Takashi Miki, the composer of countless songs during the last few decades, died on Monday morning at a hospital in the Okayama prefecture. Miki, whose real name was Tadashi Watanabe, was 64.

Born in Tokyo in 1945, Miki aimed to become a singer at a young age. However, he later chose to pursue composing, and he made his debut in 1967. With a style ranging from pop to enka, he grew in popularity during the '70s, creating tunes for major artists like Hideki Saijo, Agnes Chan, Hiromi Iwasaki, Sayuri Ishikawa, Teresa Teng, and many more.

Miki was also known for the theme song to the "Soreike! Anpanman" anime series. In recent years, he composed music for theatrical productions as well. In 2004, he became a board chairman for the Japan Composer's Association. The following year, he was granted the Shiju Hosho (Purple Ribbon Medal).

Music group 80_pan has announced that they are breaking up. Currently consisting of members Tomomi Ogasawara (23) and Mako Okina (23), 80_pan will hold their last concert next month in Tokyo's Roppongi district.

The group has undergone constant transformation since they first formed in 2004. They began as a pop trio named Harenchi Punch. In 2007 they changed their name to 80★PAN! (pronounced "Hare Pan"), and the third member Saya Ozora left the same year. They briefly experimented with rock for the LOUD PARK 2007 festival, but a year later they reinvented themselves under the name 80_pan, this time in the electro/new rave genre.

Ogasawara and Okina eventually decided to disband, but they stated on their official website that they both hope to start anew with separate pursuits. Their final concert will be at Roppongi Morph on June 19. The show is titled "Kaisan Punch, Hakusen ~Start Line," with the last half taken from the name of their debut single from 2005.

The taiga drama "Tenchijin," which currently airs on Sunday nights on NHK, is being turned into a manga for mobile phones. This is the second time that a taiga drama has been adapted as a comic, after "Yoshitsune" in 2005, but it will be the first distributed in digital form.

However, the manga will have a fairly different feel from the drama series. With several good-looking actors in the show, including the star Satoshi Tsumabuki, it was decided that the manga will have a "boys-love" (BL) flavor, with the main character of Naoe Kanetsugu (played by Tsumabuki in the drama) more closely resembling a boy from a shoujo manga. The artist in charge is Kairi Shimotsuki, who has previously done both BL titles and mainstream titles, including the comic adaptation of the popular "Sengoku Basara" video game series.

The "Tenchijin" manga is being aimed at women in their teens and twenties. Sony Digital Entertainment is handling production and distribution, making installments available on the Zenryoku Shoten site at a price of 50 yen per story (about 12-14 pages). Distribution will begin on May 27.

There will be three arcs, each focusing on a different pairing with Kanetsugu. The first deals with Uesugi Kagekatsu (Kazuki Kitamura in the drama), while the subsequent two involve Ishida Mitsunari (Shun Oguri) and Sanada Yukimura (Yu Shirota), respectively.

Based on the fan response, there is a possibility that the manga will later be sold in book form.

In honor of Mother's Day, the 2nd annual Best Mother Awards were presented on Sunday. The winners were chosen by public vote across various categories.

Eriko Imai (25), a member of pop group SPEED, received the most votes in the music category. Imai revealed last year that her 4-year-old son has been experiencing hearing problems.

Other winners included actress Narumi Yasuda (42) in the entertainment category and model/talento Chieko Kuroda (47) in the culture category.

A conclusion to the Tetsuya Komuro trial came on Monday, when the Osaka District Court gave the famed producer a 3-year sentence, suspended for 5 years. Komuro was arrested for fraud in November after he tried to sell the rights to over 800 of his songs, despite not actually owning the rights.

Because Komuro has demonstrated remorse and Avex has already repaid all the damages to the plaintiff (to the tune of 648 million yen), the judge determined that a suspended sentence was sufficient. Prosecutors had aimed for 5 years of imprisonment, but under the law, a 3-year sentence is the maximum that can be suspended.

Singer and actress Hikaru Nishida (36) announced during an event in Osaka on Sunday that she is currently four months pregnant and is expected to give birth in early November. This will be her second child.

Nishida married an employee of a trading company in 2002. While staying in the U.S., she had a son in August 2006. Although the couple currently lives in her husband's hometown in the Kansai region, Nishida plans to take a break from work at the end of August to have her second child born in the U.S. as well.

Mikio Date (34), a member of the comedy duo Sandwichman, is getting married to free announcer Maiko Kumagai (38). The two have been dating since last fall, and their relationship was discovered by a weekly magazine in March. They plan to hold their wedding this summer in Sendai, where they are both from.

Sandwichman had been around for about ten years before they finally won the M-1 Grand Prix in 2007, launching its two members into the spotlight. After their win, they both landed supporting roles in the Fuji TV drama series "81diver."

Kumagai, a graduate of the Kunitachi College of Music, became an announcer for a TV station in Iwate in 1993, but she went freelance in 2003.