NHK has announced that a continuation for the morning drama "Chiritotechin" is a very likely possibility.

The series, which stars Shihori Kanjiya as a young woman who becomes a rakugo artist, finished filming last Friday and will have its final episode air on March 29.

The last Asadora to get a continuation was the Ryoko Kuninaka-starring "Churasan" in 2001. It got six extra episodes in 2003, another five in 2004, and two more last year.

Kanjiya, who is already set to start filming for her next drama (TV Asahi's "Kimi Hannin Janai yo ne?"), said that she would love to revisit the "Chiritotechin" series.

Nothing concrete has been decided yet, but NHK will be airing a related program the day after the series ends. The show will be themed around rakugo, and some of the drama's cast members may make an appearance.

Earlier this month, Variety reported that Eleven Arts and Funimation are teaming up to distribute Yoji Yamada's "Love and Honor" (original title "Bushi no Ichibun") in the United States.

According to Nikkan Sports, the final round of negotiations is in progress. If all goes well, the film will be hitting theaters in major cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, and Honolulu, starting in April.

"Love and Honor" will be the first feature film starring Takuya Kimura to get a nationwide U.S. release.

Japan's "neko boom" has reached new levels, as the country will soon see the 5-cat group MUSASHI'S release its first digital single. The cats have been signed with major talent agency Stardust Promotion to "sing" a cover of "Hotaru no Hikari," a folk song set to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne" that is commonly sung at graduation ceremonies.

MUSASHI'S - made up of five Norwegian Forest Cats named Musashi, Leo, Luka, Seri, and Marble - gained worldwide internet fame at the end of last year when their owner released a YouTube video of the cats' rendition of "Jingle Bells."

As the cats have little use for money, their contract with Stardust is said to include about 7,000 yen worth of tuna.

"Hotaru no Hikari" will begin distribution through mobile music site music.jp on March 3. A second single, "Ichinensei ni Nattara" (a song for those entering a new school), will be released on April 7. Future plans include more covers of seasonal tunes as well as original songs. TV appearances and CD releases are also being considered.

English actor Freddie Highmore ("The Spiderwick Chronicles") has been chosen as the starring voice in Imagi Studios' upcoming CG-animated film "Astro Boy." The movie is based on Osamu Tezuka's famous manga "Tetsuwan Atom," popularized in English as "Astro Boy."

The movie, directed by David Bowers and written by Timothy Harris, is scheduled for worldwide release in 2009.

DefSTAR Records recently announced a promotional campaign for "Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008," the new single from idol unit AKB48. Those buying the single received a poster, randomly selected from 44 different ones, each featuring a member of the group. Any fan who collected all 44 posters would be able to attend a special AKB48 concert.

The campaign attracted a lot of criticism from fans, with some likening the campaign to a scam. On Thursday, DefSTAR updated its website to announce that the special concert has been canceled, due to concerns that the campaign may actually be in violation of laws regarding fair business practices.

The label apologized to fans and stated that they will be accepting returns, starting on Monday.

Video Research Ltd. has released its TV commercial data for 2007, which revealed that for the third year in a row, actress Yukie Nakama is the "CM queen" of the Kanto region.

Nakama, whose work includes ads for KDDI, Daihatsu, and Lotte, racked up more than 54 hours of TV time with over 12,000 commercials over the course of the year in the Kanto area. Her closest competitors were Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Hiroshi Tamaki, and Takuya Kimura.

Meanwhile, Nakama lost her footing in the Kansai region, where Masami Nagasawa overtook her by just a couple hours. In Nagoya, Nakama only ranked #4, beaten by Aya Ueto (#1), Nagasawa, and Koyuki.

One new face in the rankings is rising star Yu Aoi, who came in at #6 in the Kanto region, #10 in the Kansai region, and #11 in Nagoya.

The newest issue of FRIDAY reveals that singer-songwriter Naotaro Moriyama has had a girlfriend for the past two years. Her features are said to resemble those of actress Nanako Matsushima.

Moriyama and the woman are already living together, but a friend says the singer is considering living separately so that he can focus more on his music career.

Moriyama's management acknowledged the relationship, but declined to offer any other details as the woman is a non-celebrity. However, the agency said there are currently no plans for marriage.

Actor Shun Oguri will narrate a television documentary for the first time next month.

The documentary focuses on a 1991 incident in the Meili Xueshan mountain range in China. 17 members of Kyoto University's Academic Alpine Club attempted to climb one of the peaks, but an avalanche killed the entire team. With 16 of the bodies found so far, photographer Naoyuki Kobayashi returns to the mountain every year in search of the final climber.

NTV is airing the program on March 2.

Perfume's new song "Ceramic Girl" is being used as the theme song for the BS Fuji drama "Sumire Sixteen!!," which is based on Takeru Nagayoshi's high school comedy manga of the same name. The trio will also appear dressed as students during the drama's ending credits.

In addition, Perfume and the drama series are being tied in with a new Sony Vaio commercial, which features the same song.

Details of the song's release have not been announced yet, but it will likely go on sale after the premiere of "Sumire Sixteen!!" The drama, which stars Nako Mizusawa, Takuma Otoo, Kaoru Hirata, and Ami Tokito, starts airing on April 13 during BS Fuji's Sunday midnight time slot.

Perfume's second album, "GAME," goes on sale April 16.