On January 31, an idol audition event called "Idol Senshuken Push★1" will be held in Tokyo. During a press conference for the event on Friday, producer Yasushi Akimoto revealed that he is putting together a new unit that combines members of AKB48 and Fuji TV's Idoling!!!

Akimoto, who produces AKB48, said that the new unit will be called AKB Idoling!!! and that the member selection process is currently under way. The group is scheduled to make their debut at the "Idol Senshuken" event, and it has already been decided that they will release their first single through Pony Canyon in late February.

AKB48 member Yuko Oshima, who was treated last week for appendicitis, officially returned to work at the same press conference on Friday.

Talento Akiko Hinagata will star in the daytime television series "Sagishi Ririko," airing next season on TV Tokyo. The story is based on the book "Route 246" by Izumi Fujimura.

Hinagata plays a housewife who happens to be a brilliant swindler, and she uses her skills to punish evil. Her supporting cast includes Ryuichi Oura, Terumi Azuma, and Shinobu Tsuruta.

Each week of the show will reportedly feature one complete story arc, for a total of 65 episodes. TV Tokyo will broadcast "Sagishi Ririko" every weekday in its 11:50am-12:26pm time slot, starting on January 5.

Reggae group Shonannokaze has been chosen to provide the theme song for the movie "Drop," the feature-length directorial debut of comedian Hiroshi Shinagawa, whose autobiographical novel serves as the basis for the film.

This will be the first song that Shonannokaze has written specifically for a film. Its current working title is "Shinyuu Yo." The movie "Drop" is scheduled to open in March 2009, but no release date has been set yet for Shonannokaze's single.

The NTV announcer trio known as go!go!girls are making their singing debut. The group is made up of Miku Natsume, Helene Hayama, and the recently married Nana Suzue. Their first project is a cover of Mariya Takeuchi's love song "Christmas wa Isshoni."

The go!go!girls version of "Christmas wa Isshoni" is a limited-time digital release. Starting on Friday, it will be available through NTV's mobile site Chaku NTV.

Noted film director Mamoru Oshii is directing and writing his first stage production, it was learned on Thursday. He is tackling an adaptation of Mitsuteru Yokoyama's manga "Tetsujin 28-go," which was turned into an anime series in the '60s that became the basis of the American show "Gigantor."

Unexpectedly, 44-year-old actress Kaho Minami will be starring in two roles, as the 15-year-old male protagonist Shotaro Kaneda and as a mysterious female "fast food grifter" (more accurately, a "tachiguishi," as seen in Oshii's live-action film "Onna Tachiguishi Retsuden"). The supporting cast includes Narushi Ikeda, rocker Diamond Yukai, and musician/writer Sunplaza Nakano-kun (appearing in his first play).

"Tetsujin 28-go" will be performed at Tokyo's Galaxy Theatre on January 10-25 and at Osaka's Umeda Arts Theater on February 5-8.

Hip-hop group TERIYAKI BOYZ will be entering the U.S. market with a major label release next year. Their album, titled "Serious Japanese," is scheduled to be put out by Pharrell's Star Trak Entertainment label in March. The album will also be simultaneously released in Europe and Asia, though Japan will get it first on January 28.

The TERIYAKI BOYZ unit consists of five members. It is led by fashion producer NIGO (A Bathing Ape) and includes RYO-Z, ILMARI, VERBAL, and WISE. The group debuted in 2005, and their first album was sold in 21 countries. They have already done collaborations with popular American hip-hop artists Kanye West and Pharrell, including two songs on the soundtrack for "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift." They also performed at the New York-Tokyo Music Festival in 2007.

With "Serious Japanese," TERIYAKI BOYZ will be the first Japanese hip-hop act to get a major label American release. They will be only the third artist across all genres, after Kyu Sakamoto and Puffy.