On February 1st, actress Eikura Nana shared a photo of her 14-year-old self through her official blog.

Eikura introduced her photo by saying, “Look at what I found when I was cleaning my room.” She added, “It doesn’t seem like I changed… but I did.”

Fans complimented the actress with comments like “Very cute!,” and “Cuter than any teen idol today.”

Eikura stepped into the entertainment biz as a model for teen magazine, “Seventeen“. She has since worked her way up to star in various dramas and movies. Back in 2010, Eikura won the ‘Rookie of the Year Award’ for her role in “Yomei Ikkagetsu no Hanayome” at the 33rd Japan Academy Awards.

Source & Photos: Cinema Today and Eikura Nana’s Official Blog

TV Asahi’s weekly music program, ‘Music Station‘, has returned with another episode full of  great performances!

For its February 3rd broadcast, ‘Music Station’ invited new Johnny’s Jr. group A.B.C-Z, talented soloist ayaka, and Canadian pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne. Yuki and Chatmonchy also appeared on the program to perform “Wonder Line” and “Mangetsu ni Hoero” respectively.

Check out these exciting stages below:

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< A.B.C.-Z, “Za ABC~5stars~” >

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< Avril Lavigne, “Smile” >

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< Yuki, “Wonder Line” >

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< Chatmonchy, “Mangetsu ni Hoero” >

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< ayaka, “Hajimari no Toki” >

Coming soon!

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On February 3rd, talento Saeko attended the event, “Joshiryoku UP! Onna no Ko no Tame no Fuyu no Gakuensai“.

This marked Saeko’s first public appearance after divorcing professional baseball player Darvish Yu. Saeko stood in front of 2,000 college girls and said, “I try to look for small joys. My recent happiness is watching my children grow. I’m glad I became a mother.”

Sponsored by Asahi Shimbun and women’s fashion magazine, “JJ“, ”Joshiryoku UP! Onna no Ko no Tame no Fuyu no Gakuensai” is an event that supports college girls in fashion, beauty, and job hunting. The event also featured appearances by model Tominaga Ai, talento IKKO, and comedian Tamura Atsushi.

Saeko also gave the audience advice on how to become a ‘cute woman’. “It’s important to do what you want to do without being caught up in the craze,” she said.

Check out pictures from the event below!

Source & Photos: Mantan Web

It’s been revealed that AKB48 members Kashiwagi Yuki and Miyazawa Sae will be voice acting in the upcoming movie, “Marimo no Hana ~Saikyo Buto Shogakusei Densetsu~“.

Kashiwagi will provide the voice for the protagonist ‘Marimo’, while Miyazawa will portray Marimo’s childhood friend, ‘Masaru’.

“Marimo no Hana” is based on the on-going manga by AKB48 producer Akimoto Yasushi and Kasumi Yuko. The story revolves around Marimo, a quiet girl in elementary school who gains the strength to fight delinquents.

Since the manga is currently being serialized through monthly comic magazine, “Ribbon“, the movie will be screened at the free event tour, “Ribbon Festa 2012“. The tour will be held in Miyagi (March 18th), Osaka (March 24th & 25th), Yokohama (March 31st & April 1st), and Nagoya (April 8th). The event will also host an autograph and talk session with popular manga artists.

Stay tuned to tokyohive for more updates!

Source & Image: Mantan Web

Rock band SPYAIR has revealed the PV for their new song, “My World“!

As reported previously, SPYAIR’s first single of 2012 is also the ending theme song for anime series, ‘Mobile Suit Gundam AGE‘. The inspirational track delivered a great PV full of driving energy tempered by beautiful lightplay.

Check it out below!

Tip: Hidefumi

Reports reveal that his wife gave birth to their baby before noon on February 3rd. Both the mother and child are in good conditions.

Tanihara is now a father to three boys and two girls. The proud papa  commented, “We have been blessed with our fifth child. It’s a boy, and he weighs over 3,500 grams. Though so many things happened last year which brought me some uneasiness, I can keep a bright feeling, thanks to this baby.  I will try even harder for my family, especially for the newborn.”

Conglatulations to Tanihara!

Source: Sponichi Annex
Image: Sanspo

On February 3rd, D☆DATE revealed a 7-minute preview of their short film, ‘JOKER‘.

The movie tells a story about a group of thieves (D☆DATE), whose policies are ‘no killing’, ’steal from villains’, and ’succeed no matter what’. However, after stealing a certain treasure, their fellow member ‘Yoko’ (Omasa Aya) gets shot to death. The members start suspecting one another, and they try to root out the betrayer (JOKER) amongst the group.

This short movie can be found in the Limited B Edition of D☆DATE’s upcoming single, “JOKER“, which will be released on February 22nd.

Without further ado, check out the short movie below!

Source: D☆DATE Official Website

On February 2nd, we reported about this week’s scoop of Asano Tadanobu (38) and actress Naka Riisa (22) openly dating in Osaka by the weekly pictorial magazine ‘FRIDAY‘.

Now some better pictures from the magazine made it’s way onto the web. The snapshots show the couple walking hand in hand, hugging on various occasions, relaxing at a café, and kissing while waiting for the traffic light. Neither of the two have yet commented on the pictures and their agencies refuse to meddle let alone comment on their private lives, but the pictures are speaking for themselves.

As reported, Asano and Naka are said to have been dating since the end of 2011, although both have been rumored to be in relationships with different people up until this story.

More details about the date in Osaka can be found in the previous article.

TV Asahi’s music program, “MUSIC STATION“, has revealed the artist line-up for their February 10th broadcast!

Next week’s episode will feature performances by Hey! Say! JUMP, Porno Graffitti, miwa, YUKI, and L’Arc~en~Ciel.

L’Arc~en~Ciel, who will be releasing their new album, “BUTTERFLY“, on February 8th, will take the stage for a special medley. Meanwhile, this will be YUKI’s second consecutive week to appear on the show. She will sing her 9th single, “JOY“, which was released back in 2005.

Take a look at the full line-up below!

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• “SUPER DELICATE” – Hey! Say! JUMP
• “2012Spark” – Porno Graffitti
• “Kataomoi” – miwa
• “JOY” – YUKI
• “Special Medley” – L’Arc~en~Ciel

Source: natalie

Golden Bomber’s drummer, Darvish Kenji will publish his blog entries as an official book titled “Best of Obama Blog“. It was revealed that Darvish’s no make-up face and a photo of himself in the full nude will appear in the book.

※Photo in "Best of Obamablog" will not have mosaics

Though Darvish has hardly shown his unpainted face up until now, in this book, he is showing it due to his own wishes.  Other than the photo of no make-up face and full nude, the book also includes many newly taken photos with unique concepts.

To commemorate the release of “Best of Obama Blog”, Darvish will hold an autograph session tour all over Japan starting on February 4th.  You can check the schedule on the Golden Bomber’s official site (here).

Source & Image: natalie