Mon, November 10, 2008 (2:19am EST)
With Kohaku Uta Gassen only weeks away, NHK is expected to soon announce this year's celebrity hosts. Research firm Oricon took a look at who the public are hoping for, surveying 1,200 men and women over the internet.
In the male category, SMAP's Masahiro Nakai was the most popular choice. Nakai has been a Kohaku host four times already, including the last two years. He was also the top answer in last year's survey.
The other popular answers were Tamori, Sanma Akashiya, Tsurube Shofukutei (who hosted last year), Shinsuke Shimada, Masaharu Fukuyama, Takuya Kimura, Minomonta, Shosuke Tanihara, and SMAP as a group.
For female celebrities, young actress Aoi Miyazaki was voted #1, showing a boost in popularity after she starred in the taiga drama "Atsuhime." She bumped the previous survey favorite Yukie Nakama, who hosted Kohaku in 2005 and 2006, to second place.
The rest of the list for females were Akiko Wada, Masami Hisamoto, Becky, Norika Fujiwara, Junko Kubo, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, Harumi Edo, and Aya Ueto.
In the male category, SMAP's Masahiro Nakai was the most popular choice. Nakai has been a Kohaku host four times already, including the last two years. He was also the top answer in last year's survey.
The other popular answers were Tamori, Sanma Akashiya, Tsurube Shofukutei (who hosted last year), Shinsuke Shimada, Masaharu Fukuyama, Takuya Kimura, Minomonta, Shosuke Tanihara, and SMAP as a group.
For female celebrities, young actress Aoi Miyazaki was voted #1, showing a boost in popularity after she starred in the taiga drama "Atsuhime." She bumped the previous survey favorite Yukie Nakama, who hosted Kohaku in 2005 and 2006, to second place.
The rest of the list for females were Akiko Wada, Masami Hisamoto, Becky, Norika Fujiwara, Junko Kubo, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, Harumi Edo, and Aya Ueto.
Mon, November 10, 2008 (12:05am EST)
Former Morning Musume member Ai Kago appeared on a television show on Sunday, and she mentioned on the air that she has set her sights on the high school exams.
Kago, who is now 20, was too busy with Morning Musume during her junior high years, so she never went on to high school. She said she is currently studying to take the tests. She also mentioned that she is attending English conversation classes and would like to go on to university.
Kago was twice caught in an underage smoking scandal and eventually dismissed by Up-Front Agency, though she was able to start her comeback earlier this year with a different management firm.
Kago, who is now 20, was too busy with Morning Musume during her junior high years, so she never went on to high school. She said she is currently studying to take the tests. She also mentioned that she is attending English conversation classes and would like to go on to university.
Kago was twice caught in an underage smoking scandal and eventually dismissed by Up-Front Agency, though she was able to start her comeback earlier this year with a different management firm.
Mon, November 10, 2008 (12:03am EST)
Fuji TV is producing a drama series called "Triangle," scheduled to air next season. Actor Yosuke Eguchi will be the star of the show, supported by SMAP's Goro Inagaki and actress Ryoko Hirosue.
The series is described as a mystery/suspense story, starting with the murder of a 10-year-old girl in 1984. 15 years later, after the case goes unsolved and passes the statute of limitations, a doctor named Ryoji Goda (Eguchi) suddenly quits from his hospital and eventually becomes a detective. In 2008, he meets a traveling artist (Hirosue) in Paris, and shortly after Goda's return to Japan, he becomes involved in the expired murder case when another detective (Inagaki) receives an anonymous phone call.
Aside from Paris, where filming is currently taking place, the show's settings also include Tokyo, Osaka, and Shanghai. The rest of the cast is said to include other top actors, young and old, including Kinya Kitaoji.
"Triangle" will premiere on January 6, airing every Tuesday at 10:00pm.
The series is described as a mystery/suspense story, starting with the murder of a 10-year-old girl in 1984. 15 years later, after the case goes unsolved and passes the statute of limitations, a doctor named Ryoji Goda (Eguchi) suddenly quits from his hospital and eventually becomes a detective. In 2008, he meets a traveling artist (Hirosue) in Paris, and shortly after Goda's return to Japan, he becomes involved in the expired murder case when another detective (Inagaki) receives an anonymous phone call.
Aside from Paris, where filming is currently taking place, the show's settings also include Tokyo, Osaka, and Shanghai. The rest of the cast is said to include other top actors, young and old, including Kinya Kitaoji.
"Triangle" will premiere on January 6, airing every Tuesday at 10:00pm.
Mon, November 10, 2008 (12:02am EST)
Female duo HALCALI has been chosen to provide the image song for this year's Radio Charity Musicthon, an annual event organized by the Nippon Broadcasting System. The song, called "Re: Yasashii Kimochi," uses samples from the 1997 Chara hit "Yasashii Kimochi." Although the song's chorus will include Chara's vocals, the rest of the song is getting new lyrics written by HALCALI.
The Radio Charity Musicthon starts at noon on December 24 and runs for 24 hours. However, listeners will have to wait until February before they will be able to purchase the "Re: Yasashii Kimochi" single.
The Radio Charity Musicthon starts at noon on December 24 and runs for 24 hours. However, listeners will have to wait until February before they will be able to purchase the "Re: Yasashii Kimochi" single.
