NHK held a press conference on Thursday for the upcoming Asadora series "Hitomi," which begins its run on March 31, 2008. Starring actress Nana Eikura was present at the event, and was joined by two main cast additions: Toshiyuki Nishida and Naoko Iijima.

Eikura plays Hitomi, an aspiring dancer from Sapporo who moves to Tokyo, where she lives with her grandfather (Nishida) and his three foster children. Iijima plays Hitomi's mother.

Nishida's last role in an Asadora was in the 1973 series "Kita no Kazoku." Iijima has never appeared in one before.

The members of music group EXILE have been appointed as the image characters for Schick's new Quattro 4 Titanium razor. This is the group's first time appearing in a commercial, which will go on the air next month. They are also providing the ad's song, titled "Touch the Sky."

Yoshimi Asada (of owarai/idol duo Pirates) is starring in a semi-documentary film titled "Baby's Breath," directed by Yuichi Kanemaru. The movie depicts the story of a pregnant woman who loses her husband (played by Ken Kaneko).

Asada got married this summer and is currently eight months pregnant. Filming began during her fifth month and will continue until her delivery, which is expected on November 11. The director is also hoping to get permission from the hospital to film the actual childbirth.

The movie opens next spring.

Fuji TV announcer Maya Masai gave birth to her first child, a girl, on Thursday morning.

Masai married actor Yasuyuki Maekawa in March. She plans to leave Fuji TV at the end of this month to focus on raising the child.

Actor Kenji Haga has been arrested again, this time for fraud. He was previously arrested in June for blackmail, and he was subsequently indicted.

In 2001, a male acquaintance asked him to be the intermediary for a private equity transaction. He wanted to purchase 50 shares of medical consulting firm Wellness, which were priced at 400,000 yen. However, Haga told him the shares were 1.2 million yen each, charging him a total of 60 million yen. He gave the man the requested 50 shares while pocketing the remaining 40 million yen, using some of it to buy stock for himself. Police also believe Haga later defrauded the man of additional money.

Haga denied the charges, saying it was the man who insisted on buying the shares even at that price. When questioned about the incident after Haga's arrest, the man declined to comment.

15-year-old Yui Miura has been chosen to play the heroine in Shinya Tsukamoto's "Nightmare Detective 2," the sequel to his hit horror/mystery film that came out earlier this year.

Miura was selected from an audition of approximately 300 actresses. She has only been in minor roles before, so her part in this film may be the turning point of her career, especially since "Nightmare Detective 2" is expected to screen at international film festivals next year.

The movie stars Ryuhei Matsuda reprising his role as Kyoichi, a man with the power to enter other people's dreams. Miura plays the high-schooler Yukie, who turns to Kyoichi for help after one of her classmates appears in her nightmares.

The newest issue of FRIDAY reports that 27-year-old actor Ryuta Sato is dating a 21-year-old office lady. The magazine managed to take pictures of them at Sato's apartment.

FRIDAY describes the woman as a slender beauty, resembling talento Mari Sekine. It is also said that the woman has previous experience in show business and has appeared on television.

Sato's agency confirmed the relationship, saying that they met through a friend and began dating at the end of 2005. However, there are currently no plans for marriage.

Sankei Sports reports that rock band B'z is being inducted into Hollywood's Rock Walk. Although two Japanese people have been inducted before (Roland Corporation founder Ikutaro Kakehashi and Korg founder Tsutomu Kato), B'z will be the first musicians from Asia to receive the honor.

The band was recommended for induction by rocker Steve Vai, with whom they collaborated for the song "Asian Sky" on Vai's 1999 album "The Ultra Zone."

B'z will attend the induction ceremony in Hollywood on November 19, where they will sign and place their handprints in the cement plate for the Rock Walk.

Next spring, TV Asahi plans to air a special drama titled "Inochi no Iro Enpitsu," starring TOKIO's Taichi Kokubun. The drama is based on the true story of Kasumi Toyoshima, a young girl from Akkeshi, Hokkaido. In 2003, she died of a brain tumor at the age of 11.

Kasumi is being played by 12-year-old Nanami Fujimoto, who won the part in an audition of approximately 300 people. Kokubun plays her homeroom teacher. Nana Katase and Mieko Harada will also appear.

Teppei Koike (of WaT) has been given his first lead role in a television drama. In December, Fuji TV will broadcast a special called "Mada Minu Chichi e, Haha e: Tamashii de Utau Aoi Umi," which tells the story of Okinawan tenor Tsutomu Aragaki.

Aragaki, who is 54, was born to a Mexican-American soldier and a Japanese woman. Shortly after his birth, an accident turned him completely blind. His parents left him with his grandmother, who passed away when he was 14. Fortunately, he found his way into church music, eventually becoming a pastor and a singer.

In the drama, Koike will portray Aragaki's life between the ages of 14 and 42. Other cast members include Ayumi Ishida, Yumi Aso, and Akiyoshi Nakao.

Rock band Thee Out Mods has been added to the roster for the Pacific Music Live at this year's Pacific Media Expo. The convention takes place November 9-11 in Los Angeles.

Korean actor Kim Rae Won will star in his first Japanese movie, "Hanakage," directed by Yuto Kawai. The film is a love story set in both Korea and Japan. Actress Mirai Yamamoto plays the female lead.

Filming took place this past spring, when news of the project was apparently first leaked by Korean fans on the internet.

The supporting cast includes Ken Ishiguro, Keiko Toda, and Koichi Sato. The film is scheduled to open next spring.