With only two more episodes to go, NHK's taiga drama series "Atsuhime" has achieved its highest ratings of the year. The November 30 episode averaged 29.2%, peaking at 30.8% two times during the show. The show's previous best was 28.1% on October 5. Overall, the series now has an average of 24.3%.

TBS has announced that at the end of March, the network will be ending its two daytime drama time slots, replacing them with a long news show.

The "Ai no Gekijo" slot (weekdays, 1:00pm) has been around since September 1968, and it has served as the home of long-running series such as "Daisuki! Itsutsugo" and "Onsen e Ikou!" The time slot currently hosts "Love Letter," starring singer Ami Suzuki.

The "Drama 30" slot (weekdays, 1:30pm), now known as "Hirudora," started in 1992. Recent shows include "Kippari!" and the currently airing "Panda ga Machi ni Yatte Kuru."

According to some sources, the hour occupied by these two slots will be combined with the two-hour slot (11:00am-1:00pm) taken up by the news show "Ping Pong!," which will also be ending due to low ratings. In addition, the block will gain another hour with the removal of "Niji-Ciao!" (2:00pm-3:00pm), resulting in a four-hour news show. Details of the new program have not yet been revealed.

Japanese networks have recently been teaming up with various online video services to digitally distribute their content. While most of the content so far has been anime, a new press release from video service Joost reveals that Japanese comedy shows are being added to the mix.

Joost is partnering with NTV, Yoshimoto Kogyo, and Dentsu to expand their online anime library. At the same time, the site is launching a dedicated "owarai" channel, which will initially offer episodes of owarai and variety shows such as "Denpa Shonen" and "Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!" The shows will be made available with English subtitles.

Episodes of "Nasubi," "R-Mania," and "Funako" have already been added to the website.

Muga Tsukaji (of Drunk Dragon) has been given the starring role in the upcoming drama series "Choujin Utada," airing on WOWOW this winter. This is Tsukaji's first time starring in a serial drama.

The show is adapted from Yasuhito Yamamoto's manga of the same name, which was serialized in Big Comic Spirits. Tsukaji plays the role of Mamoru Utada, a cop who feels stifled by the police system. When he suddenly encounters a man telling him that he only has three years left to live, he begins to rethink his life.

WOWOW will broadcast "Choujin Utada" on Fridays at midnight, starting on January 30.

Japanese-American opera tenor John Ken Nuzzo has been arrested for drug possession, it was learned on Monday. Nuzzo has reportedly admitted his guilt.

According to police, Nuzzo was in the Shinagawa ward of Tokyo on Thursday evening. He was stopped on the street by a policeman, and it was discovered that he was carrying 0.7 grams of stimulants in his pocket.

Nuzzo, the son of an Italian-American father and a Japanese mother, has been part of the Vienna State Opera since 2000. He has appeared twice at NHK's Kohaku Uta Gassen, in 2002 and 2004.

Fuji TV has revealed next season's Monday night drama series. Tentatively titled "Voice," the show will feature actor Eita in his first starring role on a TV series.

"Voice" focuses on a group of five medical university students enrolled in a seminar on forensic pathology. Eita plays one of the students, noted for his keen perception and strong intuition. Along with the other students, he works on uncovering the mysteries of the corpses they examine.

The drama will premiere in January, airing on Monday nights at 9:00pm.

Asahi Breweries appointed its 2009 Image Girl on Monday. 20-year-old model Yumi Kobayashi will be succeeding Miki Yoshimura as the face of the company, starting in January.

Past image girls include Norika Fujiwara and Misaki Ito.

Kotomi Aoki's popular shojo manga "Boku no Hatsukoi wo Kimi ni Sasagu" is being turned into a live-action movie, directed by Takehiko Shinjo ("Heavenly Forest"). Young actress Mao Inoue of "Hana Yori Dango" fame has been chosen to star in the film.

The story revolves around the relationship between Mayu (Inoue) and her first love, a young man named Takuma (Masaki Okada) whom she has known since childhood. Mayu's father is Takuma's cardiologist, and she learns that Takuma may not live much longer past the age of 20 due to his heart condition. When they were 8 years old, Takuma promised to marry Mayu, unaware of his own lifespan. But when he finds out the truth, he tries to distance himself from Mayu in hopes of sparing her the inevitable pain of his death.

Filming is scheduled to start in March, around the time that Inoue is expected to graduate from Meiji University. The completed movie will be released next fall.

AKB48 member Yuko Oshima was hospitalized last week for acute appendicitis, it was learned on Monday. She went to sleep on Friday night after work, but she began feeling sharp abdominal pains and decided to take herself to the hospital on Saturday morning. She was immediately admitted and successfully received surgery.

Oshima was scheduled to participate in four television recordings that Saturday, but all of her appearances had to be canceled. Her agency hopes to have her return to work as early as this Friday.

The judging committee of the 50th Japan Record Awards announced most of the winners on Monday. This year, there were 12 Gold Award winners:

• "Soba ni Iru ne" by Thelma Aoyama
• "Ai no Mama de" by Junko Akimoto
• "Ameato" by w-inds.
• "Ti Amo" by EXILE
• "Edo no Temari Uta II" by C-ute
• "Moon Crying" by Kumi Koda
• "Ya Mujo" by Kazuyoshi Saito
• "Jungle Dance" by Nana Tanimura
• "Doushite Kimi wo Suki ni Natte Shimattan Darou?" by TVXQ
• "Genkai Funauta" by Kiyoshi Hikawa
• "Wajima Asaichi" by Kaori Mizumori
• "Girigiri HERO" by mihimaru GT

Five New Artist Awards were announced:

• GIRL NEXT DOOR
• Kimaguren
• Kumiko Sakurai
• Jero
• Mai Fukui

Namie Amuro's top-selling "BEST FICTION" collection was chosen as Best Album. The other Album Awards went to:

• "GAME" by Perfume
• "Beyond Standard" by Hiromi Uehara
• "Captain Hate & First Mate Love" by Keiichi Suzuki
• "Meisaku Uta Tsuzuri" by Fuyumi Sakamoto

Other awards were given to Agnes Chan, "Gake no Ue no Ponyo," Southern All Stars, and Shuchishin, among others.

TBS will broadcast the awards ceremony live on December 30, during which the winners of the Japan Record Award (chosen from the Gold Award winners) and Best New Artist (chosen from the New Artist Award winners) will be revealed.

The popular boy band Hey! Say! JUMP will soon have its own manga series running in Shogakukan's Ciao magazine. The comic, titled "Waiwai Hey! Say! JUMP," will be drawn by Keiko Notoyama.

The manga will begin serialization in the magazine's February issue, which goes on sale December 29. It will appear along with a special photo feature and a message to the readers.