Yoshimi Tokui and Mitsunori Fukuda of comedy duo Tutorial have landed their first regular appearances on Tokyo television. Starting in April, the two will appear on NTV's singing audition program "Utasta!!"

The Osaka-based duo formed in 1998. In December 2006, they took first place at the M-1 Grand Prix.

Actress Yasuko Matsuyuki, who starred in last year's hit movie "Hula Girl," has been cast in her first musical. She will play the lead role as Sally Bowles in the 1966 Broadway classic "Cabaret."

"Cabaret" has already had several runs in Japan. The most recent one was in 2004, starring Miki Maya and Kazukiyo Nishikiori.

The new production will be directed by Suzuki Matsuo. Sadao Abe will play the role of the Emcee, and a young actor is planned to be cast as the writer Clifford.

Performances are scheduled for October at Tokyo's Aoyama Theatre and Nagoya's Aichi Pension Hall. In November, the musical will be performed at the Osaka Pension Hall.

Haruka Ayase will serve as the new commercial character for Glico's popular ice cream product Giant Cone. The commercial begins airing on March 24.

Actor/singer Yuji Oda will sing the theme song for his new drama series "Joudan Janai!" He has not sung an original theme song since "Sonna Mon Darou" for the 2002 series "Midnight Rain."

Oda's new song is titled "Hug, Hug" and is written by Satori Shiraishi. The CD single will be released on April 25, exactly twenty years after his debut single, "Boom Boom Boom / Hold You Tight."

Singer/actress Sayuri Iwata has been appointed the commercial character for take-out bento chain Hokka Hokka Tei. In the new commercial, Iwata plays the role of a new part-timer at the shop. Broadcast begins on the 9th.

Actress Kumiko Goto, wife of former F1 racer Jean Alesi, gave birth to the couple's third child in a Swiss hospital on February 26. The boy was named John Ryuji.

A few days later, on March 3, announcer Eriko Nakamura gave birth to her second child in France.

It was also recently discovered that Chiharu Tamashiro of the duo Kiroro is pregnant with her second child. She is due in August.

Singer-songwriter Ayaka, who won several awards for best new artist of 2006, has created her first theme song for a movie. The film, titled "Last Love," stars Masakazu Tamura in his first movie in 14 years. Actress Misaki Ito plays the heroine.

The theme song is a ballad called "Jewelry Day." Ayaka explains that it refers to "days that seem to sparkle like gems." The CD single will be released jointly with the movie, which hits theaters in June.

The 2006-2007 Race Queen of the Year award was presented on Wednesday at the KDDI Designing Studio in Jingu-mae, Tokyo. This year, the prize went to 24-year-old ZENT race queen Midori Yamasaki. Yamasaki remarked that even though "moe" and "pocchari" looks have become more popular among race queens, she aimed to maintain her style.

Previous winners of the award include Miho Yoshioka (2000-2001) and Chisato Morishita (2001-2002).

While Ayumi Hamasaki is enjoying the top two spots on the Oricon album charts, Hikaru Utada is delivering a one-two punch of her own. This past week, Utada stood atop the iTunes Store singles ranking, with "Flavor of Life" at #1 and the alternate "Flavor of Life -Ballad Version-" at #2. Meanwhile, the CD single is also #1 on the Oricon singles charts.

On Tuesday, a preview screening for "Argentine Hag" was held in Tokyo. The main cast (Koji Yakusho, Kyoka Suzuki, Maki Horikita) and director Naoki Nagao attended the event.

Before the cast introduced the film, Horikita engaged in her first book reading, reciting an excerpt from the original work by author Banana Yoshimoto. After finishing, she asked the audience how she did, and was met with enthusiastic applause from the crowd of approximately 2,000 attendees.

"Argentine Hag" is scheduled for release on March 24.

Popular actress and singer Kou Shibasaki will sing the theme song for the movie "Sono Toki wa Kare ni Yoroshiku," which stars Masami Nagasawa. Both actresses worked together previously for the hit film "Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World."

"Sono Toki" is a romance story based on the novel by Takuji Ichikawa, who also wrote "Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu." Popular young actors Takayuki Yamada and Takashi Tsukamoto co-star in the movie with Nagasawa.

Shibasaki's song, titled "Prism," is scheduled to be released on CD in conjunction with the movie, which hits theaters on June 2.

Johnny's band TOKIO will release a new single on March 28. The song, titled "Run Free," is written by rock singer Yoshihiro Kai. The last time Kai wrote a song for another artist was three years ago.

"Run Free" will be used as the image song for Fuji TV's broadcast of the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships, which is being held in Tokyo on March 20-25. TOKIO's Taichi Kokubun has been appointed as a main caster for the broadcast, and the other members are scheduled to appear on the program as special guests.

For her new Oronamin C commercial, Aya Ueto will team up with figure skater Daisuke Takahashi. This is his first appearance in a commercial.

The two will appear as co-workers. The highlight of the commercial is Takahashi performing a jump after misunderstanding an order from Ueto. Broadcast begins on the 10th.