Photographer Mika Ninagawa has produced a charity project in connection with a breast cancer awareness campaign.

The project features 10 celebrities in nude and seminude poses. The women participating are Tomoko Nakajima (Othello), Kumiko Akiyoshi, Saki Takaoka, Reika Hashimoto, Alisa Mizuki, model AKEMI, Risa Hirako, Jessica Michibata, Rinka, and Miss Universe Riyo Mori.

The photos will be published in Friday's issue of GLAMOROUS magazine. Sankei Sports has posted some of the pictures.

Oricon recently surveyed 600 people, asking them who their favorite mangaka were. At the top of the list was Ai Yazawa ("NANA," "Paradise Kiss"), who was ranked #1 by female respondents. Behind her was the men's favorite, Akira Toriyama ("Dragonball," "Dr. Slump").

The next two spots were held by Takehiko Inoue ("Slam Dunk") and Mitsuru Adachi ("Touch," "H2"). Both authors appeared in the top 5 lists by men and women.

Yoshihiro Togashi ("YuYu Hakusho") tied with Eiichiro Oda ("One Piece") for #5. "20th Century Boys" author Naoki Urasawa ranked at 7th.

#8 saw another tie, between the well-known group CLAMP ("X," "Cardcaptor Sakura") and Fujiko F. Fujio (half of the duo that produced "Doraemon"). Rounding out the list was famed artist Osamu Tezuka ("Astro Boy").

The survey comments revealed that women focused more on artists' designs while men were more interested in storylines.

The 22nd Japan Gold Disc Awards, which are based on sales, were presented on Tuesday in Tokyo. This time, EXILE ended Kumi Koda's streak as Artist of the Year, fueled by the success of the Album of the Year, "EXILE LOVE."

GReeeeN was named New Artist of the Year, and their "Aiuta" won Chaku-Uta Song of the Year. Hikaru Utada picked up Single of the Year with "Flavor of Life."

The complete list of awards can be seen in the forums.

Fuji TV's quiz show "Quiz! Hexagon II" gave birth to a music group last year, when the show's trio of "baka" idols - Mai Satoda, Suzanne, and Yukina Kinoshita - made their debut as the unit pabo. Now it's the men's turn, as their equally dumb counterparts have banded together to release a song of their own.

Yusuke Kamiji, Takeshi Tsuruno, and Naoki Nokubo are now known as Shuchishin, and they will release their self-titled debut single (with lyrics written by Shinsuke Shimada) on April 9.

The song will be first played on the air during Wednesday's broadcast of "Quiz! Hexagon II."

The 3rd Shin Watanabe Award was given to actor Kazuo Honda on Sunday. The prize, sponsored by Watanabe Productions, recognizes producers who have made significant contributions to show business.

The 73-year-old Honda is the leader of the Honda Gekijo Group, which helped establish the identity of Tokyo's Shimokitazawa area as a theater district.

Hey! Say! JUMP has been appointed as the supporter for the 39th National High School Volleyball Tournament, which takes place on March 20-26 with coverage by Fuji TV.

The group was chosen as the special supporter for the Volleyball World Cup in November, for which they released their debut single, "Ultra Music Power." For this competition, they will provide an image song titled "Chance to Change" (no release date announced yet).

Like last year, announcers Kazuhiro Watanabe and Rio Hirai will be in charge of the tournament's coverage.

67-year-old actor Tsunehiko Kamijo is dropping out of a production of the musical "Man of La Mancha" in April. It will be the first time in his lengthy career that he has canceled a performance.

Late last month during a regular medical checkup, Kamijo's doctor discovered a benign polyp in his pharynx. He was advised against performing, and is currently receiving treatment in preparation for surgery. It is not yet known when he will return to work.

The Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival, which runs on March 19-23, is offering one of the biggest cash prizes for independent filmmakers. The winner of the Off-Theater Competition, judged by a committee led by Isshin Inudo, will be awarded 2 million yen.

The prize money, furnished by SKY PerfecTV!, will be used to finance a new film by the winning director, which must be completed in time to be shown at next year's festival.

SKY PerfecTV! is also working with the festival to have the 34 participating films broadcast on the service's movie channels on the same day as their screenings, with viewer fees partly subsidized by the festival.

The Yubari film festival was established in 1990 but was canceled in 2006 after the city went bankrupt. It was finally revived this year by the non-profit organization Yubari Fanta.

The 45th Golden Arrow Awards, which cover a wide range of media, were handed out on Monday. The biggest story was the Film prize won by young actress Yui Aragaki, who starred in her first three movies last year. This is her sixth major film award during this awards season, though the previous ones were all in Newcomer categories.

The full list of winners:

• Film: Yui Aragaki
• Theater: Sadao Abe
• Music: Masafumi Akikawa
• Broadcast (drama): Shun Oguri
• Broadcast (variety): Taka and Toshi
• Newcomer: Rinko Kikuchi, Kie Kitano, Saki Fukuda, Yoshio Kojima, Kanako Yanagihara
• Sports: Ryo Ishikawa
• Topic Award: Hideo Higashikokubaru
• Achievement Award: Yu Aku, Hitoshi Ueki
• Graph Award: Akina Minami

It was recently announced that Hikaru Utada's newest album, "HEART STATION," was mastered twice - once for CD and once for digital distribution.

Both were mastered at Sterling Sound in New York by world-class engineers. Ted Jensen handled the CD version, while Tom Coyne did the digital version. The separate masterings were done to account for differences in the two formats, so that each is as close to the original sound as possible.

The album goes on sale March 19.

Enka singer Madoka Oishi, 35, married an employee of a securities company on Monday. The two met through a friend a year ago and soon began dating. The man, also 35, proposed to her at Meiji Shrine during the winter.