police in Tokyo's Roppongi district on July 1 because his car was illegally parked. They found 1.9 grams of marijuana in his rucksack. One half of Ivan & John, the first non-Japanese duo of assistants on the daily Fuji TV variety show "Warratte Iitomo", the Moscow native has lived in Japan since he was a boy. He and American John were the 12th pair of regular assistants on the record-breaking afternoon show, appearing for three years until March 2006. They would do a little dance routine to warm up the studio audience before the arrival of emcee Morita "Tamori" Kazuyoshi (61), who has hosted the show every weekday afternoon since 1982. This longevity has earned him and the show a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

• Fashion model Mori Izumi (23) is to make her acting debut. She will appear in next Tuesday's episode of NTV's weekly "Drama Complex", entitled "59-banme no Puropozu" (59th Proposal), in which she plays a supporting role to star Fujiwara Norika (35). The grand-daughter of world famous fashion designer Mori Hanae (80), the half-American Izumi has benefited from the recent trend for fashion models to make the move to television. She has been a regular co-presenter on NTV's talk show "Oshare-ism" since last year, though her role has been mostly decorative.

• Musicians Imai Chihiro (31) and Matsumoto Eiko (27) tied the knot in Tokyo on Saturday. Imai, a member of the folk group Something Else, and his bride wore matching white outfits. The wedding and reception were attended by about 100 family members and celebrities.

• The late singer Misora Hibari may have been one of the greatest Japanese legends of the 20th century, but fan interest seems to be waning. A Kyoto museum dedicated to the star is set to close in November due to declining visitor numbers. "Kyoto Arashiyama Misora Hibari Kan" opened in 1994, five year's after her death, and welcomed over 3 million visitors in the first four years. But as many of her fans have now reached old age, the numbers have dropped considerably.
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MissMonika wrote:

Entertainment news from Japan-zone.com-Your Guide to Japan and Japanese Culture: July 10, 2006 Hollywood star Johnny Depp (43) arrived in Japan yesterday to promote the latest "Pirates of the Carribbean" movie. The crowds grew at Narita Airport during the morning as producer Jerry Bruckheimer and co-star Orlando Bloom (29) also flew in separately. But the biggest reception came from 3,500 screaming fans as Depp arrived from Paris on a private jet around 1:20pm. He was accompanied by 9 people including his sister. "Dead Man's Chest" opened on Friday in a massive 4,133 cinemas across the US, the third-largest opening ever. Depp and the other cast and crew members are scheduled to give a press conference today before attending the Japan premiere, and the movie will open in theaters here on July 22.

i don't think there's any movie i've been looking forward to this year more than POTC - Johnny Depp's performance as Captain Jack Sparrow is just outlandishly funny
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MissMonika wrote:

Entertainment news from Japan-zone.com-Your Guide to Japan and Japanese Culture: July 10, 2006 • The late singer Misora Hibari may have been one of the greatest Japanese legends of the 20th century, but fan interest seems to be waning. A Kyoto museum dedicated to the star is set to close in November due to declining visitor numbers. "Kyoto Arashiyama Misora Hibari Kan" opened in 1994, five year's after her death, and welcomed over 3 million visitors in the first four years. But as many of her fans have now reached old age, the numbers have dropped considerably.

I learned about Misora Hibari because I heard that Aya Ueto acted in a biopic (as a young Hibari) about her. And now it's really too sad to hear about the Kyoto museum closing. She was an amazing woman, and I had never liked enka until listening to "kawa no nagare no you ni", a classic Japanese song and one of my favorites personally.

she's still missed.

Entertainment news from Japan-zone.com-Your Guide to Japan and Japanese Culture:

July 11, 2006

Koda Kumi (24) has showed again that she is in the top bracket of female J-pop stars. Her live DVD "Secret - First Class Limited Live" has finally overtaken Hikki to sell the most copies by a solo artist. The over 300,000 copies sold has outpaced Utada Hikaru's DVD of her 2000 debut concert series. Koda's DVD performances are from last summer's concert at Tokyo's Shinkiba Studio Coast. Released last September, it features the raunchy style thaqt is common among foreign artists but for which the Japanese had to create a new adjective - "erokawaii" (erotic cute). The DVD went to No.1 in the oricon charts last October and has stayed in the Top 100 for 42 weeks.

• Backstreet Boys member Brian Littrell (31) performed for 1,000 invited fans at a store event in Tokyo yesterday. The event was in support of his recently released debut solo album. He performed four tunes from "Welcome Home" and introduced his 3-year old son Bailey on stage.

• Fashion model Mori Izumi (23) is to make her acting debut. She will appear in next Tuesday's episode of NTV's weekly "Drama Complex", entitled "59-banme no Puropozu" (59th Proposal), in which she plays a supporting role to star Fujiwara Norika (35). The grand-daughter of world famous fashion designer Mori Hanae (80), the half-American Izumi has benefited from the recent trend for fashion models to make the move to television. She has been a regular co-presenter on NTV's talk show "Oshare-ism" since last year, though her role has been mostly decorative.

• "Goth Lolita" fashion leader Kitade Nana (19) is make her U.S. debut. She will perform at the Otakon anime festival, to be held in Baltimore on August 4-6, as well as in San Francisco, New York and Boston. The live dates, somewhat grandiosely called "Nana Tea Party World Tour", are in support of her debut album "18", which goes on sale in the U.S. today and has sold over 100,000 copies here. Her connection with anime is that she performed the theme song for the series "Fullmetal Alchemist", commonly known in Japan as "Hagaren". Last year, she was the first Japanese to perform at the Hong Kong Comics Festival.
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MissMonika wrote:

Entertainment news from Japan-zone.com-Your Guide to Japan and Japanese Culture: July 11, 2006 Released last September, it features the raunchy style thaqt is common among foreign artists but for which the Japanese had to create a new adjective - "erokawaii" (erotic cute).

Erokawaii......hehe now I have another word to add in my Japanese vocabulary
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Saito_Hajime wrote:

Erokawaii......hehe now I have another word to add in my Japanese vocabulary

it's a derivation of another popular slang word "erokakkoii" (sexy & cool)

Looks like sex still sells...

Shindou wrote:

haha, kyon kyon helping him prepare eh?

Bwahahaha...

Nothing beats real life experience.
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Tu_triky wrote:

it's a derivation of another popular slang word "erokakkoii" (sexy & cool)

I see. So they made the term "erokawaii" to have a female counterpart of "erokakkoii", right?
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erokakkoii and erokawaii?

My first time hearing of these!!! But great! Now I can add these to my list of long-abused cliche Japanese words.

Right up there with "Konnichiwa" and "Miso soup"!

mugenglider wrote:

erokakkoii and erokawaii? My first time hearing of these!!! But great! Now I can add these to my list of long-abused cliche Japanese words. Right up there with "Konnichiwa" and "Miso soup"!

i found a great website that posts the "cool" japanese slang word every month or so...check it out, kids.

http://web-japan.org/trends/index.html

click on this month's buzzword...they also have several buzzwords archived as well!

Tu_triky wrote:

i found a great website that posts the "cool" japanese slang word every month or so...check it out, kids. http://web-japan.org/trends/index.html click on this month's buzzword...they also have several buzzwords archived as well!

Great site man.

w3bhead wrote:

Great site man.

as the nihonjin say..."dou itashimashite" (you're welcome!)