Actress Harumi Inoue gave birth to her first child on Sunday. The delivery took place at a hospital in Kumamoto, where her parents live.

Inoue has been married since September 2005 to a Canadian man who is working at an international school.

Today, Anime Expo 2007 announced yet another addition to its lineup of high-profile guests from Japan. Model, actress, and singer Anna Tsuchiya (best known among anime fans for her musical contributions to the "NANA" franchise) will attend this year's convention as an official Guest of Honor, and she will perform a one-hour concert at the Long Beach Arena on Saturday, June 30.

Fans have been mourning over the death of ZARD vocalist Izumi Sakai last week, and their support for the singer has resulted in several of her releases skyrocketing up the music charts. In particular, her "Golden Best ~15th Anniversary~" rose to #3 on the latest weekly Oricon albums chart.

The best album (released last October) started the week outside of Oricon's complete ranking chart, which tracks the top 300 sellers. The day after Sakai's death, the album shot up to #6, and rose to #3 the next day. It hovered near the top of the charts for the rest of the week.

According to Oricon's numbers for the whole week, "Golden Best" sold about 41,000 copies, placing it solidly in third. That sales figure represents a 60-fold increase from the album's sales the previous week.

This is the first time that an album has risen from outside of the Oricon chart into the Top 3, ever since December 2002 when Oricon expanded its charts to include the top 300.

Sakai's agency also mentioned that within the same week, about 10,000 fans visited the offices in Tokyo and Osaka to pay their respects.

Actress Ryoko Yonekura and male model Riku Otomo are appearing in a new commercial for Takano Yuri Beauty Clinic. Broadcast begins on the 8th.

Actor Hiroshi Tamaki, actress Rinko Kikuchi, and model Ai Tominaga have been appointed as the image characters for the new Mazda Demio. Later this month, a commercial featuring Tamaki will go on the air, followed by another commercial featuring all three celebrities starting in July.

Auto manufacturer Nissan has revealed the second artist collaboration for its "CUBE LOVES MUSIC" label. Ayaka and Kobukuro's "WINDING ROAD" proved to be a big hit earlier this year, and now Nissan is hoping that the combination of female duo Nanamusica and the Nodame Orchestra can produce a similar success.

The new Nissan Cube commercial, which begins airing on the 6th, will feature the song "Sora," sung by Nanamusica and accompanied by the Nodame Orchestra. The single is scheduled for release on July 18, and it will be accompanied by two more collaborative songs, "Kibou no Hoshi 2" and "Pegasus." The CM version of "Sora" will be released for mobile download on the same day the commercial is launched.

Actress Aya Okamoto is taking a break from show business. According to her agency, Ten Carat, she officially withdrew from work on May 31, saying that she wants time to reexamine herself. It is not known how much time she plans to take off.

Okamoto got her big break as a teen actress in 2001 when she starred in the NHK Asadora "Audrey." However, her image suffered a heavy blow last year when it was discovered that she was in the passenger seat of Shido Nakamura's car when he was caught for drunk driving.

News of actress Megumi Okina's retirement spread throughout the Japanese media last week, but it appears that the reports may have jumped the gun. While her contract with Parfit did end, she recently denied that she is retiring. She also said that certain comments attributed to her were false.

One entertainment critic conjectures that her agency may be trying to release Okina, as she might be viewed as a troublemaker due to her scandals and lack of work. According to the office, however, it was Okina who chose to not renew the contract because she said she was considering retirement.

Others in the industry believe she may have received an offer from another talent agency, and her announced retirement simply provided cover for negotiations to take place. Indeed, many find it unusual that she would retire just after filming ended for the horror movie "Shutter," which will serve as Okina's Hollywood debut next spring.

Based on Okina's comments, it seems she intends to continue with her career, at least for now.

Pianist and composer Kentaro Haneda died late on Saturday night from hepatocellular carcinoma. He was 58.

Also known by his nickname of "Haneken," he was widely popular and had his music featured in film, television, and video games. He had also been serving as the host of TV Asahi's "Daimei no Nai Ongakukai 21" since April 2000.

A mysterious new singer named ERIKA is set to release her first single, titled "FREE," on July 4. So far, all signs seem to indicate that the singer is actually actress Erika Sawajiri, who made her singing debut last year under the name of Kaoru Amane.

The singer and Sawajiri share the same name and the same birthdate (July 4, 1986). Pictures of the new artist on her official site look just like Sawajiri, and even her voice is said to be the same. The only discrepancy seems to be that ERIKA supposedly was born in a Paris suburb.

It is also said that ERIKA has been playing the guitar for almost her whole life. For her debut, she is sporting a specially-made Fender Telecaster with a surface bearing a design she created.

MTV Japan has scheduled a special program in early July in which ERIKA will make a guest appearance. The show will feature a special discussion between her and the host, who happens to be Sawajiri.