Actress Chiharu Niiyama is introducing her 1-year-old daughter to the world of show business. Going by the stage name of "Koharu," the child's debut will be with her mother on the cover of Baby-mo, a monthly magazine aimed at new moms.

After that, Niiyama is looking to get her daughter into commercials, and she hopes to appear together with her in television dramas. She has already registered Koharu with her agency, Horipro, as part of the "Little Star" division that deals with children less than four years old.

Koharu was born last year on July 12 to Niiyama and her husband, baseball player Satoshi Kuroda.

It was discovered on Sunday that Shunsuke Kuroda, the main vocalist of folk duo Kobukuro, recently became a father. His wife, whom he married in 2005, gave birth to a son on Saturday night.

Singer Hiromi Iwasaki is releasing an album on the 26th titled "PRAHA." The album features covers of 12 songs, performed with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

Last October, Iwasaki approached the orchestra with the idea of a collaboration, and the group agreed. In early April, Iwasaki traveled to Dvorak Hall, where she and the orchestra recorded the album within a span of three days.

The tracks are covers of her own songs (such as "Romance" and "Shishuuki"), as well as other famous tunes, including "Tsubasa" by her close friend, the late Minako Honda.

NTV has announced the production of an unusual drama series titled "Hari-kei," to be aired late night on Saturdays this fall.

Tomoya Nakamura stars as a man referred to as "hari-kei" because unlike normal humans, he has evolved from hedgehogs (known as harinezumi in Japan). The story revolves around his romance with a regular girl (Eri Murakawa).

Other cast members include Masako Motai, Tomorowo Taguchi, Suguru Matsuzawa, and Mitsuru Fukikoshi.

The series begins on October 13. Its regular broadcast time will be at 12:50am, but the first episode begins at 1:05am.