Actress and singer Aya Ueto will star in Madhouse's animated film adaptation of Makoto Isshiki's popular manga, "Piano no Mori." She provides the voice for the protagonist, a young boy named Kai Ichinose who has a gift for playing the piano.

Child actor Ryunosuke Kamiki will play Shuhei Amamiya, Kai's friend and rival. The rest of the voice cast includes Hiroyuki Miyasako and Mayuko Fukuda. World-renowned pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy will also participate in the movie, handling the music for the piano scenes.

"Piano no Mori" opens on July 21.

Masami Nagasawa will appear in a new commercial for Lotte's Wanoshizuku ice cream treat. She will be seen dressed in kimono, playing a kotsuzumi (a small traditional hand drum). The commercial begins airing on the 21st.

The rumors of actress Mao Inoue starring in Fuji TV's Monday 9:00pm drama slot this summer have been confirmed. The series is tentatively titled "First Kiss" and begins airing on July 9.

Inoue takes on the role of Mio, a selfish brat. Because of an incurable illness, she lives in the U.S. for medical treatment, but she returns to Japan to visit her older brother (Hideaki Ito), whom she has been separated from since their parents' divorce. She discovers that he's become a good-for-nothing, employed at a show bar and fallen into debt.

Yuta Hiraoka plays the part of Mio's love interest, a medical trainee. Other cast members include Sadao Abe, Hitori Gekidan, and Naoto Takenaka. Popular writer Yumiko Inoue is in charge of the script.

Actor Kenji Sakaguchi and model Yuri Ebihara will appear together in two new commercials for Zespri Kiwifruit. The ads begin airing on the 19th.

Novelist Iori Fujiwara died of esophageal cancer on Thursday. He was 59.

Fujiwara received the Subaru Prize for Literature in 1985 for his "Dachshund no Warp." His mystery novel "Terrorist's Parasol" earned him the Edogawa Rampo Award in 1995 and the Naoki Prize in 1996.

Fujiwara announced two years ago that he had cancer, but he continued writing.