The 2007 Best Hit Kayousai was held in Osaka on Tuesday. Kumi Koda's "Ai no Uta" earned her the Grand Prix in the pop category, while Kaori Mizumori took the enka category with "Hitori Satsumaji." This is the second consecutive win for both Koda and Mizumori.

The Best New Artist award went to R&B group RSP for "Lifetime Respect -Onna Hen-." Masafumi Akikawa's "Sen no Kaze ni Natte" won a special award commemorating the competition's 40th iteration.

Filming for Yukio Ninagawa's "Hebi ni Piasu" (also known as "Snakes and Earrings") began on Monday. As announced in September, the movie is based on Hitomi Kanehara's award-winning, international best-seller of the same name.

The film will star 19-year-old Yuriko Yoshitaka ("Tenten," "Kayokyoku dayo, Jinsei wa"), who barely made her acting debut in 2006. This role may be a breakthrough for her, given Ninagawa's reputation, the likelihood of international release, and the mature themes involved. Ninagawa plans to keep the movie faithful to the book, which includes multiple depictions of violence and sex. In fact, one of the conditions for the lead actress is the inclusion of a fully nude scene.

Kengo Kora ("Sad Vacation," "Tobo Kusotawake") will play Ama, the protagonist's boyfriend. ARATA ("Ping Pong," "Yuheisha Terrorist") will play the sadistic tattoo artist Shiba.

"Snakes and Earrings" opens in 2008.

Comedian Hosei Yamasaki, a regular Monday cast member of "Narutomo!," has been hospitalized since the 13th, it was learned yesterday.

According to Yoshimoto Kogyo, he was diagnosed with enteritis last week. Because of the possibility of peritonitis developing, he was admitted into the hospital and has been undergoing treatment.

Yamasaki had to cancel his appearance on "Narutomo!" on Monday, but he may return to work as early as this week.

Talento Eisaku Yazawa, whose real name is Masami Mita, has been arrested on charges of assault. As a monomane (imitation) artist, he is best known as an impersonator of rock star Eikichi Yazawa.

Mita runs a restaurant in Utsunomiya, Tochigi. On Sunday night, he returned to the shop from Ibaraki. He had already been drinking, and he continued at the shop with a few other employees and a couple of female regulars.

Among them was a manager who had been in a car accident in August and was released from the hospital earlier this month. While hospitalized, he had told Mita that he was determined to increase sales when he returned to work. But the store showed no signs of improvement, and the drunk Mita grew violent towards the manager. While the other workers tried to stop Mita, the manager was able to call the police.

Mita was also arrested in July after attacking fellow monomane talento Tsuntsuku (who impersonates Tsunku). While drinking together, Mita chewed on his earlobe, resulting in a wound that took weeks to heal. He was subsequently fined 400,000 yen for the incident.

Keita Saito will star in "Super Cub," a new movie directed by Atsushi Muroga. The film's title is a reference to the popular motorcycle known by the same name, as Saito plays a motorbike-riding delivery worker for a soba shop.

Idol Kana Kurashina has been cast as Saito's girlfriend, while Nao Nagasawa plays a police officer.

"Super Cub" hits theaters on January 26.

Those familiar with the "Hataraki Man" manga or drama series know that the term "hataraki man" refers to the story's protagonist, a woman who has sacrificed her private life to devote herself to her work.

Research firm Oricon decided to see which celebrities best fit that image. 900 people were asked, "Which female celebrity do you think of as a 'hataraki man?'" Actress Miho Kanno was not allowed as an answer, since she stars in the drama series.

Ryoko Shinohara ranked first, having built a strong image as a working woman through dramas such as "Haken no Hinkaku" and "Anego." Masami Hisamoto was #2, due to her ubiquitous presence on variety shows.

The other top answers were Yuki Amami, Yukie Nakama, Makiko Esumi, Masami Nagasawa, Hitomi Kuroki, Norika Fujiwara, announcer Aya Takashima (tied with Fujiwara), Yui Aragaki, and newscaster Yuko Ando (tied with Aragaki).

The band Fumido is close to completing an unprecedented project: the music video for their new single, "Merry Christmas," is being shot over the course of an entire year, featuring images of a married couple in slideshow form.

The song was actually completed in November 2006 and was originally planned to go on sale for last year's Christmas season. After the idea for the video emerged, the single was postponed to this year, and it has been scheduled for a December 5 release.

Tens of couples applied for the project through the Fumido website last year. A newlywed couple, aged 30 and 29, in the Kanto area was selected. They were first photographed on Christmas Eve and since then, they have taken pictures of themselves daily in their home. As of October 26, more than 7,400 pictures had been taken. The photographs also record the progress of the wife's pregnancy, which produced a daughter for the family in July.

An early version of the PV will be available on the 28th through Fumido's website, which currently hosts a trailer for the video. A final version of the PV is expected to be revealed on Christmas day.

Earlier this month, Avex announced that Ayumi Hamasaki's next single, "Together When...," will be a digital release only. While the full song officially goes on sale on December 5, shortened ringtone versions will be available starting this Wednesday.

While digital exclusives are nothing new in the Japanese music industry, they generally do not receive much promotional effort. "Together When..." is different in that the song is still getting a PV and a jacket cover, and it will also be performed on television music shows.

Avex cited the decline in CD sales and increase in digital sales as the main factor behind the decision, calling the move an experiment that may affect future releases if the single is successful.

Actor Hiroshi Abe, 43, released a fax to the media early on Tuesday, announcing that he is planning to get married. According to the fax, his wife-to-be is a 28-year-old former office worker. The two were introduced through a friend and have been dating for about a year and a half.

Abe has scheduled a press conference for Tuesday night.