Sun, November 9, 2008 (5:48am EST)
Former adult actress Risa Coda has been arrested for drug possession. The 22-year-old Coda, whose real name is Arisa Kikuchi, is being charged with possession of marijuana and stimulants. Also facing charges is her boyfriend, 27-year-old tennis pro Joji Miyao.
Coda was arrested after police found a small amount of drugs - 0.027 grams of stimulants and about 0.7 grams of marijuana - in her Tokyo apartment. During questioning, Coda stated that she had bought the marijuana because her boyfriend enjoyed it and they were planning to use it together, which implicated Miyao. He was summoned in for questioning as well, and later was arrested for joint possession of the marijuana. Both Coda and Miyao have reportedly admitted to the charges.
Investigators said that Coda and Miyao met in May 2007 but only started dating this past September. Since then, Miyao has reportedly been spending 4-5 nights a week at Coda's apartment, and she has been supplying the both of them with marijuana.
Coda was a popular AV star before she left the industry in February of this year. Since then, she has been working at a high-class cabaret club in Roppongi, though she it seems she was also aiming to become a mainstream talento. She said that she started doing stimulants around August 2007, though she has only been purchasing in very small quantities at a time from a Japanese dealer. She apparently started using the drugs after breaking up with her previous boyfriend. Miyao stated that he was unaware that Coda was also doing stimulants.
Shortly after Miyao mentioned to her that he liked smoking marijuana, she bought a gram from the same dealer for Miyao to use. He reportedly has only smoked twice at Coda's apartment so far, and on one of those occasions Coda began smoking it with him.
Police are continuing their investigation, as they believe it is very likely that Miyao is a regular smoker, and they hope to find further evidence against him.
Coda was arrested after police found a small amount of drugs - 0.027 grams of stimulants and about 0.7 grams of marijuana - in her Tokyo apartment. During questioning, Coda stated that she had bought the marijuana because her boyfriend enjoyed it and they were planning to use it together, which implicated Miyao. He was summoned in for questioning as well, and later was arrested for joint possession of the marijuana. Both Coda and Miyao have reportedly admitted to the charges.
Investigators said that Coda and Miyao met in May 2007 but only started dating this past September. Since then, Miyao has reportedly been spending 4-5 nights a week at Coda's apartment, and she has been supplying the both of them with marijuana.
Coda was a popular AV star before she left the industry in February of this year. Since then, she has been working at a high-class cabaret club in Roppongi, though she it seems she was also aiming to become a mainstream talento. She said that she started doing stimulants around August 2007, though she has only been purchasing in very small quantities at a time from a Japanese dealer. She apparently started using the drugs after breaking up with her previous boyfriend. Miyao stated that he was unaware that Coda was also doing stimulants.
Shortly after Miyao mentioned to her that he liked smoking marijuana, she bought a gram from the same dealer for Miyao to use. He reportedly has only smoked twice at Coda's apartment so far, and on one of those occasions Coda began smoking it with him.
Police are continuing their investigation, as they believe it is very likely that Miyao is a regular smoker, and they hope to find further evidence against him.
Sun, November 9, 2008 (5:06am EST)
Singer Beni Arashiro is reinventing herself under a new name: BENI. She will once again be focusing on her music career, after months of silence, starting with a new single next month.
Arashiro left her previous management agency, Oscar Promotion, at the end of August, and her contract with Avex expired at the end of September. She has now signed with Universal Music, and her first single as BENI will be released on December 10.
Titled "Mou Nidoto...," the ballad is a follow-up to DOHZI-T's "Mou Ichido... feat. BENI" that was released in June. While Arashiro was a guest artist on that song, she hasn't released a single of her own since February 2007.
"Mou Nidoto" will start selling as a chaku-uta on November 12.
Arashiro left her previous management agency, Oscar Promotion, at the end of August, and her contract with Avex expired at the end of September. She has now signed with Universal Music, and her first single as BENI will be released on December 10.
Titled "Mou Nidoto...," the ballad is a follow-up to DOHZI-T's "Mou Ichido... feat. BENI" that was released in June. While Arashiro was a guest artist on that song, she hasn't released a single of her own since February 2007.
"Mou Nidoto" will start selling as a chaku-uta on November 12.
Sun, November 9, 2008 (5:04am EST)
Reunited rock band X Japan has once again changed its concert plans. The group was scheduled to perform a show in Paris on November 22, but it has now been postponed until next year. Two Christmas concerts at the Saitama Super Arena on December 24 and 25 have also been pushed into 2009.
X Japan had planned to kick off its world tour with the Paris show this month. The band has already partnered with Azoff Management and Filament Inc., and they are finalizing a deal with promotion company AEG. However, the management companies decided that it would be best to revise X Japan's global strategy, postponing the world tour until next year. The group is still scheduled to perform a countdown concert to kick off the new year, and the 2009 concerts in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Taiwan, and Korea will reportedly go on as scheduled.
X Japan's new strategy will have the back-to-back Saitama concerts replaced with a full nationwide tour in Japan next spring. The band will also expand their efforts in Europe - a new Paris concert will be scheduled, along with additional shows in Northern Europe, starting with Sweden.
More specific details will be announced in the future as the band's plans are finalized.
X Japan had planned to kick off its world tour with the Paris show this month. The band has already partnered with Azoff Management and Filament Inc., and they are finalizing a deal with promotion company AEG. However, the management companies decided that it would be best to revise X Japan's global strategy, postponing the world tour until next year. The group is still scheduled to perform a countdown concert to kick off the new year, and the 2009 concerts in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Taiwan, and Korea will reportedly go on as scheduled.
X Japan's new strategy will have the back-to-back Saitama concerts replaced with a full nationwide tour in Japan next spring. The band will also expand their efforts in Europe - a new Paris concert will be scheduled, along with additional shows in Northern Europe, starting with Sweden.
More specific details will be announced in the future as the band's plans are finalized.
Sun, November 9, 2008 (3:30am EST)
Young actor Shunsuke Daito has been chosen to lead in a new movie by director Atsushi Kaneshige, titled "Fujoshi Kanojo." He will co-star with actress Wakana Matsumoto.
As the title suggests, the story focuses on a young man whose girlfriend is an otaku. Daito plays a college student referred to as "boku," while Matsumoto plays the anime/manga-loving OL called "Y-ko." The story is based on a blog-turned-book by writer Pentabu.　The book has also been done as a manga.
The movie is scheduled to start filming on the 19th, with theatrical release planned for next spring.
As the title suggests, the story focuses on a young man whose girlfriend is an otaku. Daito plays a college student referred to as "boku," while Matsumoto plays the anime/manga-loving OL called "Y-ko." The story is based on a blog-turned-book by writer Pentabu.　The book has also been done as a manga.
The movie is scheduled to start filming on the 19th, with theatrical release planned for next spring.
Sun, November 9, 2008 (3:12am EST)
Actress Maha Hamada, 34, has become a mother. She gave birth to her first daughter late on Saturday night. She and her husband, a 32-year-old salaryman, have been married since April of this year.
Hamada plans to return to work early next year.
Hamada plans to return to work early next year.
Sun, November 9, 2008 (2:43am EST)
Respected newscaster and journalist Tetsuya Chikushi, best known for hosting TBS's "NEWS23," died of lung cancer on Friday afternoon. He was 73.
Chikushi revealed on the show that he had cancer back in May 2007, and he had been undergoing treatment since then. In August, he went to a medical facility in Kagoshima for a three-month treatment, and he returned to Tokyo just about a week ago. However, his condition suddenly worsened and he was hospitalized.
Chikushi started out his career as a journalist for the Asahi Shimbun in 1959, but he got his big break as a news announcer in 1989 when "NEWS23" started, then known as "Chikushi Tetsuya NEWS23."
Chikushi revealed on the show that he had cancer back in May 2007, and he had been undergoing treatment since then. In August, he went to a medical facility in Kagoshima for a three-month treatment, and he returned to Tokyo just about a week ago. However, his condition suddenly worsened and he was hospitalized.
Chikushi started out his career as a journalist for the Asahi Shimbun in 1959, but he got his big break as a news announcer in 1989 when "NEWS23" started, then known as "Chikushi Tetsuya NEWS23."
