Theater director Amon Miyamoto has once again set his sights on Broadway. In 2004, Miyamoto became the first Japanese director on Broadway with his revival of Stephen Sondheim's "Pacific Overtures," which received four Tony Award nominations. Now, he is directing a Japanese-language version of the musical "Take Flight," the most recent work by David Shire and Richard Maltby. The staff will include many other experienced Broadway talents, including librettist John Weidman.

"Take Flight" is about the the history of aviation, but more importantly, it is about the passion and initiative of early aviators. The primary character is Amelia Earhart, but Charles Lindbergh and the Wright brothers also appear.

For the role of Earhart, Miyamoto has chosen actress Yuki Amami. Amami is a former top star of the Takarazuka Revue and has performed in New York before, but not on Broadway. She retired from the Takurazuka troupe in 1995, and gradually shifted towards television and film. This will be her first stage performance since 2003, as well as her first musical since leaving the troupe.

The musical will first make its run in Japan. From November 24 to December 9, it will be at the Tokyo International Forum, then from December 13 to December 16, it will be at the Kitakyushu Performing Arts Center. After that, Miyamoto hopes to take the production to Broadway.

The first Tokyo Marathon was held on Sunday. Fuji TV's live broadcast of the event (from 9:00-11:40am) attracted an average viewer rating of 23.6%, with a peak rating of 31.3%.

Japan-based Kenyan runner Daniel Njenga was the first to cross the finish line, with a time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, and 45 seconds. Several TV celebrities also participated in the marathon, including owarai duo Asakusa Kid.

Actor Yosuke Kubozuka reportedly quit from his talent agency last month, intending to permanently leave show business. Last autumn, Kubozuka began performing at local lives and school festivals as a reggae artist under the name Manji LINE, according to magazine Josei Jishin. It seems that Kubozuka may settle into the reggae scene, along with his wife Non-chan, a former reggae dancer.

Kubozuka's final project as an actor is his starring role in the movie "Ore wa, Kimi no Tame ni Koso Shini ni Iku," which opens in May.

Actor Hiro Mizushima, best known as Souji Tendou in the recently completed "Kamen Rider Kabuto" television series, will take on an entirely different role in an upcoming TV Asahi drama special. The drama is titled "Kanojo to no Tadashii Asobikata." The original work was the winner of a contest held by TV Asahi last year for new scenario writers.

Mizushima plays the role of a high school student. When he and his selfish friend Yuna (Tomoka Kurokawa) were in grade school, they created a secret game between themselves in which they would play the roles of a princess and her servant. They continued the game since then, promising to keep playing until someone else found about it. Through this connection, a love story emerges.

TV Asahi will broadcast the drama on March 23 at 11:15pm. Nanamusica's "Ame Nochi Hare" has been chosen as the ending theme.

Comedian Kenji Matsutani, known as Ken of Mizutama Reppu Tai, was involved in an accident in Shibuya on Sunday afternoon. Matsutani was riding his motorcycle to the Lumine the Yoshimoto stage in Shinjuku, where he and his partner were scheduled to perform. Unfortunately, the road was wet from rain, and Matsutani's motorcycle slipped. He was taken to the hospital and treated for his wounds, receiving 13 stitches above his left eye. He intends to return to performing soon.

Details about the TBS spring drama "Kodoku no Kake ~Itoshiki Hito Yo~" have been revealed. Actor Hideaki Ito and actress Kyoko Hasegawa will play the lead roles.

The series is based on the novel by Junpei Gomikawa, which has previously been adapted as a drama twice and as a movie once. Although the novel is currently out of print, publisher Gentosha has decided to republish it in March.

The plot is described as a love story between a lonely man and woman. An ambitious young businessman named Daijiro (Ito) is building an empire in the night-time entertainment industry when he encounters a designer named Momoko (Hasegawa). She approaches him with a request for a loan of 20 million yen, using her own body as collateral.

The rest of the cast includes Haruka Igawa, Masato Sakai, Noriko Aota, and Saki Takaoka. The series airs in the Thursday 10:00pm time slot, starting in April.

Takeshi Nadagi of comedy group The Plan 9 emerged victorious at the R-1 Grand Prix, held on Sunday. At the end of the final round, Nadagi was tied for first place with Tutorial's Yoshimi Tokui, and the five judges proceeded to make a final decision by voting. Four of the judges voted for Nadagi.

At this year's Berlin International Film Festival, one Japanese film walked away with a prize. Actress Kaori Momoi's directorial debut, "Faces of a Fig Tree," was honored with the NETPAC Prize, as was the Filipino film "Tuli" by Auraeus Solito.

The award is an independent jury prize sponsored by the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema, and is given to an Asian film screened in the Forum section of the festival.

The complete list of awards at this year's festival can be found at the Berlinale site.