The popular detective drama "Aibou" reached a new milestone on Wednesday. This season's 4th episode drew ratings of 20.7%, marking the first time that the regular series has ever surpassed 20%.

"Aibou" started out as a string of three separate 2-hour specials in TV Asahi's "Doyo Wide Gekijo" block, and in 2001 the second special achieved 22.0% ratings. In May of this year, another special episode hit 20.6%. However, the regular "Aibou" series, which started in 2002 and is currently in its 7th season, has had more than 100 episodes but had never gone higher than 19% before this season's 2nd episode.

This week's issue of Josei Seven included an article rumoring that 24-year-old singer Misono and 33-year-old comedian Hidetsugu Shibata (of Untouchable) are having an affair. Shibata, who is married and has two children, was recently seen at an izakaya with the singer.

Misono made a public appearance on Wednesday to promote a CD release by her new unit with Mai Satoda and comedian Toshifumi Fujimoto (of FUJIWARA). When asked about the rumor, Misono denied the accusations, clarifying that Shibata is a very good friend of hers.

Remioromen will be providing the theme song for Takahisa Zeze's upcoming movie "Kansen Retto" (also known as "Pandemic"). The film stars Satoshi Tsumabuki as a young doctor trying to deal with outbreak of an unknown virus across Japan.

Remioromen's song is a moving tune titled "Yume no Tsubomi." There is no CD release planned yet. "Kansen Retto" will open in Japan on January 17.

To commemorate their reunion, the music group Do As Infinity has announced a special re-release of their six studio albums and their best album "Do The Best." The albums are being sold in HQCD format, a new type of disc that promises higher audio quality than typical CDs. These are the first HQCD releases put out by Avex.

The new discs are each priced at 2,000 yen (tax included) and include special contents. They went on sale this past Monday.

Teen actor Masaki Okada has landed the lead role in the movie "Honokaa Boy," directed by Atsushi Sanada. It will be his first time to get top billing on a film.

Okada plays a brokenhearted college student who travels to Hawaii, where he matures through his encounters with various people. One key character is an older woman that he falls for, played by model Jun Hasegawa, who grew up in Hawaii.

Keiko Matsuzaka and Chieko Baisho will play supporting characters. Filming began in Hawaii in October, and is scheduled to last a month. The movie will open in theaters on March 14.

Fuji TV has just revealed its winter daytime drama series. Titled "Hikon Doumei," the show is being done by the same writer (Takehiro Nakajima) and producers as the earlier dramas "Shinju Fujin" and "Botan to Bara."

The series stars Hitomi Sato, Erisa Akiyama, and Chizuru Lee as three women who have chosen to lead a "hikon" lifestyle - dating and even having children with no plans for marriage.

"Hikon Doumei" will run in Fuji TV's weekday 1:30pm time slot, starting on January 5.

22-year-old talento Akari Hori and 29-year-old professional jockey Kenichi Ikezoe recently got married, it was learned on Wednesday. They registered their marriage on Tuesday after only about eight months of dating. Hori is three months pregnant.

Hori, a 4th-year student at Ritsumeikan University, is active as an idol, actress, and sportscaster. She met Ikezoe in April through a common friend, and they soon started dating. By July, Ikezoe had already proposed, and they had planned to tie the knot after Hori's expected graduation next year. They have now scheduled their wedding ceremony for February.

Ikezoe has been very successful in the JRA circuit, having won hundreds of regular races and nine GI events. He has been married once before.

Screenwriter Shinji Nojima is working on an upcoming TBS drama series titled "Love Shuffle." The romantic comedy will star several popular actors, including Hiroshi Tamaki, Karina, Shota Matsuda, and Shihori Kanjiya.

Tamaki plays a manager at an IT company who breaks off his engagement to the president's daughter (Kanjiya). Later at his apartment, a power failure leaves him trapped in an elevator with three other residents (Karina, Matsuda, and Shosuke Tanihara). While waiting, their conversation hits upon the question of whether there is truly only one fated partner for everyone. As a result, they decide to run an experiment by "shuffling" their relationships with one another.

"Love Shuffle" premieres on January 16 and will air every Friday at 10:00pm.

Next season, NTV is airing a live-action drama based on Tadashi Agi's popular wine-themed manga "Kami no Shizuku." The drama series will star KAT-TUN's Kazuya Kamenashi in his first salaryman role.

The original manga is currently running in Kodansha's Weekly Morning magazine. The story revolves around a young man whose father, a world-famous wine critic, suddenly dies. In order to take over his father's vast wine collection, he must face off against his adopted brother in a contest to find specific wines, even though he originally has no knowledge of wines.

"Kami no Shizuku" will run in NTV's Tuesday 10:00pm time slot, starting in January.