Masaki Houjou (34), guitarist and vocalist for the band ANATAKIKOU, will soon be leaving the group to pursue his own music career. The news was announced on their official website this past Saturday.

The Kansai-based band has been active for about eight years, though their major label debut came in 2005 with their first album, "sweet montage A." Since then, they have released three more original albums and multiple singles, including the song "Cinderella" that was used as the ending theme of the music show "COUNT DOWN TV."

Tickets have already been on sale for a couple of concerts next month, and the band confirmed that Houjou will still perform for those. There are plans for a "graduation concert," though nothing has been finalized yet. After Houjou's departure, ANATAKIKOU will continue with remaining members Masaki Matsuura and Toshimitsu Fujii, along with support member Mina Sugimura.

In a recent Oricon survey, Teppei Koike ranked #1 as the male celebrity that people would want as a younger brother. The same survey also asked about younger sisters, finding that talento Becky was the most popular choice as a sibling.

Becky's cheerful and lively image was a strong factor in her popularity, though some women focused on her fashion sense, commenting that they would really want to go shopping with her.

The cute smile of actress Yui Aragaki fueled her to the #2 spot, just ahead of 9-year-old Nozomi Ohashi, who got her big break with Hayao Miyazaki's animated picture "Gake no Ue no Ponyo."

1. Becky
2. Yui Aragaki
3. Nozomi Ohashi
4. Aya Ueto
5. Mirai Shida
6. Maki Horikita
7. Masami Nagasawa
8. Aoi Miyazaki
9. misono
10. Haruka Ayase

Actress Pinko Izumi (61) is excited about a sequel to the Fuji TV drama special "Saga no Gabai-baachan." The original drama was based on a bestselling novel by talento Yoshichi Shimada, which told the story of his childhood living with his grandmother in the Saga prefecture. Aside from the drama, the novel has also been adapted to film and manga.

The first drama special aired in 2007 and was focused on an eight-year span of Shimada's life with his grandmother, up until his middle school graduation. It was a success, with an average rating of 19.2%.

The sequel will again star Izumi as the grandmother. This time, the drama will revolve around the young Akihiro (Shimada's real first name) in his early elementary school years. Yuki Imai (10) plays the part of Akihiro.

Fuji TV has announced that the drama will be broadcast in 2010.

Singer and actress Mineko Nishikawa (50) is now officially separated from her husband (44) after close to eight years of marriage. She first initiated divorce arbitration in January 2008 over her husband's infidelity, but it had to be re-filed that June after her husband failed to appear in court. He finally admitted to the affair in October, and the judge ruled in Nishikawa's favor.

However, lawyers had still been battling over the division of their assets, including a large mansion built on the Oki Islands that was partially financed by Nishikawa. It was finally decided that her husband's parents would pay off his half of the mortgage. The first payment was made at the end of March, and the divorce was finalized this month.

Nishikawa plans to hold a press conference on Tuesday.

Lyricist Ryoji Sonoda (33) was arrested on Monday for the use of illegal stimulants, it has been learned. Police from Tokyo's Azabu ward stated that Sonoda's urine test turned up positive for the drug. He is also said to have admitted to the crime.

Sonoda has written lyrics for many hit songs by top artists such as SMAP, BoA, TVXQ, and MISIA.

NTV has announced that its annual charity telethon "24 Hour Television" will have popular boy band NEWS as its main personalities this year. Now in its 32nd year, the telethon has featured Johnny's talents for seven years straight.

This year's telethon will be at Tokyo Big Sight instead of the usual Nippon Budokan. The event, whose theme is "START! ~Ippo wo Fumidasou~," will be held on August 29-30.