Nikkan Gendai has reported that actress Pinko Izumi wants to leave the long-running drama series "Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari," which ends its eighth season this month.

Izumi plays the role of Satsuki Kojima, the second eldest of the five Okakura daughters. According to one source, Izumi is unhappy about the way the plot is developing with regard to her character.

Another source mentions an additional reason. Izumi appeared in the drama special "Saga no Gabai-baachan" which aired earlier this year. It is expected to be turned into a series in the future, and Izumi seems to prefer the role in that drama over her role in "Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari."

On Monday, talento Uno Kanda attended a press conference for a special television program that airs on Saturday. Kanda will join Chris Peppler, Don Konishi, and Kuro Erikawa in doing a fashion review of the recent Academy Awards.

During the event, Kanda mentioned that she will not be getting married this spring as was previously scheduled. She said that she was too busy with work to finish the preparations in time, so the ceremony has been postponed until the fall, likely in October or November.

Kanda's fiance is Takuro Nishimura, the CEO of the Nittaku Group. They announced their engagement last November.

It was revealed on Monday that businessman Yoshitaka Nojiri and popular model Ryoko Tanami have plans to marry this summer. Nojiri is the president of Take and Give Needs, a wedding services company. He has a history of going out with female celebrities, such as his brief relationship with Yumiko Shaku last summer. However, it looks like he has finally decided to settle down.

Actress/idol Yui Aragaki will appear in a new commercial for Asahi's Mitsuya Cider. The commercial's theme is youth, featuring Aragaki in the role of a student. It begins airing on Wednesday.

Actress/singer Kou Shibasaki and rock band Group Tamashii have announced that they are forming a new unit called "Group Tamashii ni Kou Shibasaki ga." Their debut single, "Omae Low Tension Girl," is the theme song for the upcoming movie, "Maiko Haaaan!!!"

Shibasaki and two of Group Tamashii's members, actor Sadao Abe and screenwriter Kankuro Kudo, are involved in the movie. Abe stars as Kimihiko Onizuka, a salaryman with a penchant for maikos (apprentice geishas), while Shibasaki plays the role of Onizuka's ex-girlfriend and co-worker. Kudo is in charge of the screenplay.

The movie will be released on June 16. The single will go on sale on June 13, but it will start playing in movie trailers this month.

The unique theater group Gekidan Taishu Shosetsuka has announced its 13th production. The play is called "Blue Blue Birthday" and will feature actor Issei Ishida in his first lead stage role in about 11 years. Co-starring with him is Hello! Project leader Yuko Nakazawa. Takashi Sumita and Kengo Okuchi also appear in the play.

Writer Yutaka Hirooka and director Yoshiyuki Yano have teamed up to create this somewhat dark comedy about a family that is taken hostage. 14 performances are scheduled from June 22 to July 2 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space. The official site is here.

Keiichiro Koyama of popular Johnny's group NEWS will star in his first musical this June. The production is based on the hit Disney television movie, "High School Musical." In January, Koyama attended a performance of the musical in Atlanta, Georgia, along with pop star Nami Tamaki, who will co-star with him. After seeing it, he stated that he wanted to make it popular in Japan too. The musical will open on June 12 at the Aoyama Theatre in Tokyo.

It was also reported that Koyama will be graduating from Meiji University this month.