Free announcer Mari Watanabe is reportedly dating Shugo Fujii, a pitcher for the Yakult Swallows. The latest issue of Weekly Post revealed the relationship, along with a picture of the two kissing in a car while stopped at an intersection.

Watanabe, however, denied the relationship, saying that they have been friends for a long time. According to her, they are not dating, and there are certainly no plans for marriage.

Fujii was drafted into the league in 2000. Before he entered the pros, he married a classmate from Waseda University, but they divorced in 2003.

Actress and pianist Nao Matsushita held her first performance with an orchestra at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space on Sunday. At the event, she announced that she plans to graduate from the Tokyo College of Music this summer.

Matsushita began playing piano at the age of 3. She entered the Tokyo College of Music in 2004 and initially was expecting to graduate this spring, but because of her busy schedule last year, her plans had to be postponed.

On Sunday, Matsushita performed Mozart's "Piano Concerto No. 20" and a piece of her own. She was accompanied by the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra.

A preview screening for "Kiiroi Namida" was held on Sunday at the Tokyo International Forum. The movie, which opens in theaters on the 14th, stars popular idol group Arashi as a group of young dreamers in the 1960s.

At the event, Masaki Aiba announced that he would be making his solo debut. Fellow member Jun Matsumoto asked in response, "Is that an April Fools' joke?"

In the movie, Aiba plays the role of aspiring singer Shoichi Inoue. The film's soundtrack (which goes on sale on April 4) includes Arashi's "Namida no Nagareboshi," as well as a "Shoichi Inoue version" of the song in which Aiba performs solo.

Aiba also truthfully announced that he is planning to perform the solo version, including playing the guitar, at Arashi's upcoming dome concerts (Kyocera Dome Osaka on April 21-22, Tokyo Dome on April 29-30).

Keisuke Kuwata of Southern All Stars recently resumed his solo career after a five-year hiatus. His first new single will be a ballad titled "Ashita Hareru Kana." The song has been chosen as the theme for the upcoming drama series, "Proposal Daisakusen," which begins on April 16. Kuwata himself will appear during the ending of each episode, singing the theme song.

The lyrics express a positive message of believing in oneself even when feeling discouraged. The accompanying music is rich, with more than 40 musicians having participated in the recording.

"Ashita Hareru Kana" will be released on May 16. The single will also include "Konna Boku de Yokattara," which is being used in commercials for American Express, and "Otokotachi no Elegy."

Actress Pinko Izumi, perhaps best known as Satsuki Kojima in the "Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari" drama series, is set to star in her first kung fu film.

The film, directed by Issei Oda, is titled "Kung fu-kun." Izumi plays the manager of a Chinese restaurant named Koraku (the name is taken from "Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari" with permission from that drama's screenwriter, Sugako Hashida). The other protagonist of the story is a young boy attending a Shaolin martial arts school in China. He defeats a series of foes as part of the school's training, and learns that his final enemy is in Japan. In his pursuit of the enemy, he encounters the Koraku restaurant.

The actor playing the young boy is 7-year-old Zhang Zhuang, who actually does attend a Shaolin school in China. He was selected from an audition of 2,000 people.

Filming already began on March 15. The movie is scheduled for release this spring.