Mayumi Kajiwara, formerly of the idol group Shape Up Girls, became a mother on Tuesday. She gave birth to healthy twin boys, who were given the names Reo and Rei.

Kajiwara has been married to Hiromichi Kakuta, a golf shop owner, since 2004.

Music group sunny-side up, consisting of producer/guitarist Shogo Suho and two female vocalists, are releasing "egg one" on Wednesday. This is their first single under Rosso Records, an independent label they created.

The single includes three songs. One of them, titled "end of the world," carries a message of peace. Suho said that he wanted to convey that "it isn't just about our own futures, but also those of our children."

Suho decided to create a "charity music video" for the song. Using his connections in the entertainment industry, he gathered 44 prominent celebrities to appear in the video holding handwritten messages of peace. All of them agreed to participate for free. The resulting video can be purchased online, beginning on April 4, with all of the proceeds going to the charity organization Save the Children Japan.

The celebrities appearing include Hiromi Go, Norika Fujiwara, Yukie Nakama, and WaT. Suho also decided that the handwritten messages used in the video will be sold in a charity auction on Rakuten. Three of the boards will be sold weekly over the course of 15 weeks, starting on the 4th.

15-year-old actress and singer Mitsuki Takahata has been chosen to sing the theme song for NTV's drama, "Sexy Voice and Robo," which stars Kenichi Matsuyama and Suzuka Ohgo. Takahata made the news last month when Kentaro Kobuchi (of Kobukuro) announced that he was producing her debut single, "Taisetsu na Mono."

The drama's theme song is titled "Hitotsu Dake." It was written and composed by Toshihide Baba, and Kobuchi handled the arrangement and production. The song will be included on the "Taisetsu na Mono" single, which goes on sale on June 20.

Actor and talento Mieharu (40) got married on Tuesday. His wife, Yukiko (30), is a former office worker. The two have been dating for four or five years.

Mieharu's agency said that they had heard he was getting married, but they had not heard about the date. A press conference is expected to be held this week.

Actress Saeko will become a radio host for the first time. She will be in charge of a new program on Tokyo FM titled "Ameba Saeko's Chat!" The show is scheduled for late Friday nights (3:00am), starting on the 6th.

The 16th Japan Movie Critics Awards were held on March 27, and the full list of winners has finally been released online. Takashi Koizumi's "Hakase no Aishita Sushiki" was awarded the title of Best Picture, while Eiji Okuda won Best Director for his "A Long Walk."

Kenji Sawada was named Best Actor for his performance in "Shiawase no Switch." Eri Fukatsu earned Best Actress for her appearance in "Hakase no Aishita Sushiki."

Shota Matsuda ("A Long Walk") and Rei Dan ("Love and Honor") received Best New Actor and Best New Actress, respectively.

The full list can be seen in the forums.

NHK's morning dramas are continuing to struggle in the ratings. Following on the heels of "Imotako Nankin," which concluded with the third lowest average (16.8%) in Asadora history, the network's new series "Dondo Bare" recorded the lowest ever ratings for the first episode.

"Dondo Bare" started airing on Monday (April 2), and on Tuesday, Video Research Ltd. announced that the first episode had only recorded a 14.9% rating (14.2% in the Kansai area).

The research firm has collected data since 1964. The previous lowest rating for an Asadora's first episode was 16.9% by the 2005 series "Fight," which also happened to end with the second lowest average in history (16.7%). "Dondo Bare" also achieved the record low in the Kansai region, which was previously held by last year's "Junjo Kirari" (14.6%).