Horikita Maki  is going to promote the newest novel of best-selling mystery novel author Higashino Keigo called “Hakugin Jack” through a commercial, it was announced today. Higashino’s novels never fail to become best-sellers, his best works even crossed the magical mark of over one million sold copies. Many of his novels have also been made...

AKB48 and SKE48 recently came together to form a mixed team for the “KYORAKU presents AKB48 SKE48 LIVE! in ASIA” event at the Sands Theater in Macau on November 16th. The mixed team consisted of 12 members of AKB48 and 12 members of SKE48, and this was the first performance overseas as a mixed team....

According to the mobile version of EMI Japan’s website, Utada’s “Show Me Love (Not A Dream)” will be used as the theme song to the upcoming Yamashita Tomohisa (NEWS) film, “Ashita no Joe.” The movie is based off of a popular boxing manga, and is set to be released on February 11th, 2011. According to...

Arashi’s 34th single, “Hatenai Sora,” is officially confirmed as the top single for this week. The single sold 572,000 copies, surpassing their previous personal record set by their debut song “A-RA-SHI” in 1999 (557,000 copies). “Hatenai Sora” is the group’s 30th number-one single. The only other artists who have reached that milestone are B’z and...

Mai Satoda (26) appears to be in a romantic relationship with Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (22), also known by the nickname “Ma-kun.”  The newspaper reports that multiple sources say the two met at the start of this year, when they both appeared on the same New Year’s television program. The two got...

The album jacket of the popular idol group AKB48′s new single “Chance no Junban” is officially unveiled on ORICON STYLE for the first time today. Three different editions including Type-A, Type-K and Type-B will be on sale. As known, it hasn’t been long after Uchida Mayumi won the AKB48 Janken (Rock, Scissors, and Paper) selection...

AKB48′s Shinoda Mariko is making her big screen debut with a starring role in the omnibus movie “Inu to Anata no Monogatari: Inu no Eiga.” The movie is a sequel to the 2005 film “Inu no Eiga,” which tells various stories about people and their dogs. It was revealed in June that Nao Omori (38)...

The PV for C-ute’s 14th single titled Aitai Lonely Christmas has been released.Preview inside The release date is set for 12/1....

It’s been reported that AKB48 has officially been certified by the Guinness book, as the “Pop group with the most amount of members.” As a special intro on the latest “Guinness World Record (TM) 2011,” which will be released on November 18th, there will be a special interview with AKB48’s producer, Akimoto Yasushi, as well...

Starting January 2011, Fukuda Saki and Matsushita Yuya will be staring in the upcoming late night drama, “Quartet“. “Quartet” is based on the newest series written by Osawa Arimasa, and it’s a story of “crime action.” Fukuda will be play the role of “Shun“, a 3rd-generation Japanese orphan who was left behind in China, and...

The 3D conversion of the movie “Battle Royale” (directed by the late Kinji Fukasaku) was shopped at the recent American Film Market (November 3-10). It drew attention from more than 50 distributors in 13 countries, and among them was Anchor Bay Entertainment, which has picked up the U.S. distribution rights and is planning a 2011...

Nikkan Sports is reporting that Kenichi Matsuyama has been chosen to star in NHK’s 2012 taiga drama, “Taira no Kiyomori.” No official announcement has been made yet, but if the report is true, it will be Matsuyama’s first time appearing in one of the taiga dramas. NHK revealed in August that the 2012 series would...

Ikimonogakari’s best album “Ikimonobakari ~Members BEST Selection~” was released last week, and it has already sold 457,000 copies, more than doubling the first-week sales of their last album. That amount sets this year’s current first-week sales record for an artist with female vocals, surpassing AKB48′s “Kamikyokutachi” (295,000). Even including male artists, they are in second...

The promotional push for popular Korean girl group KARA continues with the news that they will be the stars of their own television drama, scheduled to begin airing on TV Tokyo and its affiliates on January 14 (Fridays 12:12am). Titled “URAKARA,” the show will feature the members of KARA as themselves, taking on a series...

Perfume has scheduled its first overseas performance at the 2010 Mnet Asian Music Awards, which is being held on November 28. The awards show, which coves Korean pop music, is being held at the Cotai Arena in Macau this year. In Japan, the show will be broadcast live by the cable channel MUSIC ON! TV....

The tracklist for Morning Musume’s 11th album titled Fantasy! Juuichi has been released.The release date is set for 12/1. Tracklist : 1.Seishun Collection 2.Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game 3.Bravo! 4.Sungoi My Birthday 5.Otome Gokoro to Nanto Yara 6.Ichi Kara Juu Made Aishite Hoshii 7.Denwa de ne 8.Fantasy ga Hajimaru I’m Lucky girl 9.Itoshiku Kurushii...