In a typically slow sales week for singles, YUI charted at #1 with "LOVE & TRUTH," the theme song for the recently released movie "Closed Note." The single sold roughly 87,000 copies. In #2 with 35,000 copies was the second single from Acid Black Cherry, the solo project of Janne Da Arc's yasu. BoA's "LOVE LETTER" mustered only 28,000 in sales, but it was enough to put her at #3 for her 11th consecutive top ten release.

On the albums chart, Ai Otsuka's fourth album "LOVE PiECE" came out as the clear winner with 208,000 in sales. However, it still fell far short of her previous album "LOVE COOK" and best album "Ai am BEST," which both sold well over 300,000 copies in their initial weeks. Meanwhile, her "Ai am BEST Tour 2007" DVD (which was also released last week) was the top-selling music DVD with 44,000 sold.

"Variety," the third effort from the Ringo Shiina-led Tokyo Jihen, sold about 101,000 copies to land at #2 on the albums chart.

Director Yoji Yamada will be collaborating with students to create a new film, it was announced on Sunday. The project is a joint effort between Shochiku and Kyoto's Ritsumeikan University, where Yamada is a guest instructor. Tentatively titled "Kyoto Uzumasa Koimonogatari," the film will be set in the city's Uzumasa district, once known as the "Hollywood of Japan."

The movie is part of a larger project to nurture potential industry talent. Shochiku's Kyoto studio is undergoing renovation, and in 2009 the studio will establish a training facility for Ritsumeikan students, using them as research interns.

TV Tokyo's broadcast on Sunday of the 2007 "Gluttonous King" competition achieved ratings of 19.7%, the network's second-highest performance in the 21st century.

Ratings reached a peak of 28.8% just after Galsone was eliminated from the contest.

Early on Tuesday, actress Erika Sawajiri issued an apology on her official website for her unprofessional conduct this past weekend. She showed up at a PR event for the opening of her new movie, "Closed Note," but she was visibly upset about something and spoke only three brief sentences during the event. The incident reinforced her negative reputation as "Erika-sama" and drew sharp criticism from the media, other celebrities, and fans.

The actress was vague regarding the reasons for her attitude, but she acknowledged her lack of professionalism and admitted she had betrayed her fans. She also recognized that just an apology would not end the matter, so she plans to make amends for it in the future. Hoping to clear any doubt, her agency asserted that Sawajiri herself had formed the contents of the letter.

"Closed Note" is screening at the Pusan International Film Festival, which opens on the 4th. Sawajiri was scheduled to walk the red carpet with director Isao Yukisada for the opening ceremony and to appear at the film's showing on the 6th. But due to the incident (which reportedly caused the movie's website to temporarily shut down after a flood of comments), her agency and Toho decided to cancel her appearance. Yukisada, however, will still attend as planned.

Meanwhile, one of Sawajiri's responses ("betsu ni...") during the PR event has become somewhat of a catchphrase among her critics.

Rock band Melt-Banana has announced their "Bambi's Revenge USA Tour," starting on October 17 and ending on December 8. They will be performing almost every day in cities across the country. Their schedule can be seen on MySpace or on their official site, though some shows still have yet to be announced.

Back in June, guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei had a fight with rock singer Ko Machida over differences of opinion regarding a band they were thinking of creating. Hotei inflicted injuries to Machida that took two weeks to heal, and Machida subsequently filed a lawsuit.

On Monday, summary proceedings were initiated against Hotei, and a judgment was delivered the same day. The guitarist was penalized with a fine of 300,000 yen, which he has already paid.

The Takarazuka Revue announced on Monday that it will be reviving "Me And My Girl" for 2008. The Takarazuka version of the British musical was first performed in 1987 (starring Miyuki Tsurugi), and its next and last run was in 1995 (starring Yuki Amami with Kayo Asano). This time, the leads will be played by the Moon Troupe's top stars, Jun Sena and Kanami Ayano.

Performances will run from March 21 to May 5 at the Takarazuka Grand Theater in the Hyogo Prefecture, then from May 23 to July 6 at the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater.

The Takarazuka Revue is also making an appearance on a "SMAP x SMAP" special airing on October 8. Sena, Ayano, and 26 other Takarasiennes will perform during the S-LIVE corner of the show, which includes renditions of "Sumire no Hana Saku Koro" and SMAP's "Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana."

The first episode of NHK's morning drama "Chiritotechin" aired on Monday. According to figures from Video Research Ltd., the premiere drew ratings of 17.1% in the Kanto area, and 16.2% in the Kansai area. This is the third worst start for an Asadora (fifth worst for the Kansai area), beating only the recently finished "Dondo Bare" (14.9%) and the 2005 series "Fight" (16.9%).

Actor Naoto Takenaka is directing and acting in a horror comedy called "Yamagata Scream." He has previously directed five films since 1991, but this will be his first comedy, despite being known best for his humorous roles as an actor.

The story is set in a village in the Yamagata prefecture, inspired by tales of the ochimusha of the Taira clan. The ochimusha were warriors who, after being defeated in battle, fled to remote areas of Japan and established small towns to live in. In the film, a businessman and a high school girl arrive in the village and accidentally unearth one of the Taira graves, awakening the zombies of the ochimusha. Takenaka will play the "zombie general."

Takenaka is also partly involved with the script and other details. He is reportedly aiming to avoid the use of CG as much as possible.

Few production details are known, other than the involvement of writer Yasushi Akimoto in the film's planning. The movie's projected release date is in 2009, but foreign companies have already expressed interest in distribution.