Actor Ryuhei Matsuda (25) and half-Russian model Lina Ohta (21) are now married. Matsuda's agency announced the news on Tuesday, revealing that the couple registered their marriage on January 11, Ohta's birthday. Ohta is already pregnant.

Matsuda and Ohta's relationship was first reported in 2007.

EXILE's song "Boku e" is being used as the theme song for the movie "General Rouge no Gaisen," the sequel to last year's "Team Batista no Eikou." The new movie, which again stars Yuko Takeuchi and Hiroshi Abe, hits theaters on March 7.

"Boku e" was already released as part of the "EXILE BALLAD BEST" collection in December. Although it was never sold as a CD single, it has so far reached more than 400,000 digital downloads.

Actress Takako Tokiwa will star in "Hikidashi no Naka no Love Letter," an upcoming movie by director Shinichi Mishiro. Mishiro has been involved with several popular TV dramas in the past, such as "Hana Yori Dango 2," and as a producer he worked on last year's blockbuster "Hana Yori Dango Final."

The movie's theme is described as "communicating one's feelings," lamenting modern society as being full of people that have forgotten how to truly express themselves, reduced to just formal greetings and impersonal messages. Its story is based on the book "Todokanakatta Love Letter," which has become a big seller due to its popularity online.

In the film, Tokiwa plays a radio show host whose father died without being able to express himself.

Distributor Shochiku apparently has high hopes for the project, claiming that the film could be the next "Okuribito," which won numerous awards while earning 3 billion yen at the box office last year. "Hikidashi no Naka no Love Letter" is scheduled to open in October.

With rock band ELLEGARDEN now on hiatus for the past few months, guitarist Shinichi Ubukata has revealed on his blog that he has formed a new band called Nothing's Carved In Stone.

The band consists of four members: Ubukata, STRAIGHTENER bassist Hidekazu Hinata, FULLARMOR drummer Takanori Ohkita, and ABSTRACT MASH vocalist/guitarist Taku Muramatsu.

An official website for the band is now open. On February 27, they will play their first live show at the Daikanyama UNIT in Tokyo.

Popular band Remioromen will be releasing a best album on March 9. Even though the date is a Monday, an unusual day for music releases, it was chosen because of their hit song, "Sangatsu Kokonoka" (which means March 9).

Naturally, "Sangatsu Kokonoka" is included in the collection, along with the single "Konayuki." A total of 15 songs are said to have been selected for the album. The bonus DVD in the special edition features video from their "STAND BY ME" concert in 2006.

The album's title and tracklist are expected to be announced soon on the band's website.

Management agency Avantgarde is in trouble with the tax authorities. The company is suspected of hiding approximately 1.15 billion yen in earnings during a three-year period ending in December 2006, which comes out to 340 million yen in unpaid taxes. President Masaya Makino has already been reported to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office.

Avantgarde managed many popular celebrities such as Yuko Ogura, Kaori Manabe, and Shoko Hamada until it was integrated last year into the public company Avilla, which now handles Ogura and the others.

According to the accusations, Avantgarde transferred funds to a separate agency under the pretense of various fees, but that agency was just a dummy company indirectly controlled by Makino.

Cyberpunk techno duo BESPA KUMAMERO has been announced as a guest at this year's Anime Boston, which is taking place on May 22-24. The group had their first U.S. performance last year at Anime Matsuri in Houston, and they followed it up with shows in Mexico and Russia.

Read the full press release from JapanFiles.