Mr.Children has turned out another hit with their 31st single, "Tabidachi no Uta," which serves as the theme song for the movie "Koizora." The song sits at the top of the charts this week after selling 238,000 copies. With this, they have sold 27 consecutive #1 singles, stemming back to their 1994 hit "innocent world."

GLAY's "Ashes.EP" sold 79,000 copies to reach #2, becoming their 31st top ten single. Aqua Timez ranked two spots behind them with "Chiisana Tenohira," marking their fifth time in the top ten.

Meanwhile, new Hello! Project group Buono! reached #5 with their first single, "Honto no Jibun." Other acts in the top ten were Every Little Thing, FUNKY MONKEY BABYS, Mami Kawada, and AKB48.

The albums chart was dominated by the Backstreet Boys' "Unbreakable" for the second week in a row. The last Western boy band to do this was O-ZONE in 2005.

SEAMO's "Round About" was far behind with only 56,000 in sales, but it still managed a #2 showing. Masayoshi Yamazaki occupied the next two spots with two simultaneously-released cover albums. The only other new Japanese album in the top ten was Chihiro Onitsuka's "LAS VEGAS," which ranked 6th.

TV Asahi announcer Kiwa Ishii, who married Rakuten Eagles president Toru Shimada in July, is reportedly pregnant. It is estimated that she is in her fourth month of pregnancy.

In September, Ishii left her regular post on "Yajiuma Plus," and is currently appearing occasionally on news shows. She plans to continue working after the child is born.

Several veteran actors have been added to the cast of the "Kurosagi" movie, scheduled to open on March 8. Aside from lead actor Tomohisa Yamashita and co-star Maki Horikita, the film will feature appearances by Mao Daichi, Naoto Takenaka, Naoko Iijima, and Tsurube Shofukutei.

It is already known that most of the regular cast members from last year's drama series are returning, including Yui Ichikawa, Ryosei Tayama, Kaoru Okunuki, Sho Aikawa, and Tsutomu Yamazaki.

Talento Mika Mifune was named the winner of this year's Best Hair Award. The prize is given annually by the All Japan Beauty Shop Owner's Federation (also known as ZENBI), determined through voting by the organization's members.

Fiber producer Unitika has selected its 2008 Mascot Girl: 14-year-old Shiori Kutsuna.

Kutsuna had been living in Australia until last year, when she won a special judges' prize at the All-Japan National Young Beauty Contest. She declared that she aims to become an actress.

Mitsuru Hataraki, who sings the ending theme of the NTV drama series "Hataraki Man," is actually an alias for actor Ikki Sawamura, it was learned on Tuesday. The song, titled "Hataraki Man Ondo," is being released as a single on the 28th, marking Sawamura's debut as a singer.

Enka singers and comedians were originally considered to sing the song, but it was decided that the song should carry a sense of ordinariness. Sawamura, who plays a magazine editor on the show, was consequently chosen for the task. He underwent voice training for the first time before the song's recording.

Chika Umino's popular "Honey and Clover" is the latest manga series to be adapted to television. It was turned into a movie in 2006, starring Yu Aoi. This time, 15-year-old actress Riko Narumi will be taking over as the lead character, Hagumi Hanamoto.

"Honey and Clover" follows the lives of five college students and their love triangles. Hagumi is a talented artist in her first year, even though she appears to be much younger. Toma Ikuta has been cast as Yuta Takemoto, the lead male character. The remaining main cast members have not yet been announced.

The drama will air on Fuji TV at 9:00pm every Tuesday, starting on January 8. Filming starts near the end of this month.