The well-known Horikoshi High School held its graduation ceremony on Tuesday in the Nakano Sun Plaza. This year's ceremony was attended by Hey! Say! JUMP member Hikaru Yaotome, as well as actresses Saki Fukuda and Misako Renbutsu.

Yaotome and Fukuda have reportedly decided not to go on to university, instead choosing to focus on their entertainment careers. Renbutsu is said to be entering a famous private university in Tokyo this April.

mihimaru GT vocalist hiroko has completed a collaboration with U.S. rock band The All-American Rejects. On March 4, The All-American Rejects' latest album, "When the World Comes Down," is being released in Japan. The Japanese release will include a new version of "Another Heart Calls," featuring vocals from hiroko.

The new version of "Another Heart Calls" will be available as a ringtone starting on Wednesday. It has also been reported that The All-American Rejects are performing in Shibuya with hiroko on the album's release date, but mihimaru GT's official website says that the information is incorrect and that there are no plans for a joint concert.

The finals of the 2009 R-1 Grand Prix were held in Tokyo on Tuesday. The competition, which pits solo comedians against each other, has been running since 2002. This year saw a record field of approximately 3,400 entries, and it was also the first time that the finals were broadcast live during golden time on Fuji TV.

In the end, the winner was 28-year-old Kota Nakayama. This was his 5th year to compete and his 4th to make the final round. Nakayama managed to pick up a total of 683 points, narrowly defeating the predicted winner Masahiro Ehara, who had 675 points.

Nakayama earned 5 million yen for his victory.

KAT-TUN's 9th single, "ONE DROP," led the charts this week with 281,000 in sales. This gave them their ninth consecutive #1, extending back to their debut single. This is currently the third longest such streak, behind NEWS (10) and KinKi Kids (28).

At #2 was girl band Stereopony, with 31,000 copies of their second single, "Namida no Mukou," which is being used as the theme song of "Mobile Suit Gundam 00." This is their first time in the top ten. Also in the top ten this week were The Gospellers at #5 and Salyu at #10.

Meanwhile, Thelma Aoyama came out on top of the album charts, selling 45,000 copies of "LOVE! ~THELMA LOVESONG COLLECTION~." Although she has had a #1 single before, this is her first #1 album.

Lil'B was not far behind at #2 with their first album, "Ima, Kimi e." AAA, Straightener, and Buono! also made the top ten with their latest albums.

"Rinjo," a novel by "Climber's High" author Hideo Yokoyama, is being adapted into a live-action series on TV Asahi. Masaaki Uchino has been cast in the lead role.

First published in 2004, "Rinjo" revolves around Yoshio Kuraishi, a legendary coroner with a keen eye for evidence, played by Uchino. The term "rinjo" is said to be police slang for the initial investigation carried out at the scene of the crime.

Uchino's supporting cast includes Yuki Matsushita, Masanobu Takashima, and Dai Watanabe.

"Rinjo" starts in April and will run in TV Asahi's Wednesday 9:00pm time slot, known for long-running mystery series such as "Aibou" and "Hagure Keiji Junjoha." Last summer, Uchino starred in "Gonzo: Densetsu no Keiji" in the same time slot.

TV Tokyo's drama adaptation of the "Yukemuri Sniper" manga series now has an official lead actor. The show was first revealed last month, but its cast was not known at the time.

Kenichi Endo, known mostly for supporting roles, will star as a retired assassin trying to live in peace as he works at a remote hot-spring ryokan. Miyuki Matsuda, the wife of late actor Yusaku Matsuda and mother of actors Ryuhei and Shota, has also been cast in the series.

"Yukemuri Sniper" premieres on April 3.