Actress Satomi Ishihara has been appointed as Sega's image character for 2007. She will appear in commercials for the company starting on the 10th.

At the end of last month, rumors began circulating that actress Megumi Okina is romantically involved with Kenji Kasahara, president of the massive social networking site Mixi. On Wednesday, Okina officially denied the relationship, saying that she doesn't even know Kasahara personally. She also repeated her denial of earlier reports that she was retiring from showbiz.

Okina's former husband Susumu Fujita, who is the president of Cyber Agent and a friend of Kasahara, made a similar statement. He said that when he heard the news, he mailed Kasahara with his best wishes, but Kasahara replied that he had never even met Okina.

NEWS member Keiichiro Koyama will take on his first voice acting role this summer.

On September 17, Fuji TV will broadcast a Japanese dub of "High School Musical 2," which premieres on the Disney Channel in the U.S. on August 17. Koyama is currently starring as Troy Bolton in the Japanese stage musical for the first movie. He and other cast members will reprise their roles, providing the voices for the movie sequel.

19-year-old actress Eri Murakawa, who starred in the NHK Asadora series "Kaze no Haruka," has landed her first stage role. She will play the female lead in "Utahime," a production by theater group Tokyo Seleccion Deluxe. It is being directed by the group's leader, actor Takayuki Takuma, who writes and directs under the name Mikio Satake. The play runs from the 11th until August 5 at the Shinjuku Theater Sun-Mall.

On Tuesday, popular singer Noriyuki Makihara transferred from the Toshiba EMI label to Avex.

"GREEN DAYS," his first single since the switch, is scheduled to go on sale on August 15. The song is being used as the theme for the new Fuji TV drama series, "Ushi ni Negai wo: Love & Farm," which also premiered on Tuesday. The single will also be coupled with a new version of his 1991 hit, "Donna Toki mo."