On Wednesday, it was publicly announced that Osamu Dazai's best known novel, "Shayo" ("The Setting Sun"), will be turned into a motion picture. Director Masatoshi Akihara is in charge of the adaptation, which is set to start filming this November.

The novel, first published in 1947 a year before Dazai's death, examined the need for social change in postwar Japan.

The cast has already been decided. Eriko Sato, said to be a big Dazai fan, is starring as the heroine Kazuko. The supporting cast includes Yoichi Nukumizu, Yosuke Ito, Sera Rinka, Kota Masago, Ichiro Ogura, and Hitomi Takahashi. The classical Gothic Lolita band Kokusyoku Sumire is in charge of the film's music.

"Shayo" is currently slated for a May 2009 release.

In a relatively slow week for music, Kyosuke Himuro's 20th anniversary best album sold over 81,000 copies to achieve #1 on the charts. This is his 10th chart-topping album, though the last one was "IDEA" in 1997.

Asian Kung-fu Generation's new album earned them the #2 spot with 52,000 in sales. Only two other new releases made it into the top 10, both of which were by overseas artists: Offspring (#3) and Coldplay (#5).

On the singles chart, GLAY was able to secure #1 with "VERB," with fans picking up 98,000 copies during the week. It was enough to outsell Kumi Koda's "MOON" (88,000 copies), which was her first release since her suspension earlier this year.

UVERworld managed to show at #3, one spot ahead of T.M.Revolution's new song. Also making the charts were the Hello! Project unit High-King (#6), hip-hopper DOHZI-T (#7), Sukima Switch member Takuya Ohashi (#8), and rock band Angelo (#9).

Comedian and talento Yuichi Kimura is taking the director's seat for his first feature-length film, titled "Nisesatsu." Kimura previously directed a short as part of a Yoshimoto Kogyo project last summer.

Kimura's debut is based on a major money counterfeiting case that took place in the Yamanashi prefecture shortly after the end of World War II. Mitsuko Baisho stars as an honest vice principal of an elementary school who becomes a complicit witness of a counterfeiting operation. Kimura himself will play one of the criminals.

Filming began at the start of this month, and the movie is scheduled for release in 2009.

TBS' drama adaptation of "Koizora" now has its leads confirmed. From more than a thousand people auditioning for the parts, 16-year-old model Erena Mizusawa and 20-year-old D-BOYS actor Koji Seto were chosen to star in the series.

Originally based on a mobile phone novel, the story was turned into a hit movie last year starring Yui Aragaki and Haruma Miura. When it was announced in May that the drama version would have a different cast, producers were said to be looking for a pair with relatively little acting experience.

Mizusawa, a model for the magazine SEVENTEEN, just made her acting debut in BS-i's "Koisuru Nichiyoubi" drama program this past March. On the other hand, Seto has been with the acting troupe D-BOYS for about two and half years, and is currently gaining plenty of exposure as the hero of "Kamen Rider Kiva."

"Koizora" starts on August 2, airing Saturday nights around 8:00pm.

Teen model Aoi Nakabeppu, who is currently serving as this year's Toray Swimwear Campaign Girl, will be starring in her first drama series this summer.

The series, "Walkin' Butterfly," is based on a manga of the same name by Chihiro Tamaki. Nakabeppu plays a young woman aiming to be a model, but she has a complex about being too tall.

The show is also getting an unusual crossover with a major movie. The film is Takahisa Zeze's "Flying Rabbits" (in theaters September 13), which revolves around the women's basketball team JAL Rabbits. Several of the film's stars, including Satomi Ishihara and Saori Takizawa, will make guest appearances in the drama as their characters from the movie.

"Walkin' Butterfly" will air on TV Tokyo in the late-night Friday 12:12am time slot, starting on July 11.