Nakanomori Band updated its blog on Thursday, announcing that they will be taking a break from live performances. Vocalist AYAKO, 22, will be undergoing throat surgery next month, and she is expected to need half a year to fully recover.

AYAKO began having difficulties with her voice last year, and it became an obstacle in her work. The source of the problem is said to be a benign cyst on her vocal chords.

Nakanomori Band's last live show will be on March 29 in Saitama. After that, the band's three other members will continue the group's other activities in magazines and radio.

Korean talento Yoon Son Ha is pregnant with her first child. Her company announced the news via fax on Friday.

Last September, she married a Korean businessman and took up residence in Seoul. She is scheduled to give birth around the end of this September, and she is expected to be on maternity leave after that until January of next year.

28-year-old Tomoko Murakami, a member of the comedy trio Morisanchu, got married last weekend, it was learned on Friday. She later announced the news personally on a live broadcast of "Waratte Iitomo," then held a press conference on the same day.

Her husband is a 30-year-old employee of an apparel-related company whose face is said to resemble singer Masayoshi Yamazaki. They barely met on March 2 at a friend's birthday party, and they went on their first date two days later. One week later the man proposed, and they registered their marriage on the 23rd. They have not yet made plans for a ceremony.

In 2006, Murakami starred in the Fuji TV series "Busu no Hitomi ni Koishiteru," playing an "ugly" actress that finds love with a comedy writer (played by Goro Inagaki). That drama was based on a book by Osamu Suzuki, which was partly inspired by Suzuki's marriage to another Morisanchu member, Miyuki Oshima.

Oshima, who was also at the press conference, admitted that she was initially concerned that it might be marriage fraud, but she gave her blessing after meeting the man.

In December, EXILE's album "EXILE LOVE" shipped over a million copies within its first few days and ended its first week with 670,000 in sales. Now, their "EXILE CATCHY BEST" is set to surpass that, as it shipped roughly 1.05 million copies by its first day, the 26th. According to Oricon's daily rankings, the album's sales have exceeded 100,000 copies on both of its first two days.

SciFi Japan reported in January that director Minoru Kawasaki is reviving the monster Guilala (from the 1967 kaiju film "The X From Outer Space") with a new film titled "Guilala no Gyakushu: Toyako Summit Kiki Ippatsu." More details have now been revealed, including the two leads: model/actress Natsuki Kato and actor/singer Kazuki Kato.

The story involves a Chinese spacecraft crashing in the outskirts of Sapporo, followed by the appearance of Guilala. Natsuki Kato plays a reporter for a sports newspaper sent to get the scoop, accompanied by Kazuki Kato as a cameraman. Together, they become the key to saving the world.

Also appearing in the film is comedy group The Newspaper, whose roles are said to include "Sanzo Ibe" and "Junzaburo Oizumi," parodies of the two previous prime ministers.

Shooting starts at the end of this month. The film was originally planned to open this fall, but it has been moved up to July 5 to coincide with the actual G8 summit taking place in Toyako, Hokkaido, on July 7-9.

Keiko Fujimoto, a 30-year-old announcer with Kansai TV (part of the Fuji News Network), is having her wedding this June. She is getting married to a 33-year-old employee at the same TV station, though they have not yet decided when they will register their marriage.

Fujimoto, who currently appears on shows such as "Takajin Mune Ippai" and "Kanjani8 no Janiben," says she plans to continue working while married.

The big talk of the day in Japan was the happy announcement by Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui that he got married on Wednesday. According to The Associated Press, Matsui also won a bet against teammates Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu about who would get married first.

Although Jeter and Abreu can still technically win if they get married soon enough, they both conceded defeat. Apparently, both of them had made the bet without knowing that Matsui had been planning his marriage since six months ago.

This December marks the 20th anniversary of the formation of rock band Sharam Q. To celebrate the milestone, they will hold a special concert at Nippon Budokan on December 6.

The show is scheduled to last a total of five hours. It will include guest appearances from many other people, including bands they debuted at the same time as, and singers and comedians they have become friends with. It is also predicted that vocalist Tsunku will invite Morning Musume (whom he produces) and Hiroshi Itsuki (who is now also part of Up-Front Agency). The complete list of guests will be announced in the future.

Sharam Q has not performed at the Budokan since 10 years ago, before they went on hiatus from 2000 to 2006.

The previously announced Clash Against Commercialism J-rock concert in New York has been canceled. Organizer FREE-WILL revealed on Wednesday that due to "a delay in securing visas for members of the featured Japanese bands, combined with scheduling conflicts," the show has been halted.

Originally set for April 6, the concert had a lineup of 12012, ANTI FEMINISM, RENTRER EN SOI, the studs, and boogieman. It has not yet been rescheduled, and tickets are being refunded.

Fuji TV's idol project group Idoling!!! is doubling in size, it was learned on Thursday.

Nine new members are being added to the unit, including 19-year-old Maia Kobayashi. They will first appear on the "Idoling!!!" television show on April 7.

It was also announced that the 18-member group will be the image characters for Fuji TV's "Odaiba Gakuen 2008" event, which runs from April 26 to May 6.