On Thursday, a press conference was held for the new anime/variety show, "Anime Lobby," which will air on Sunday mornings (9:30am) on TV Tokyo, starting April 1. Hello! Project member Nozomi Tsuji attended the event to promote the "Robby & Kerobby" anime series being shown on the program.

Tsuji will be a voice actor on "Robby & Kerobby." She plays the role of Athena, an announcer in the fictional world of Robbys Land. She also sings the opening theme of the anime, which is a solo version of Morning Musume's "Koko ni Iruzee!"

At the end of the press conference, one reporter asked Tsuji how she felt about the recent scandals of Ai Kago, who was her partner in the idol duo W. Tsuji appeared troubled for a moment, but gave no comment on the situation.

Comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto (of Downtown) has revealed the main cast for his directorial debut, "Dainipponjin." The film was publicly announced in January, but Matsumoto refused to discuss the cast, the plot, or even the genre. At that time, the movie had already reached the editing stage, as filming had been completed in secret last year.

Matsumoto serves as the planner, screenwriter, director, and lead actor for the film. Joining him in the cast are Ryunosuke Kamiki, Riki Takeuchi, Itsuji Itao and singer UA.

A date has also been set for the movie's release. It will open on June 2, the same date as "Kantoku Banzai!" by fellow comedian Takeshi Kitano. Posters for "Dainipponjin" are expected to start appearing in theaters on March 31.

Actress/photographer Konomi Mashita gave birth to her first child on March 16. Mashita, who gained popularity as a child actress in the '80s, suffers from antiphospholipid syndrome, which can cause pregnancy-related problems. She was expecting a baby in May of last year, but lost it due to complications.

Mashita named the newborn girl Menoa.

Actress Masami Nagasawa will serve as a radio personality for the first time on the Nippon Broadcasting System. The program will be broadcast on Sundays at 10:00pm, starting on April 8.

Currently, the show is untitled. In an unprecedented move, the station will be asking listeners to come up with a name, and the show will remain untitled until Nagasawa chooses one that she likes.

Tatsuya Yamguchi of TOKIO is the new commercial character for the energy drink Lipovitan D (produced by Taisho Pharmaceutical Co.). He represents the 15th generation of commercials for the drink, which was first released in the 1960s. The brand is now well known for the slogan "Fight! Ippatsu!" that first appeared 30 years ago.

Filming took place over eight days earlier this month in Oahu, Hawaii. The commercial features Yamaguchi kitesurfing, which he had never done before.

Martial artist and actor Kane Kosugi will also appear in the new commercial. Broadcast begins on April 1.

Popular model Yuri Ebihara will appear in a commercial to promote a new McDonald's offering.

Ebihara is already the image character for the restaurant's Ebi Filet-O shrimp burger, which has been wildly successful. Since its debut in October 2005, more than 100 million of them have been sold. Now McDonald's is introducing the Basil Ebi Filet-O, which will be sold only between April 6 and May 6.

Ebihara's new commercial will begin airing on April 4.

14-year-old Rio Yamashita has been chosen as the 12th-generation Rehouse Girl, which means that she will appear in commercials for real estate company Mitsui Rehouse. This position has helped several young actresses make their big break, including Kaho, Yu Aoi, Chizuru Ikewaki, and Rie Miyazawa.

Yamashita, who is from Tokushima, will start her third year of junior high school next month.

The new commercials are scheduled to begin broadcasting at the end of this month.

Non-profit organization Subtitle Media is holding its first annual Subtitle Film Festival presented by Wells Fargo. The event will take place on April 12-15 at the new MPARK4 Theatres in Los Angeles' Koreatown. Nine Asian films will be screened over the four days.

The list includes three Japanese films: Yukihiko Tsutsumi's "Memories of Tomorrow," Toshiaki Toyoda's "Kuchu Teien" (also known as "Hanging Garden"), and Miwa Nishikawa's "Yureru" (also known as "Sway"). The remaining six films come from Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Thailand.

Tickets are $8 in advance online or $10 at the box office on the day of the screening. For the schedule and more information, see the Subtitle Media website.

On Thursday, Fuji TV announced the addition of two more regular guests to its popular variety show, "Waratte Iitomo." The first is idol, singer, and actress Yoko Minamino, who has never been a regular on a commercial variety show during the 23 years since her debut. The second is popular idol and talento Aki Hoshino.

Hoshino will be a Monday regular, starting on April 2. Meanwhile, Minamino will appear on Wednesdays, beginning on April 4.

Actress Aoi Miyazaki will appear in a new commercial for the Tokyo Metro system. The tie-in song is "Tales" by hip-hop group RIP SLYME. The two previously worked together in 2004 when Miyazaki appeared in the music video for "Dandelion."

The commercial begins airing on April 1. No release date has yet been set for the new single.