Singer Keizo Nakanishi remarried at the end of last year, it was learned on Friday. His wife is lyricist Yuri Takaku, who wrote the song "Boyoyon Koshinkyoku" (composed by Nakanishi) for the NHK children's show "Okaasan to Issho."

Nakanishi previously married actress Saya Takagi in 1998, but they divorced in 2000.

Pop duo HALCALI will make their official entry into France and the U.S. this year. The move is fueled by the popularity of their song "Tip Taps Tip," which has reached audiences overseas through the anime series "Eureka Seven."

HALCALI's most recent album, "Cyborg Oretachi," is hitting stores in France on January 24. The duo will perform at Qin Elysees in Paris on the 26th, then in Cannes on the 28th. They previously performed in Paris last July for the Japan Expo.

In May, HALCALI is reportedly performing at a Japanese culture event in Chicago. (The specific event was not named, but it is likely Anime Central.) A CD release has also been decided for the U.S.

It was revealed on Saturday that Shingo Machida, a member of Johnny's Jr. group Musical Academy, was hospitalized last month.

He began feeling ill during an airplane flight to Osaka on December 22, and he was quickly admitted to a hospital. He was diagnosed with pharyngitis (sore throat) and rhabdomyolysis, an illness which can be fatal due to acute renal failure. He underwent treatment and was discharged on the 26th, but has not participated in any performances since then.

Machida is scheduled to return to work on Sunday for the opening of Koichi Domoto's musical "Endless Shock."

Pop band Kinmokusei announced that they are going on hiatus after completing their current tour. Their final performance will be at Yokohama Blitz on January 26.

The group made their major label debut in 2001 and were invited to Kohaku Uta Gassen the following year. They released a best album this past November.

The five members are each planning to pursue solo activities.

Audience ratings for the individual artists at the 58th Kohaku Uta Gassen were announced on Friday. SMAP achieved 43.9%, the highest of the 56 acts that performed on the show. This is their 3rd consecutive year with the highest ratings.

The ratings for the whole show peaked at 46.1% near the end when SMAP sang their hit "Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana," joined by the rest of the Kohaku performers.

Among the artists, the second-highest ratings came during Yo Hitoto's performance (42.7%), though Masafumi Akikawa, Dreams Come True, and Akiko Wada all came close at 42.2%.

Akira Terao had the best of the first half with 38.3% ratings, followed by Ayaka Hirahara and Kaori Kozai with 36.8% each.

Announcer Akiko Abe, who resigned from NTV last September, is returning to television as a free caster. She has signed with management agency Oscar Promotion and will resume work in the spring.

Abe married a TBS employee in November 2006. After her resignation, her husband began working in Bangkok, and she moved there with him. She plans to travel back and forth between Thailand and Japan, mainly doing television specials and magazine work.

Video Research Ltd. released the average television ratings for 2007, and for the fourth year in a row, Fuji TV came out on top in the three categories - golden time (7pm-10pm), prime time (7pm-11pm), and the entire day (6am-12am).

Fuji TV had an average of 8.7% for the entire day and 13.8% during both golden time and prime time.