Former SPEED member Eriko Imai and 175R vocalist SHOGO are reportedly living in separation, says the latest issue of Josei Seven.

The two apparently had a fight, and it led to Imai leaving the house at the end of last year. She took their two-year-old son and moved to an apartment outside Tokyo.

Imai has recently been busy developing her solo music career (under the name "elly"). Because of her schedule, SHOGO has said that he wants to raise the child, but Imai has refused. It seems that they are trying to avoid a divorce, but the result may be inevitable.

The couple got married in June 2004 when Imai was six months pregnant.

Mr.Children has been chosen to sing the theme song for "Koizora," the film adaptation of a mobile novel by author Mika. The song will be called "Tabidachi no Uta."

"Koizora" stars Yui Aragaki as a high schooler who faces many painful experiences, such as bullying, rape, and abortion. The supporting cast includes Keisuke Koide and Haruma Miura. TBS director Natsuki Imai is taking the helm.

The movie opens on November 3. No release date has been announced yet for Mr.Children's single.

Oricon asked 1,000 men and women who they thought was the most beautiful female character in manga.

At the top of the list was the charming but deadly Fujiko Mine of "Lupin III" fame. She was the only character ranked in the top five among both female and male respondents (#1 by women, #2 by men).

Sweetheart Minami Asakura from "Touch" was ranked second, receiving strong support from the male audience. Tied for third were Sailor Moon and Nana Osaki of "NANA."

Maetel from "Galaxy Express 999" came in fifth, beating out Reika Ryuzaki (aka Ochofujin) from "Ace wo Nerae!" Lady Oscar ("The Rose of Versailles"), Lum ("Urusei Yatsura"), Ran Mori ("Case Closed"), and Nami ("One Piece") rounded out the top ten.

In honor of Tanabata, which is based on the story of Orihime and Hikoboshi, Oricon surveyed 2,000 people, asking which married celebrity couple seems to have sworn eternal love.

The #1 answer was Norika Fujiwara and Tomonori Jinnai, the most publicized marriage in quite some time. The two received more than a fourth of the votes, easily beating out the competition.

Mika Mifune and George Takahashi, who have now been married for 9 years, ranked second. While that choice isn't too surprising, third place is a bit of a shock: newlywed couple Nozomi Tsuji and Taiyo Sugiura. Despite the scandal surrounding their marriage, the public has apparently gotten the impression that theirs is a case of true love.

The rest of the top ten are: Otoha and Takashi Fujii; Nanako Matsushima and Takashi Sorimachi; Shizuka Kudo and Takuya Kimura; Momoe Yamaguchi and Tomokazu Miura; Jaguar Yokota and Hirokatsu Kinoshita; Chisato Moritaka and Yosuke Eguchi; Aoi Miyazaki and Sousuke Takaoka.

The popular blog "Bokutachi to Chuzai-san no 700 Nichi Senso" is being turned into a movie, starring Hayato Ichihara. Renpei Tsukamoto is directing and Yuichi Fukuda ("Cocorico Miracle Type") is in charge of the script.

The blog started in March 2006, mixing truth and fiction to tell the story of a group of high school brats who wage a war of pranks against one of the residents in their rural town. This past June, the site reached a total of 5 million hits.

Ichihara plays "Mamachari," the leader of the group, while Kuranosuke Sasaki plays the target "Chuzai-san."

Filming begins in the middle of this month. The target release date is April 5, 2008.

Music producer Tetsuya Komuro is no longer affiliated with Yoshimoto Kogyo. His contract with the agency ended in June, after over six years. It appears that the cost of the contract was the major factor of the decision, but both parties are said to be satisfied with the result.

Singer-songwriter YUI has been put in charge of the theme for "Closed Note," the new film by Isao Yukisada. The movie opens on September 29 and the song, titled "LOVE & TRUTH," will hit stores in the fall.

"Closed Note" is based on a mobile novel by Shusuke Shizukui. Erika Sawajiri and Yuko Takeuchi star in the film.