Alisa Mizuki has been given the lead role in an upcoming movie, tentatively titled "Baby Baby Baby." It has been about 3 years since she last starred in a film.

"Baby Baby Baby" is described as a comedy about childbirth, as the title suggests. Mizuki plays a career woman who unexpectedly becomes pregnant, leaving her worrying about balancing work and family.

The movie is unrelated to the popular drama series "Nurse no Oshigoto," but many of the cast and staff previously worked on at least one of the drama's four seasons between 1996 and 2002. In particular, the main cast includes Mizuki, Yuki Matsushita, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Kazue Ito, and Uno Kanda. About half of the 40 speaking roles are being played by "Nurse no Oshigoto" actors.

Kazuyuki Morosawa, who produced "Nurse no Oshigoto," is serving as writer and director for "Baby Baby Baby." He will be working with several familiar staff members, including the cinematographer and the art director.

"Baby Baby Baby" is scheduled to open in May 2009.

D-BOYS member Masato Wada will star in his first stage play, based on the Shion Miura novel "Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru." The story follows a group of students aiming to challenge the Hakone Ekiden, a major long-distance relay race held among universities every year.

Wada is known as a runner in real life, having participated in the Hakone Ekiden during his own university days. He also completed the Tokyo Marathon this past February in under three hours, finishing first out of all the celebrities who ran it.

The cast for "Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru" includes Masaya Kikawada and fellow D-BOYS member Hirofumi Araki. The play will run at Le Theatre Ginza from January 8 to 18 next year, followed by performances in Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and other cities.

Actor Hiroshi Tamaki is taking the lead in an upcoming suspense film titled "Manatsu no Orion," directed by Tetsuo Shinohara. Based on the novel "Raigeki Shindo Juukyuu-ten-go" by Tsukasa Ikegami, the movie is set near Okinawa during World War II. While the main focus is a naval battle between a Japanese submarine and an American destroyer, the film also portrays the personal relationships among those involved.

Tamaki plays the warm-hearted captain of the submarine.　His close friend and colleague is being played by CHEMISTRY's Yoshikuni Dochin, who is making his acting debut with this role.

Toho and TV Asahi are involved in production. Filming started on July 1, and next month some scenes will be shot in the U.S. using a preserved WWII-era destroyer. Theatrical release is scheduled for 2009.

Actor Hiroyuki Ikeuchi is appearing in his first foreign film, having been cast in a Hong Kong movie directed by Wilson Yip. The movie, which has a tentative English title of "Yip Man," is a semi-documentary about the life of martial arts master Yip Man, known as the teacher of Bruce Lee and many others.

Ikeuchi plays a Japanese military officer named Miura who eventually has a showdown with Yip Man, played by Donnie Yen. Ikeuchi is reportedly the only Japanese actor appearing in the film.

Ikeuchi shot his scenes in Shanghai during April and May, after being offered the part only two weeks earlier. Fortunately, Ikeuchi had already been preparing to audition for overseas films since January, when he started attending an English conversation school.

"Yip Man" will be released throughout Asia, starting with China in December. The Japanese release has not yet been scheduled.

Mika Kano of the Kano Sisters was involved in a car accident on Saturday. While making a left turn at an intersection in Roppongi, her vehicle came in contact with a motorcycle, causing it to fall over. The 39-year-old male driver fortunately suffered only minor injuries.

Police say that Kano will be charged with negligent driving.

The 2008 Miss Magazine idol competition presented its winners on Sunday. Out of the 17,000 contestants, 15-year-old Nanami Sakuraba was chosen as the Grand Prix winner.

Sakuraba entered show business last year, though she only made her screen debut earlier this year. She was recently given a role in the upcoming television and film adaptations of the best-selling novel "Akai Ito."

17-year-old Sakura Sato was named Miss Weekly Shonen Magazine, and 19-year-old Miki Nakagawa earned the title of Miss Young Magazine. Shizuka Umemoto, 15, won the Special Readers' Prize. The Special Judges' Prize went to Mio Otani, who turned 16 on that day.

The concert event Girl Pop Factory has announced a new addition to its lineup: idol Shoko Nakagawa will be making an appearance as the opening act.

This year's Girl Pop Factory features Kumi Koda, Perfume, HALCALI, Ikimono Gakari, and Thelma Aoyama. It is being held at Zepp Tokyo on August 3.

A few weeks ago, popular actor Yu Shirota announced at the end of a D-BOYS performance that he would be graduating from the group. On July 6, he wrote on his official blog that he had just graduated, but he followed it up with another post this past Friday saying a bit more about his status.

According to Friday's entry, Shirota claims that there won't be any significant changes, and that he still expects to be working with the other D-BOYS members. He also mentioned that he had heard that some fans were shocked, but he urged them to not take it so seriously and to think of it as just another step as an adult.

The D-BOYS website itself still lists Shirota as a member and does not include his graduation under the news topics. It is not yet clear how much impact Shirota's graduation will actually have.