TOKIO drummer Masahiro Matsuoka is the latest Johnny's Jimusho member to publicly reveal a romantic relationship. According to the new issue of FLASH, Matsuoka is currently living together with a woman that he has been seeing for about 5 years.

FLASH described the woman as short and resembling idol Shoko Nakagawa (Nakagawa herself is 155 cm tall). The magazine published photos taken last month of Matsuoka and the girl at their apartment. Last week, a reporter directly asked Matsuoka about the relationship, and he openly acknowledged it.

Johnny's Jimusho said they had no comment in particular, but also mentioned that they have not heard anything about a possible marriage.

A little over a week ago, bandmate Tatsuya Yamaguchi announced that he got married and is now expecting his first child.

Hikaru Utada is providing the theme for the Fuji TV drama "Last Friends." Last year, her "Flavor of Life" was used as an insert song in "Hana Yori Dango 2," but this will be her first actual theme song for a drama series since the 2002 release "Sakura Drops."

The song is a medium-tempo ballad titled "Prisoner of Love." It is one of the tracks on her new album "HEART STATION" that goes on sale this week.

"Last Friends" stars Masami Nagasawa, Juri Ueno, Eita, Ryo Nishikido, and Asami Mizukawa. The first episode airs on April 10.

A new tune by singer-songwriter Kenichi Takano is being turned into a short manga. The song, titled "Button," is a B-side on Takano's new single, "Ippai Kimi wo Warawaseru," that goes on sale next week.

The text of the 8-page comic will be the exact same as the lyrics of the 6-minute song. The story depicts a girl who receives a boy's uniform button during their school graduation.

The manga is being illustrated by Ibuki Haneda, who also did the manga version of the mobile phone novel "Koizora." It will appear in the first issue of the female-oriented Marika magazine, due out on April 28.

Takano reportedly first came up with the idea for the project last summer.

Actor Yutaka Mizutani is releasing his first studio album in 22 years, though it will include only self-covers of some of his greatest hits. "TIME CAPSULE" contains 13 tracks including "California Connection," the memorable theme song of the "Necchu Jidai" drama series that he starred in during the late 1970s. The single sold about 650,000 copies in its time.

The album is strategically scheduled to go on sale on May 14, about two weeks after the "Aibou" movie opens in theaters. The film is based on the long-running TV Asahi detective drama series that stars Mizutani and Yasufumi Terawaki. It is Mizutani's first lead film role since the 1983 "Nogare no Machi."

Between March 10 and 13, Hikaru Utada made her hit 1999 single "First Love" available for free as a ringtone in Japan. In those four days, it was downloaded more than 700,000 times.

Utada ran a similar promotion in December with her debut single "Automatic," and that achieved 500,000 downloads in the same amount of time.

Comedian Yoshio Kojima will make his film debut with a small part in Takashi Miike's adaptation of the novel "Kamisama no Puzzle," originally written by Shinji Kimoto.

Hayato Ichihara and Mitsuki Tanimura are starring in the sci-fi romance/comedy about two students who attempt an experiment to unravel the origins of the universe. In one part of the story, a hidden camera video of Tanimura's character appears on the Internet, and Ichihara invades another college campus in search of the culprit. However, he gets stopped by the sports-minded Kojima, and a fight between them ensues.

Kojima, who was reportedly chosen for the role due to his physical build, will appear on screen wearing a white tank top, rather than his trademark bathing suit.

The film is set to open on June 7.