The popular male idol trio Shuchishin will be putting their music activities on hold as of January 2. They announced the move during Wednesday's broadcast of "FNS Kayousai."

Shuchishin - made up of Yusuke Kamiji, Takeshi Tsuruno, and Naoki Nokubo - got its start on the show "Quiz! Hexagon II," where the three became well recognized as a "baka" group. They went on to release a couple of hit singles, eventually teaming up with their female counterpart Pabo to create the larger group Aladdin. Both Shuchishin and Pabo have been invited to this year's Kohaku Uta Gassen.

On January 2, the members of Shuchishin plan to end their musical foray with a special episode of the aforementioned quiz show. However, as Tsuruno explained, this won't be a true breakup for the group. The three will simply focus on their individual careers, while still operating under the Shuchishin name. It also seems likely that they will return to singing as a group in the future.

Last month, police arrested former adult actress Risa Coda and pro tennis player Joji Miyao on charges of drug possession. On Wednesday, the first hearing in Coda's trial was held in Tokyo District Court, and she was found guilty of the charges. She was given a sentence of 18 months, suspended for 3 years.

According to Coda's testimony, she had started using the drugs last year due to a combination of factors, including her grandfather's death and her breakup with her boyfriend. Since her retirement from the AV industry this past February, she has been supporting herself with a job as a cabaret club hostess.

Coda said that she will be returning to her parents' home and may go back to her studies. Meanwhile, Miyao has yet to be tried in court, though Coda made no mention of him during her own trial.

On Wednesday, the winners of the 21st Nikkan Sports Film Awards and the Yujiro Ishihara Award were announced. The biggest victor was Yojiro Takita, earning Best Director for "Okuribito," which also picked up the the prize for Best Picture.

SMAP's Masahiro Nakai landed Best Actor for his performance in "Watashi wa Kai ni Naritai," which opened last month. Best Actress went to Haruka Ayase for multiple films, including "ICHI."

Masato Sakai ("Climber's High") won Best Supporting Actor, while Yui Natsukawa ("Aruitemo Aruitemo") won Best Supporting Actress. Teen actress Kaho earned Best Newcomer for her lead role in "Utatama," and "No Country for Old Men" was named Best Foreign Film.

"Climber's High" (directed by Masato Harada) also picked up the Yujiro Ishihara Award. The Yujiro Ishihara Newcomer Award was given this year to Shota Matsuda for his performance in "Ikigami."

Nikkan Sports is also running a vote-based set of Fan Awards for Best Picture and Best Foreign Film. Fans have already voted on the top ten movies for this year's first and second halves, which will combine to form the pool of 20 nominees for the overall awards. "Kurosagi" and "Hana Yori Dango Final" were the two leaders in the domestic film category. Voting is currently under way until December 10 for the overall awards.

According to the newest issue of Josei Seven, actress Miho Shiraishi (30) appears to have found a new romance. She was spotted out on a date with actor Hiroki Hasegawa (31) sometime last month.

The magazine article says the pair had a meal together at an Indian restaurant in the Meguro ward. Afterward, they were seen arm-in-arm, and Shiraishi was seen occasionally gazing at Hasegawa's face.

When asked about the rumor, Shiraishi's agency declined to comment, saying that it is a private matter. Hasegawa's agency was slightly more responsive, saying that they've heard that the two often eat out together. Notably, the agency did not deny the rumor.

It was just announced on Tuesday that Fuji TV's Monday night drama next season will be the medical series "Voice," featuring Eita in his first starring role. A few more details have now been revealed, including the addition of Satomi Ishihara and Toma Ikuta to the primary cast.

The show's full title will apparently be "Voice ~Inochi Naki Mono no Koe~." As previously announced, the story revolves around a group of medical students analyzing corpses as part of a seminar in forensic pathology. Eita plays the star of the group. For Toma, this will be his first regular role in Fuji TV's Monday night slot. It is also Ishihara's first time playing the heroine in that same time slot.

"Voice" premieres in January.

The upcoming movie version of "Elite Yankee Saburo" is being reinforced with the addition of top actress Yukie Nakama. Based on a TV Tokyo adaptation of a gag manga by Shuji Abe, the movie stars Hideo Ishiguro as a teenage otaku who gets mislabeled as an "elite" delinquent. Nakama will play a very minor role as a mysterious nun.

The movie opens in theaters on February 28.

Actress Honami Suzuki has announced that she is making her comeback after a 10-year absence from show business. She married comedian Takaaki Ishibashi (of Tunnels) in 1998, but because she was already pregnant at the time, she retired to raise her child. She and Ishibashi have had two more children since then, and now that they have gotten older, she has decided she is ready to resume her career.

Suzuki will start off by appearing on the cover of the January issue of the magazine Mrs., which will also begin serializing her cooking-themed essay "Honami Shokudo." Although she currently has no other work lined up besides the essay, she is aiming to gradually return to acting.

Suzuki was one of the most popular actresses during the late '80s and the '90s, starring in many hit television dramas such as "Non-chan no Yume," "Tokyo Love Story," and "News no Onna."

Next spring, TBS will be bringing its long-running news show "NEWS23" to an end. The network is planning to establish a large-scale news show on weekday evenings, and as a result, it is cutting back its news programming late at night.

"NEWS23" has been on the air since 1989, but it lost long-time anchor Tetsuya Chikushi when he died of lung cancer last month. The show will officially end after March.