39-year-old actress Yasuko Tomita announced on Wednesday that she has been married since last year and is already a mother. Her husband is a dance instructor named Yuji Okamoto, who is ten years younger than her.

Tomita and Okamoto met when they worked together two years ago on a dance competition show on NTV. From there, they began dating, and in June 2007 they tied the knot. Tomita also gave birth to a daughter around that time.

38-year-old actor Taishu Kase, arrested in October for drug possession, was found guilty by the Tokyo District Court. On Thursday, the judge handed Kase a sentence of two and a half years (the same as sought by prosecutors), though it was suspended for three years.

The winners of the 41st Nihon Yusen Taisho were presented on Wednesday. EXILE had the best results, taking the Grand Prize and Most Requested Artist. The Most Requested Song prize was won by Kiyoshi Hikawa, while Jero was named Best New Artist.

DA PUMP member YUKINARI is leaving the group, it was announced on Wednesday. His departure is effective as of Thursday. At the same time, the group will be adding seven more members, bringing its total size to nine.

In July, member ISSA fractured his leg and had to receive surgery. Because of that, the group had to postpone their summer tour, and they have been inactive since then. During that time, YUKINARI decided that he wanted to pursue his own music career.

The other two members, ISSA and KEN, recruited an additional seven dancers with various dance styles. Their names are DAICHI (the youngest at 20), KAZUMA, KENZO, KIMI, TOMO, U-YEAH, and YORI.

DA PUMP's new nine-member lineup will release their first single next spring. The group also has plans to expand beyond music, into other entertainment arenas such as modeling and acting.