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Haraguchi Akimasa and Fukushita Megumi to be parents

Seems like the list of celebrity couples having their first child is getting longer.

This time, comedian Haraguchi Akimasa and his wife, talent Fukushita Megumi will become parents in about 5 months’ time. Sources revealed that Fukushita is due to give birth on March 2011.

The couple married earlier this year during the celebration of White Day on March 14th – White Day …

RIZE lets fans tune in to concert with Ustream

Tomorrow, on September 23rd, nu rock band RIZE will hold their concert, “EXPERIENCE meets Kurohyo“, in Odaiba.  To make it even extra special, they are planning to stream the concert live on Ustream for their fans who can’t make it to the venue.

The concert is in celebration of the release of their new album, “EXPERIENCE,” …

Kagrra’s Isshi loses his voice

Another vocalist down, how many more to go?

Isshi, vocalist of the J-rock band Kagrra, has lost his voice. They cancelled their Nagano performance after he went to the hospital to have an examination. Isshi felt that he was not well enough to perform, leading to the cancellation.

Once the results come in, the band will make an official statement on their …

AKB48 member Ohshima Yuko to release a solo DVD

AKB48 member Ohshima Yuko will release a solo DVD titled “You are mine” on November 10th.  It is an interesting personal documentary closely covering her trip to Los Angeles.  According to Yuko, she was surrounded by staff and cameras the entire time, except of course, when she was sleeping.

Yuko also said, “It will be about 120 % of me, so please …

This week’s MUSIC JAPAN guests announced

NHK music show, “MUSIC JAPAN”, has announced the guests for this week’s September 26th episode. Featured artists will include Rina Aiuchi, ACIDMAN, Fujii Fumiya, and Matsushita Nao.

The focus of the episode will undoubtably be on Rina Aiuchi, who after hitting her ten year anniversary, has officially decided to retire from entertainment. She will be singing her last single, “HANABI,” for the show. Fans can expect a powerful television performance from her.

Actress/pianist Matsushita Nao is currently starring in the NHK series, “Ge Ge Ge no Nyoubou.” She will be performing the theme song to the show, Ikimonogakari’s “Arigatou,” on the piano. This cover is also included on her best album, “Scene 25 ~Best of Nao Matsushita,” that was released today.

Check out the set list below.

Oricon weekly charts for September 27th

The results of the Oricon weekly charts for the week of September 27th are now out!

Check it out below.

Tokyo International Film Festival to open on October 23

It was announced on Tuesday that the David Fincher film ‘The Social Network’ has been selected as the opening film for the 23rd Tokyo International Film Festival. ‘The Social Network” is a film that follows Mark Zuckerberg, founder of the world’s biggest social networking website ‘Facebook’. This film will star Jessy Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake.

For the closing …

Miss Monday creates basketball theme song

Newly-wed rapper Miss Monday created quite the unique theme song –  it isn’t for a drama or a movie, but for her hometown basketball team, the Chiba Hitachi Sun Rockers!

The theme song is called “Believe“, and Miss Monday has put it up on her official website for fans to check out. The team recently had a JBL (Japan Basketball …

Shimada Shinsuke fined ¥10 million for assault case

A lawsuit which involves popular TV host Shimada Shinsuke’s 2004 assault incident finally came to a close on Tuesday. The Tokyo District Court ordered Shimada and his agency, Yoshimoto Kogyo, to pay approximately 10 million yen in damages to the plaintiff.

The assault incident happened back in October 2004, when a Yoshimoto Kogyo female employee tried to strike a conversation …

NEWS member Koyama Keiichiro to star in stage performance of “0 Goushitsu no Kyaku”

A press conference for the stage performance of “0 Goushitsu no Kyaku ~Kaettekita Otoko~ (Guest in Room 0)” was held on the 21st, with cast members Koyama Keiichiro (NEWS) and Haru appearing to discuss the play.

“0 Goushitsu no Kyaku” was originally broadcasted as a mini-drama series which consisted of 6 different stories, each running a month long. The premise for the …

AAA celebrates their 5th year anniversary with a concert and a declaration

Pop group AAA held a concert called “AAA 5th Anniversary LIVE“ at Kobe World Kinen Hall to celebrate their 5th year anniversary on the 20th.  To the audience of 6,000, they declared their intention to take part in Kohaku (annual New Year’s Eve music show on NHK) for the first time.

AAA performed 21 songs including their popular hits, “Aitai Riyuu” and “Makenai …

Auditions for NMB48 completed!

It was previously reported that girl group AKB48 will have a new sister unit named NMB48 – girls based from Namba, Osaka. The audition process was completed on September 20th and the names of the lucky girls that passed the audition are now posted on the NMB48 official website.

It’s a shame though that NYC’s Nakayama Yuma’s sister (Nakayama Nana) didn’t make it.

The name of the 39 girls that passed the audition are as follows:

“SWITCH” anniversary concert with Superfly announces new guests

We reported earlier that the magazine “SWITCH” would be celebrating their 25th anniversary by holding special commemorative concerts with retro rock singer Superfly.  The magazine has recently announced some updates guaranteed to make the show even more exciting for fans!

The special live will be known as “Superfly & The Lemon Bats SPECIAL LIVE ‘Rock’N’Roll Muncher“. Instead of …

Pepsi reveals new limited flavor, “Pepsi Mont Blanc”

Japanese beverage company, Suntory has been releasing seasonal limited flavors for Pepsi with very unique flavors, such as cucumber, shiso, and red bean. Recently, an intriguing new flavor was introduced to reflect the fall season, “pepsi Mont Blanc.” “Mont Blanc” is a cake made of puréed chestnuts and whipped cream, and it means “White Mountain” in French.

The “Pepsi Mont Blanc” will start …

“Isabella” role casted, sneak peeks for “Paradise Kiss” revealed!

Previously, we reported that popular manga/anime Paradise Kiss will be released as a live-action movie starring Kitagawa Keiko and Mukai Osamu. The film’s release date has been set for May 2011, but to indulge the hungry fans, some scene stills as well as a more-detailed cast list has just been revealed!

Igarashi Shunji (D-BOYS) will play the role of …