36-year-old rapper GAKU-MC (of hip-hop unit EAST END) got married on Tuesday. His wife is a 24-year-old model whom he has been dating for six years.

Satoru Hiura's popular shojo manga "Hotaru no Hikari" is being adapted into a drama series on NTV. The manga has been serialized in Kodansha's Kiss since 2004.

Haruka Ayase stars as the protagonist Hotaru Amemiya, a twenty-something office lady with no interest in love, and who prefers to spend her time lazily at home. But her lifestyle gets completely shaken up when she unexpectedly ends up living with her boss, and she begins to find romance with a new young employee named Makoto.

Naohito Fujiki and Ryoko Kuninaka are included in the cast. The series begins in July, and will air on Wednesdays at 10:00pm.

Promising young actress Sei Ashina has been given her first starring role. The movie is "Tatoe Sekai ga Owattemo," the first feature-length work by director Teruo Noguchi. Ashina plays a desperate young woman who gets sentenced for life.

Ashina gained international visibility when she was cast in Francois Girard's "Silk," which is being released later this year.

"Tatoe Sekai ga Owattemo" opens in theaters this August.

New Morning Musume leader Miki Fujimoto is the latest Hello! Project member to make the headlines. Photo tabloid FRIDAY reports that "Mikitty" has been dating comedian Tomoharu Shoji (of Shinagawa Shoji) since at least last autumn. Recently, the two have been spotted frequently together, and Fujimoto is said to have spent three consecutive nights at Shoji's residence in April.

Shoji's agency said that they are currently trying to verify the story, while Fujimoto's agency had no comment.

Ayumi Hamasaki has been chosen to sing the theme song for Hideo Nakata's new horror film, "Kaidan." The movie, which stars Kikunosuke Onoue V and Hitomi Kuroki, is based on a famous rakugo ghost story.

The theme song will be Hamasaki's rock ballad "fated," one half of her double A-side single "glitter / fated" that will be released on July 18. The song is planned to be used even for the film's releases overseas, which currently includes 50 countries.

"Kaidan" opens in Japan on August 4.

Shuntaro Tanikawa, one of the leading poets of Japan, is directing his first film. The story centers on the relationship between a man and woman who have suffered trauma in the past. It is based on a poem from the anthology "Zero ni Naru Karada" by Wakako Kaku, who is perhaps best known as the lyricist for the "Spirited Away" theme song, "Itsumo Nando Demo."

Machiko Ono and Teruyuki Kagawa star in the movie, which already ended filming in April. It was shot with a still camera, and the composition is said to resemble "kamishibai," a traditional form of storytelling through picture scrolls.

No details of a release date have yet been announced.

Director Naomi Kawase has revealed details of her next film. Tentatively titled "Sekaijuu ga Watashi wo Suki Dattara Ii no ni," the movie is described as a love comedy involving an ordinary office lady. Actress Kyoko Hasegawa has been chosen for the lead, which is her first starring role in a feature-length film.

Author Kyoko Inukai is in charge of the script. Filming will take place entirely in Thailand, starting in July. The theatrical release is scheduled for summer 2008.

Kawase is currently in France, as her "Mogari no Mori" is in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Actress and pianist Nao Matsushita is set to make her singing debut with the release of the single "Moonshine ~Tsukiakari~" on July 11. The song has also been chosen as the theme for the animated "Piano no Mori" movie, which opens in theaters later that month.

Matsushita, who is planning to graduate from the Tokyo College of Music this summer, made her CD debut as a pianist last October. This fall, she will release her second album, which will be half instrumental and half vocal.