Fuji TV revealed in October that it is producing a special documentary drama titled "Kamiji Yusuke Monogatari," based on the life of rising male idol Yusuke Kamiji. The lead actor playing Kamiji has now been decided.

19-year-old Yuki Yoshida, a second-year student at a university in the Shiga prefecture, was chosen by audition for the role. About 1,500 pros and amateurs had tried out for the part, but Yoshida managed to come out on top and make his dreams of show business come true.

The special is scheduled to air sometime during next spring. Kamiji will be singing the theme song, making his solo debut under the name "Yusuke." The song, titled "Himawari," is being released as a single on March 11.

TBS has revealed that its long-running documentary/variety show "Doubutsu Kisou Tengai!" will be coming to a close in March 2009. The animal-themed show has been hosted by Minomonta since it began in 1993, but TBS decided to axe it due to a decline in ratings this year.

The show reached the height of its popularity in September 2001 when it achieved 19.6% viewership ratings. In 2004, the show moved from Saturday nights to Sunday nights, putting it in competition with NHK's highly-rated taiga dramas, but it still managed to maintain ratings over 10%. However, ratings have been falling for a couple of years, and ever since the start of this year, ratings have dipped into the single digits.

This is just the latest in a string of lineup changes announced by TBS for next spring. It has not yet been determined what will fill the vacant Sunday 8:00pm time slot, though some say that the network is considering moving one of its more popular shows to that time.

TV Asahi announcer Akiko Kawano (30) has just gotten married to Hirokazu Ibata (33), the shortstop for the Chunichi Dragons. The news was sent out by fax to the media on Monday.

Kawano is currently a regular on the network's "Houdou Station" news program. She said that she plans to leave the show at the end of March.

Aya Ishiguro, once a member of pop group Morning Musume, was involved in a traffic accident over the weekend, it was learned on Monday. Late on Saturday night, Ishiguro was driving in the Setagaya ward. At one intersection, she collided with another car, which was driven by a 65-year-old man.

Ishiguro's mother and daughter were riding in the car with her. Fortunately, nobody in either car was hurt.

NTV has announced a new drama series for next season titled "Mousou Shimai," starring Mahiru Konno, Michiko Kichise, and Mai Takahashi.

The three actresses play sisters living together, though they have very different personalities, leading them to believe they have different mothers. One day, they each receive a letter from their dead father, with each indicating the title of an erotic novel. Believing that the letters are hints about their mothers, they begin reading the books, and before they know it, they start imagining themselves as the novels' heroines.

The series is planned to run for 12 episodes, with each actress being the primary focus of a 4-episode arc. The show will air late at nights on Saturdays (12:55am), starting on January 17.

The finals of the 2008 M-1 Grand Prix were held on Sunday. This year, a total of 4,489 acts competed in the contest, making it the largest M-1 Grand Prix ever.

The duo NON STYLE, composed of Akira Ishida and Yusuke Inoue, emerged victorious. The two have been a combo since 2000, starting out in the Hyogo prefecture. They eventually earned regular appearances on two TV shows and one radio show in Osaka, but they decided to move to Tokyo this past April.