The Danish film "Strings," which premiered internationally in 2004, is a fantasy film whose cast is composed of marionettes. A Japanese version is scheduled to open on April 28. Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (of SMAP) and actress Miki Nakatani star as voice actors, while Hideaki Anno is directing the cast and Keishi Nagatsuka is handling the dramatization.

The new version will not be a typical film dub, as Anno has partially rewritten the script to better reach a Japanese audience. The film's official Japanese title is "Strings ~Ai to Kizuna no Tabiji~."

Idol Azusa Yamamoto will make her singing debut on March 7 when she releases a new version of "Lum no Love Song," the original theme song to the anime series "Urusei Yatsura." The single will be coupled with a new version of "Uchuu wa Taihen da!", the original ending theme of the same series. The accompanying DVD will include a music video with Yamamoto dressed as Lum.

Singer Seiko Matsuda has entered into a new collaboration with her former agency Sun Music. Matsuda was with the agency for the first ten years of her career, leaving in 1989 to create her own agency, Fantic.

On December 19, Matsuda invited Sun Music president Hideyoshi Aizawa to her Christmas dinner show. It was the first time he heard her sing live in 17 years. They soon began talking about a partnership, and they have decided that Matsuda will release a new single in May, followed by a new album in June.

Singer Kaela Kimura (22) and rapper SU (33) of RIP SLYME are currently dating, according to weekly magazine Josei Seven. They first started going out around autumn 2005, and now are living in the same apartment though in separate rooms. Their agencies have apparently acknowledged the relationship.

SU has been married once before. However, representatives said that there has been no talk of marriage between the two.

Yuna Ito's new single "I'm Here" will be the theme song for the upcoming film, "Unfair the movie," which is based on the popular drama series from last year. Ito also sang the theme song for the series.

The movie stars Ryoko Shinohara and is directed by Yoshinori Kobayashi, who also directed the series. The movie opens in theaters on March 17. Ito's single goes on sale three days earlier on March 14. The coupling song, "Reason Why," is also used in the movie.

Lily Franky's best-selling novel "Tokyo Tower" has already been adapted as a drama special, a drama series, and an upcoming movie. And now, it is being adapted to the stage.

Masato Hagiwara will play the protagonist, while Mariko Kaga and Ryuzo Hayashi will play his parents. Director G2 will be in charge of the production.

Performances will begin at the end of June in northern Kyushu, and the play will move to Tokyo in July. There are also plans for performances in Osaka.

It was revealed on Wednesday that actress Kumiko Akiyoshi (52) is married. Her husband (26), who was born in Hawaii, is currently involved in graphics creation. The two first met at a friend's party in 2004, and in September of that year a photo weekly published pictures of them kissing.

They married in December 2004 but divorced the next summer. Neither event was known to the media. After their divorce, the two continued dating, and they remarried in February 2006.

Sakura-Con has announced four more guests of honor: writer Hideyuki Kurata, mangaka Kouta Hirano, mangaka Yasuhiro Nightow, and voice actress K.T. Gray.