Actress Narumi Yasuda has been cast in her first film in six years. She will play the heroine in Joji Matsuoka's "Kanki no Uta," which stars Kaoru Kobayashi. Her last big screen appearance was in the 2001 "Taiga no Itteki."

The story is based on a rakugo tale by Shinosuke Tatekawa. It takes place in a small town, where the cultural center accidentally double-books the venue for two chorus groups on New Year's Eve. Yasuda will play the leader of one of the groups, while Saori Yuki plays the head of the other.

"Kanki no Uta" opens in 2008.

Producer Haruki Kadokawa has announced that his next project will be a film titled "Kamisama no Puzzle," directed by Takashi Miike. The story is based on Shinji Kimoto's sci-fi novel of the same name, which won the grand prize of the Sakyo Komatsu Awards in 2002.

Hayato Ichihara will star in a double role as a pair of contrasting twins - one is an excellent student, while the other is half-hearted about his studies and life in general. Together with a genius student (Mitsuki Tanimura), they start an experiment involving the origins of the universe.

The film is expected to open next summer.

Fans of the "Hana Yori Dango" drama series will get one more chance to see the cast in action, as a movie has been announced for the summer of 2008. Titled "Hana Yori Dango Final," the film is being described as the last chapter of the live-action adaptation.

This will be Mao Inoue's first starring role in a movie. Jun Matsumoto, Shun Oguri, Shota Matsuda, and Tsuyoshi Abe will reprise their roles as the group known as "F4."

The film is set one year after Tsukushi Makino's graduation. The story focuses on a major incident that the five main characters become involved in, while also depicting the ups and downs of Tsukushi and Tsukasa's relationship.

Filming is scheduled to take place overseas for about two months, starting in January. The series' director Yasuharu Ishii will helm the picture. The story is currently being developed by the original mangaka Yoko Kamio and the series' screenwriter Mikio Satake (actor Takayuki Takuma).

Oricon reports that the term "hinkaku" (referring to one's dignity and character) has become a fashionable word within the past year. Naturally, this led Oricon to ask the question: which celebrity possesses "hinkaku?"

Among male celebrities, Seattle Mariners pro Ichiro Suzuki ranked first. The rest of the top ten, which consisted mostly of actors, were: Tetsuya Watari, Shosuke Tanihara, Masakazu Tamura, Ken Takakura, Akira Nakao, Kinya Kitaoji, newscaster Tetsuya Chikushi, Ken Watanabe, and comedian Tamori.

Respondents agreed more strongly on the list of female celebrities. Actress Sayuri Yoshinaga received more than twice as many votes as Ichiro did. Nanako Matsushima ranked second, followed by Hitomi Kuroki. Ryoko Shinohara, who happened to star in the recent drama series "Haken no Hinkaku," ranked fourth. Others on the list were Norika Fujiwara, Kaoru Yachigusa, Misaki Ito, Yukie Nakama, Mitsuko Mori, and caster Yuko Ando.

The 2007 New York-Tokyo Music Festival has revealed its list of performers. In addition to the previously announced TERIYAKI BOYZ, Japan will be represented by DJ Uppercut, who will perform with American rapper Rosco P. Coldchain.

The U.S. artists appearing at the festival are MF Doom, Pharoahe Monch, Collie Buddz, beatboxer Kenny Muhammad (also known as The Human Orchestra), and Kool DJ Red Alert.

The event takes place on September 22 at the Rumsey Playfield in Central Park.

NTV revealed that the replacement for its "Omoikkiri TV" is a new wide show titled "Omoikkiri Ii! TV." As previously reported, Minomonta will remain as the host. The show's first broadcast is on October 1.

Announcer Maya Masai will be leaving Fuji TV at the end of next month, the network announced on Friday.

In March, Masai married actor Yasuyuki Maekawa, and is scheduled to give birth around the end of September. She enters maternity leave at the end of this month, but she decided to go one step further and took the opportunity to hand in her resignation.

Masai said that she plans to devote herself to raising the child, but may return to television in the future. It is possible she will become a free announcer.

The world's first true virtual idol, Kyoko Date, has returned to showbiz after a 6-year break. On Friday, she made her reappearance in the virtual world Second Life.

Date was first created in 1996 by talent agency Horipro, and she made her CD debut with the hit song "Love Communication." Her last appearance was in 2001.

Eriko Sato and Kenichi Matsuyama appear together as a couple in a new commercial campaign for Uniqlo Wide Leg Jeans. There are four separate TV ads, all cut from a longer version. The background song is titled "Asahi no Chikai," by Anri Kumaki.

The long version and the four TV versions can be seen on the Uniqlo website.