Former Judy and Mary vocalist YUKI will sing the theme song for TBS's comedy "Papa to Musume no Nanokakan," which stars Hiroshi Tachi and Yui Aragaki. The song is titled "Hoshikuzu Sunset," and the single goes on sale August 8.

Judy and Mary have produced theme songs for a drama series before ("Sanpomichi" in "News no Onna," "Lucky Pool" in "2001 no Otoko Un"), but this is YUKI's first since the band broke up in 2001 and she became a solo artist.

BoA is appearing in a new commercial for the Toshiba au W53T. The ad, which begins airing on the 15th, shows BoA in a one-piece and high heels, emphasizing a more mature look for the singer.

Singer Chihiro Yonekura announced on her official website that she got married last month. She said that her husband, a concert staff member, has been an important source of support for her. They registered their marriage on May 25, then held their ceremony and reception the following day.

Young actor Kazuki Enari is suing the publishers of two tabloids, Nikkan Gendai and Naigai Times, for defamation of character. Both magazines ran a story in April claiming that the actor was visiting a brothel in Tokyo every night. Enari's agency has called the story completely groundless, and Enari is seeking compensation in the form of 22 million yen and published apologies.

Singer Noriyuki Makihara will sing the theme song for the Fuji TV drama series, "Ushi ni Negai wo: Love & Farm," which starts on July 3. The song, titled "GREEN DAYS," is Makihara's first drama theme in two years. A release date for the single has not yet been announced.

Meanwhile, rock band EXILE will be in charge of the theme for another Fuji TV series, "Yama Onna Kabe Onna," starring Misaki Ito and Kyoko Fukada. The song is titled "Toki no Kakera" and will go on sale August 29. This is the band's first theme for a Fuji TV drama, but they got their break six years ago when their debut single "Your eyes only" was an insert song on the network's "Dekichatta Kekkon" series.

Model Shintaro Yamada, the younger brother of actress Yu Yamada, will make his acting debut this summer. He will play a high school student in TBS's "Yamada Taro Monogatari," which stars Arashi members Kazunari Ninomiya and Sho Sakurai. The drama series begins on July 6.

Yamada made his debut as a fashion model just last summer. He also began training at an acting school last year, and he completed his studies this past March.

It is also reported that he has landed a role in a movie being released next year. Although he is aiming to build an acting career, he plans to continue working as a model.

This summer, Kenji Nakazawa's manga "Hadashi no Gen" (also known as "Barefoot Gen") will be adapted as a television drama for the first time.

The story focuses on life in Hiroshima in the aftermath of the atomic bomb, and is partly based on Nakazawa's own experience as a survivor of the bombing. The powerful story has sold millions of copies, and has been translated into many other languages across the world. It was also made into three live-action films, two animated films, and an animated TV series.

Kiichi Nakai and Yuriko Ishida will star in the drama as the parents of the young boy Gen. The role of Gen will be played by 10-year-old Ren Kobayashi, who was chosen from a pool of 80 candidates.

The two-part drama will air on Fuji TV at 9:00pm on August 10-11.

Oricon asked 900 working men and women in their 20s to 40s, "Which celebrity would you want as a secretary?" Participants were asked to choose a celebrity from the opposite sex.

For men, popular model Yuri Ebihara ranked first, beating out Kaori Manabe, Norika Fujiwara, Masami Nagasawa, and Nanako Matsushima, in that order.

For women, the #1 choice was Teppei Koike, followed by Kotaro Koizumi. Tied for third were Takuya Kimura, Koichi Domoto, Hiroshi Tamaki, and Sho Sakurai.

Composer Kyohei Tsutsumi is getting a tribute album released on July 11. Titled "popular music," it will contain 12 of his hits, covered by artists such as Hitomi Shimatani, Bonnie Pink, Hideaki Tokunaga, Tsunku, and Masafumi Akikawa. The release will also be the first tribute album for a song composer in Japan.

In Tsutsumi's 41-year career as a composer, he has handled approximately 3,000 songs. More than 75 million copies of his hits have been sold. 551 of them have made the charts, with 39 of them reaching #1.

The album will include songs like "Blue Light Yokohama" (sung by Kou Shibasaki), "Mata Au Hi Made" (covered by Crazy Ken Band), and "Miserarete."

Actress Chiaki Kuriyama is appearing in a new commercial for the Panasonic P904i. The ad features her in a variety of colorful outfits. Broadcast begins on the 22nd.

Actress Junko Mihara and talento Happy Happy (formerly known as Koala of the comedy duo Animal Teidan) are getting divorced. They got married in 1999, but recent suspicions of Happy Happy having an affair have led Mihara to seek separation.

Earlier this year, Mihara was away from home for months due to work. After hearing reports that her husband was seen in Tokyo with another woman, she returned home, only to find that her husband had been staying elsewhere.