Actor Sho Aikawa will star in a stage version of the jidaigeki masterpiece, "Zatoichi," which has been the basis for many works in cinema, television, and theater. Although Aikawa has starred in more than a hundred films, this is surprisingly his first time taking the lead in a play.

Other cast members include Sadao Abe, Hiroyuki Nagato, and Kenichi Endo.

The production will be directed by Takashi Miike. It opens on December 3 at Tokyo's Shinjuku Koma Stadium. It will then move to the Umeda Arts Theater in Osaka on December 20, followed by a run at the Aichi Pension Hall in Nagoya starting on January 4.

Aya Ueto has been chosen as the new image character of KOSE's mascara brand FASIO. She will appear in commercials starting on August 1.

Guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei is currently in trouble for physically assaulting writer and rock singer Ko Machida. The two have been friends for many years, but they apparently got into a dispute over music.

On June 13, the two men and a few other people stayed at Hotei's vacation house in Chiba. On the morning of the 14th, they returned to Tokyo in the same car, but got into an argument along the way. The two have worked together many times before, and they recently began talking about forming a band together. However, it seems they had differing opinions about the direction of the project, causing the passionate Hotei to become violent.

On the 18th, Machida filed a report with the Chiba police, after obtaining a medical certificate saying that wounds to his face and upper body would take two weeks to heal. Although Hotei had already apologized for the attack, Machida insisted on taking the matter to the police.

Hotei's agency has sent out a media release apologizing for his actions, but added that he wasn't the only one using violence. Hotei is currently giving his statement to the police.

On Thursday, Venice Film Festival president Davide Croff and director Marco Muller revealed the line-up for this year's festival, which runs from August 29 to September 8.

One Japanese film has been chosen to be in competition: Takashi Miike's "Sukiyaki Western Django."

Two other movies from Japan will be screened at the festival. Takeshi Kitano's "Kantoku Banzai!" will be shown out of competition, and Shinji Aoyama's "Sad Vacation" will open the Orizzonti segment.

Rumors have surfaced that actress Rosa Kato and KAT-TUN member Jin Akanishi are currently dating. According to weekly tabloid FRIDAY, Akanishi once spent 17 hours at Kato's apartment.

In May, the magazine spotted Akanishi driving Kato home after a meal. Then earlier this month, he reportedly stayed over at her place for 17 hours, and continued visiting during the following week.

Kato was recently rumored to be dating actor Hiroshi Tamaki, but they are said to have broken up. Kato's agency says that she's friends with both Tamaki and Akanishi, and denies that she has dated either of them. As for the alleged 17-hour stay, her agency stated that he was simply one of a group of friends having a party there. Akanishi's agency also says that the two are just friends.

Summer is the season of hanabi (fireworks), so naturally, research firm Oricon set out to see which celebrities people would want to enjoy a fireworks display with.

Masaharu Fukuyama is as popular as ever, receiving the most votes from the women surveyed. #2 was actor Hiroshi Tamaki, who has seen a sizable boost in popularity within the past year. Other top choices were Koichi Domoto, Shun Oguri, and Joe Odagiri (tied with Oguri for fifth).

Men preferred singer Ai Otsuka as their #1, outranking even the current survey queen, Masami Nagasawa. Saki Aibu, Aya Ueto, and Haruka Ayase rounded out the top five.

Oricon separately surveyed a thousand men and women (500 of each sex), asking them which celebrities they would like to copy in terms of summer fashion.

The #1 choice among women was singer aiko, beating out popular model Yuri Ebihara. Tied for third were talento YOU and pop princesses Ayumi Hamasaki and Namie Amuro.

Meanwhile, men are still apparently aiming to copy the cool style of Takuya Kimura. Second choice was Masaharu Fukuyama, followed by Tsuyoshi Domoto, George Tokoro, and Satoshi Tsumabuki.

On July 12, Tokyo FM launched its digital studio presence in the virtual world Second Life, developed by Linden Lab. In doing so, it became the first Japanese broadcaster to release radio broadcasts in that world.

The "physical" studio is in development by Japanese virtual construction company Melting Dots.

As part of its launch campaign, Tokyo FM has been giving away original headphones within the virtual world; users who equip their avatars with the headphones gain access to a selection of the broadcaster's radio programs. Tokyo FM has further plans in store for the studio, including special events inside Second Life.

It was discovered on Wednesday that pop duo Puffy AmiYumi is participating in a new international ad campaign by clothing company Gap. Starting on the 30th, posters for the campaign will go up in more than two thousand stores around the world.

12 celebrities have been chosen for the posters, based on international presence. Puffy members Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura have become well-known around the world through their cartoon show, "Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi." Others chosen for Gap's campaign include Lucy Liu, Forest Whitaker, John Mayer, Selma Blair, and Davis Guggenheim.

The famous American photographer Annie Leibovitz was in charge of the shoots, which took place in May.