Pop idol group SDN48, sister unit to AKB48, has finally announced their first major label single, due for release on November 24th. The group switched over to the major label of Universal Records last month, and this will be their major debut single. As of now there is no title, but the in house producer,...

Koda Kumi is releasing her first cover album on October 13, titled “ETERNITY ~Love & Songs~.” The album will include several famous songs with new arrangements, ranging from R&B to electro to acoustic. Koda, who is celebrating her 10th anniversary this December, came up with the idea for the album 3 years ago. In February...

Details of Kanjani8′s next album have been revealed. Titled “8UPPERS” (“Pacchi Uppers”), the album will be released on October 20 and will include a special 77-minute “music film” with the DVD editions. The main CD consists of 13 tracks, written and arranged by artists such as Ulful Keisuke (Ulfuls), DJ KOHNO (Ketsumeishi), and Ken Yokoyama....

There is a rumor brewing that Tanaka Reina  is dating singer, Maekawa Hiroki, who Reina co-stars with in music show “Uta no Rakuen“.  The reason why this rumor came up is because of Reina and Hiroki’s blogs.  According to Tantei File, sometimes they make very similar blog entries at almost the same time.? The most...

More than 100 calls a day from fans wanting a copy of Arashi textbooks have been overwhelming office staff at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, it was revealed yesterday, reports Daily Sports. “?????? (Nippon no Arashi)” is an A4 sized, 200 colour page textbook that has been distributed over all of Japan’s...

Yuna Ito will provide the theme song for the NTV drama “Ogon no Buta.” It will be her first TV show theme song in four years. The program will air on Wednesdays from 10 p.m. Previously, Ito provided the theme song, “Faith,” for 2006’s “On Fire” series. The new drama is a good versus evil...

Idol group 9nine is ready for a restart. The group will be changing labels to SME Records and pushing itself as a “performance girls unit.” 9nine’s lineup also changed at the end of last month. 9nine was originally formed in 2005 with nine members. A few members later left, reducing the unit’s size to five...

On Saturday, singer Ai Otsuka (28) held a live performance in Yokohama, her first concert since announcing her marriage to RIP SLYMErapper SU (36) in June. During the concert’s encore, right before her final song, she revealed to her fans that she is currently pregnant and is expected to give birth in spring of next...

Superpowered idol group AKB48 has finally launched their own official Youtube channel. The official channel has posted video clips from “Oo Goe Diamond” to “Pony Tail to Shushu.” This is great news for fans, as AKB48 videos were always being removed from Youtube, but now they will always have a place to go to watch...

CNBLUE, who made a debut in Japan last year, will be making a comeback in the Japan with the single “Don’t Know Why”. The single, to be released on the 16th, will have 2 songs – “Lie” has been determined as the title song. CNBLUE will also be having a live tour all over Japan,...

Comedian Masatoshi Hamada (47), better known as “Hama-chan” of the duo Downtown, is going to star in his first drama series 2001. He will play a public prosecutor in “Kenji Onijima Heihachiro,” set to start this October on TV Asahi. In the drama, Hamada plays the titular Heihachiro Onijima, a 44-year-old man who becomes a...

SDN48 has wrapped up its own “senbatsu” election for its first major label single, as announced last month. Former AKB48 member Megumi Ohori (27) ranked #1 by a wide margin, taking the top rank in all three voting categories. As a result, she will have the center position on the upcoming release. The rest of...

In June, it was announced that directors Isshin Inudo and Shinji Higuchi are collaborating on a film adaptation of “Nobou no Shiro,” starring Mansai Nomura (44). It has now been revealed that the movie’s heroine will be played by actress Nana Eikura (22), who has never appeared in a jidaigeki work before. The story casts...

Abe Natsumi, Yasuda Kei, and Kusumi Koharu will be in a stage play titled Abe Naikaku. The play is abot the prime minister and politics. It’s great to see that Abe, Yasuda, and Koha will be appearing in a play together since I can’t recall Koha doing much apart from her TV...

Weekly Shonen Magazine recently released a new manga series, published in favor of the new idol trend in Japan, AKB49 ~ Renai Kinshi Jourei. The title is loosely based on the ever popular AKB48 group. AKB fans will be delighted to find manga versions of their favorite idols drawn into the comic. In this article...

With Girls’ Generation, 4minute, KARA, and Brown Eyed Girls, Korean girl groups seem to be storming Japan. While Japanese K-pop fans are delighted, there are others who criticize this phenomenon, saying that this influx of translated K-pop tunes in Japan is lowering the quality of the Japanese music market*. *Editor’s Note: Before anybody flips out...