Masayuki Sakamoto (39) of V6 will take on the starring role in a production of the “Zorro” musical next year. Sakamoto has appeared in stage productions every year since 1992, but this is said to be the first time that he has earned the part through an audition. The “Zorro” musical was first performed in...

On August 8th, PS Company band ViViD held their third one-man show at a SOLD OUT show at SHIBUYA-AX in Tokyo and had important announcements to make. As the band came out for a second encore, Shin opened with the words: “We have two important announcements to make!” He pause dramatically before revealing the news:...

Soon-to-be-wed couple actor Eita, 27, and singer Kaela Kimura, 25, have been signed up as the new faces of Meiji’s XYLISH brand chewing gum. Three different commercials are currently on air, with “dance,” “clean breath,” and “intro” versions of the advertisement being shown nationally. In the commercials, Kaela struts up a black-and-white staircase and hits...

On August 7th it has been announced that Ayabie will be forming a new band to “conduct smooth band activities”. The four members are Yumehito (G), Takehito (G), Intetsu (B) and Kenzo (Dr). Yet they will not perform a last live with the original line up. Each of the members has also left a comment...

Utada Hikaru has announced that she will release a new singles collection this fall, before taking an indefinite break from music at the start of next year. The singer, who started her career more than 15 years ago, explained that she has neglected part of her personal growth, so she felt that it was necessary...

Ayumi Hamasaki  recently announced that she will release her 49th and 50th singles on consecutive weeks next month. On Sunday, it was learned that the first of those two songs, titled “crossroad,” will be a collaboration with producer Tetsuya Komuro . Hamasaki approached Komuro with the idea back in April. Komuro agreed, and he composed...

Actor Takeru Sato (21) has landed his first starring role in a drama series. He will play a high school student in the NTV drama “Q10″ this fall, using an original script by Izumi Kizara (“Nobuta wo Produce”). Sato plays Heita, an ordinary high school boy with a kind heart but no real interest in...

Its too sudden for us too knew Kamei,JunJun,and LinLin graduate from Morning Musume.According to a recent blog entry by Tsunku there will be 9th generation auditions as a result of Kamei, Jun Jun and Lin Lin’s graduation. An official site has been opened shortly after the announcement with more details. The site features rules and...

According to a recent entry on Tsunku’s blog Kamei Eri, Jun Jun, and Lin Lin will graduate from Morning Musume and Hello! Project. Kamei Eri will graduate due to a skin condition problem which she has had for some time and after talking with doctors she has decided to graduate from Morning Musume and Hello!...

Directed by Sato Shinsuke and starring Arashi’s Ninomiya Kazunari and actor Matsuyama Kenichi , the cast of the movie GANTZ attended a press conference on the 5th to announce the post-production progress of the film. The press conference was held at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo’s Uchisaiwaichou. Fellow cast members including Yoshitaka Yuriko and Yamada...

Miki Nakatani will once again be playing an unfortunate woman in her next major movie role. She has been cast as the star of “Hankyu Densha,” a movie adaptation of the novel of the same name by Hiro Arikawa (“Toshokan Sensou”). Erika Toda has also been cast. “Hankyu Densha” tells the story of various people...

Male duo, WaT, will release a new single “24/7 ~Mouichido~” on September 8th. Unlike their latest PV, “Kimi ga Boku ni Kiss wo shita” (released on July 28th), which was full of cuteness, the PV for the new single will be more adult and have an image of night, in which both Teppei and Wentz...

A 30th anniversary event for popular animation Gundam, titled “GUNDAM SUPER HERO EXPO TOKYO 2010″, will be open to public starting on August 10th in the Tokyo Dome City Prism Hall. For this celebration event, a number of big name artists and celebrities will participate in a project titled “Gunpura ...

From August 1st, AKB48′s sister-unit SDN48 are starring in the AKB48 stage play in Akihabara, Tokyo and their CD debut has now been decided. On August 1st they held a commemoration event for their debut and together with former AKB48 member Noro Kayo all 37 members stood on stage. “There is an announcement from SDN48...

Multiple news outlets are reporting today that actress Yu Aoi (24) and actor Nao Omori (38) are in a relationship. Since January, rumors have been circulating after the two were seen on a date at an oden restaurant, and photos of them on a group date were published in Nikkan Sports in late July. Omori...

Boy band Arashi released a new album on Wednesday, titled “Boku no Miteiru Fuukei.” In its first day of sales, fans bought 275,000 copies, setting a new personal record for the group. Last year, their “All the BEST! 1999-2009″ collection set their previous record with 261,000 copies in its first day. That album went on...