Actress and screenwriter Yuri Nakae (35) is returning to her roots as a singer after 16 years. She is forming a trio with two other screenwriters: Junko Emoto (30), who worked on "Shiori to Shimiko no Kaiki Jikenbo," and Eriko Shinozaki (41), whose credits include the drama series "Kurosagi."

The unit is called Bikyakuren, short for Bijin Kyakuhonka Renmei ("beautiful writers guild"). The name is a play on the Nikyakuren, which is the Writers Guild of Japan.

All three have written for BS-TBS's popular "Tokyo Shojo" drama franchise. That show's producer, Tamon Andrew Niwa, assessed their singing abilities and decided to produce their new unit.

Nakae made her debut as an idol singer in 1991 with the song "Hana wo Kudasai" and released her last single in 1993. Emoto also put out a single of her own in 2004, and Shinozaki studied music in college.

Bikyakuren will make their performance debut on August 27. Their first song is a slow balled titled "Mata Ne," expected to be released as a chaku-uta around the same time.