In June, NHK revealed that its 2010 taiga drama will be "Ryomaden," based on the life of the historical figure Sakamoto Ryoma. The lead actor has now been unveiled, and it is none other than actor/singer Masaharu Fukuyama, who has never before appeared in an NHK series.

The supporting cast has still not been publicly announced. NHK plans to start filming in August 2009, and "Ryomaden" will start its broadcast run in January 2010.

Which celebrities have a sexy voice? Oricon asked a thousand men and women that question in a poll taken last month. Masaharu Fukuyama unsurprisingly landed at the top of the list of male celebrities, though actress Aya Sugimoto was a more unexpected choice to lead the female list.

Fukuyama's closest competition was from Shosuke Tanihara and Hiro Mizushima at #2 and #3, respectively. Kirin's Akira Kawashima placed 4th, above popular actor Hiroshi Tamaki. The bottom half of the top ten consisted of Gackt, HYDE, Jin Akanishi, Hiroshi Abe, and Koshi Inaba (of B'z).

On the women's rankings, Kumi Koda came in second behind Sugimoto. Actresses Miki Maya, Hitomi Kuroki, and Rieko Miura took the next three slots. Ayumi Hamasaki was #6, followed by actress Kaori Momoi. Ringo Shiina, Yukie Nakama, and Norika Fujiwara completed the list.

Composer and arranger Makoto Saeki died of ureter cancer on Monday at a Tokyo hospital. He was 70.

Among Saeki's works were the Hibari Misora hit "Yawara" and the more recent Kiyoshi Hikawa song "Ikken," which both won a Japan Record Award.

Oricon recently conducted a survey of a thousand women ages 20 to 35 who expressed an interest in fashion. The survey had several questions, and Oricon has published some of the results on its website.

One question asked the women which female celebrity looks best in animal prints, which have recently been catching on as a fashion trend. Ayumi Hamasaki was voted #1, followed by rival Kumi Koda, actress Aya Sugimoto, model Uno Kanda, and actress Erika Sawajiri.

Another pop star, Namie Amuro, ranked #6. The rest of the top ten were models: Yukina Kinoshita, Anna Umemiya, Anna Tsuchiya, and Rinka.

In another part of the survey, Oricon asked which beauty was best suited for boots. Here, Amuro enjoyed the #1 spot, repeating her performance from last year when the same question was asked. Model Yu Yamada moved up from #6 to #2, while Karina jumped one spot to #3 and Rinka climbed from #8 to #4.

Meanwhile, Ayumi Hamasaki dropped from #2 last year to #5 this year. Also on the list were Yuri Ebihara, Kumi Koda, Yukina Kinoshita, Alisa Mizuki, and Moe Oshikiri.

A third section of the survey posed the question, "whose face would you like to have?" The cute but fierce looks of Kou Shibasaki earned her the honor of #1, followed by young actress Aoi Miyazaki. Namie Amuro also appeared on the short list at #3, while Ayumi Hamasaki tied for #4 with Yuko Takeuchi.

Fuji TV and 20th Century Fox are collaborating to produce a Japanese remake of the award-winning 2004 film "Sideways," which starred Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church. The film is being shot in the U.S., though the four main characters will be played by Japanese stars.

Fumiyo Kohinata is getting top billing as he takes over Giamatti's role, and he will be accompanied by Katsuhisa Namase, Rinko Kikuchi, and Kyoka Suzuki. They are reportedly the only Japanese cast members.

New director Cellin Gluck will be in charge. Theatrical release has been tentatively set for fall 2009.

J-horror director Hideo Nakata is now working on his first original English-language movie, titled "Chatroom." Described as a "psychological thriller about teenagers who encourage each other's destructive behavior," the film is written by playwright Enda Walsh ("Disco Pigs," "Hunger"). A new company called WestEnd Films is selling the picture at the currently running American Film Market.

Filming is scheduled to start in the spring.

Young actor Yuya Yagira updated his blog with a new entry on Thursday, the first since his accidental overdose at the end of August. He assured his fans that he is fine now and that there is no need to worry.

Yagira also mentioned Thursday's release of "Yamanai Ame," the first novel conceptualized and overseen by the actor. Written by Rin Inoue, the book is a wrenching love story between a male delivery driver and a female cafe worker. Yagira said that he would love to see the novel adapted to the big screen, starring him as the protagonist. However, no concrete plans for a movie version have been made yet.

Last month, news broke that Morning Musume graduates Hitomi Yoshizawa and Rika Ishikawa are forming a new pop-punk unit called Hangry & Angry. It has now been officially revealed that the group's first mini-album will be seeing a simultaneous release in the U.S.

Hangry & Angry is being represented by Up-Front Works, in collaboration with the Hangry & Angry clothing brand, which falls under the h.NAOTO umbrella. The brand's characters, drawn by popular illustrator GASHICON, are two cats who have traveled through time and space to save the world.

The duo's first mini-album, "Kill Me Kiss Me," is being released under an indie label on November 19. In Japan, the CD will be available only through Tsutaya, WonderGOO, Sumiya, and Virgin Megastore. A limited edition special package will also be sold, with only 10,000 units available.

On the same day, a CD-only version will be released in the U.S. through the efforts of JapanFiles. The album will also be available for digital download.

Hangry & Angry will perform their first live show in Shibuya on November 28, with SHAZNA's Izam taking on the role of their performance producer. In 2009, they are planning an international campaign in Japan, Europe, and the U.S.

More details are available in the JapanFiles press release.

KAT-TUN member Yuichi Nakamaru will play the starring role in a drama series for the first time. He has been cast in TBS's "RESCUE: Tokubetsu Koudo Kyuujotai," which will air on Saturdays at 7:56pm, starting in January.

Nakamaru plays a young firefighter aiming to become part of a special rescue team, inspired by an incident in which he was saved as a child. The series will be filmed in collaboration with an actual rescue squad in Yokohama.

Takahisa Masuda of NEWS is playing a cadet on the rescue team. Both he and Nakamaru are undergoing physical training for their roles. Other supporting cast members include Yusuke Yamamoto, Jun Kaname, Ryo Ishibashi, and Ken Ishiguro.