The 59th Prix Italia, an "international competition for radio, television and web" held in Verona, Italy, concluded on Saturday. Among the winners this year was NHK's short series "Hagetaka," which earned the top prize in the drama series category for its opening episode.

The six-episode series aired between February and March of this year. The story was set in Japan's business world after the burst of the economic bubble. It starred Nao Omori as a fund manager relentlessly buying out and raiding firms, earning him the label of "hagetaka" (vulture).

Masaharu Fukuyama and Kou Shibasaki are collaborating for the theme song to "Galileo," the upcoming Fuji TV drama series they are co-starring in. Titled "KISS Shite," it will be released as a single by Shibasaki, under the alias KOH+.

"KISS Shite" is written, composed, and produced by Fukuyama. He also appears on the track itself, playing guitar and singing the chorus. According to the drama's producer, Yoshihiro Suzuki, Fukuyama is also in charge of the instrumental main theme and subtheme for the series.

The theme song will be available as a ringtone starting on October 15, the same day as the premiere of "Galileo." The show's soundtrack has been scheduled for a simultaneous release with the "KISS Shite" single on November 21.

Director Ken Sueda died during the afternoon on September 26, it was revealed on Sunday. Sueda, who was 33, had been hospitalized since early August for a germ cell tumor.

Sueda directed music videos for several popular artists, including Ayumi Hamasaki, EXILE, and Dreams Come True. Around 2001, he began a romantic relationship with Dreams Come True's vocalist Miwa Yoshida. He had a wife and child at the time, but he got divorced in March 2003. In May of 2004, he and Yoshida declared themselves married. However, it remained a common-law marriage, as they never officially registered it.

Sueda's hospitalization occurred just before DCT's recent "WONDERLAND" tour. Yoshida and both of Sueda's parents cared for him throughout the tour, and Yoshida had promised to go on with the performances no matter what happened. The tour was successfully completed on the 23rd, but Sueda passed away just three days later.

DCT's bassist Masato Nakamura mentioned on his blog that since last year, Sueda had been filming for a documentary on the group for their upcoming 20th anniversary in 2008.

Sportscaster and former J Leaguer Takeshi Mizuuchi and TBS announcer Hiroko Ogura are expecting their first child. Ogura is currently five months pregnant.

Mizuuchi made the revelation on Friday during TBS's broadcast of "All Star Kanshasai."

The two have been married since April 2005.

Just one day after announcing his engagement to actress Asaka Seto, V6's Yoshihiko Inohara revealed that the two registered their marriage on Saturday.

Like the previous announcement, Inohara informed his fans first during a concert in Tokyo. According to a source, they submitted the registration during the late night on Friday, after holding their press conference. Inohara said that the date had been unplanned - he and Seto had been carrying their completed registration form with them for some time, and after seeing the reactions to their marriage announcement, they decided that the timing was right.

The Chicago International Film Festival (October 4-17) recently revealed its complete lineup. Two live-action Japanese films made the list: Hitoshi Yazaki's "Strawberry Shortcakes" and Nobuhiro Yamashita's "The Matsugane Potshot Affair."

One of the festival's sidebars is Anime Focus 2007, which includes three works: "Atagoal: Cat's Magical Forest," "Brave Story," and "Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo."