Pop diva Ayumi Hamasaki, 33, has announced through her official fan club that she is to divorce Austrian actor Manuel Schwarz, 31. The couple who were wed in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day of 2011, are to file for a divorce after a year of marriage.
Hamasaki told fans that she had initiated the split, explaining that she felt unable to keep the promise she made to Schwarz, who lives in Los Angeles, that the pair would live together in America. “Since the Tohoku disaster, I have had the feeling that I don’t want to be apart from Japan,” she wrote. “As a result I have been spending more and more days away from him.”
“We spoke about this and we thought we could maintain our relationship by traveling to see each other, but at some point, physical distance becomes emotional distance,” she explained. “When I thought about our future, I realized I couldn’t see myself returning to the state of mind I was in when I agreed to live in America.”
It is reported that Hamasaki will file for divorce through a lawyer in the United States.
Erika Sawajiri, 25, returns to the big screen on July 14 when she stars as the main character in “Helter Skelter,” directed by Mika Ninagawa. The film is based on Kyoko Okazaki’s manga that includes many sexually graphic scenes and Sawajiri said there will be some nudity in the film.
Sawajiri plays Ririko, a model who has undergone extensive plastic surgery all over her body. When the clinic is investigated for its shady business practices, Ririko’s beauty to starts fade. Her mental condition also starts to deteriorate.
The film marks Sawajiri’s first movie starring role since “Closed Note” in 2007. That was the start of her troubles when she displayed a bad attitude during a stage appearance at the Japan premiere.
Sawajiri told reporters that she enjoyed making “Helter Skelter” and that she is happy to be back in business, Sankei Shimbun reported. She said the choice of Ririko is a good match for her own character. But she wouldn’t say how much skin she’ll reveal in the movie.
The popular and famous Hatsune Miku, who is the mascot character for audio-editing software Vocaloid, appears in this commercial for Google’s web browser Google Chrome.
Some of the video responses include “Hatsune Miku is a miracle diva made from social media” (in Japanese), “never get bored even I looped this video many times” (in English); and “Even though this video is a Japanese local commercial, it is very popular in foreign countries too” (in Japanese) and so on.
“Talent” and former Morning Musume singer Nozomi Tsuji, 24, is living separately from her husband Taiyo Sugiura, 30, Josei Seven magazine reports.
According to the article, Tsuji “borrowed” an apartment in the center of Tokyo far from her home earlier this month. The magazine says the cause of the separation is financial troubles concerning Sugiura’s relatives.
However, Tsuji’s agency said the couple aren’t separating and that Tsuji has moved into the apartment to prepare for her return to work.
Actress Aoi Miyazaki, 26, and her husband, actor Sosuke Takaoka, 29, who are living separately, announced this week that they are going to finalize their divorce before the end of the year. They have been married for 4 1/2 years. Tabloid media quoted a source close to the couple as saying that divorce papers have been signed and will be filed on Dec 29. Miyazaki wanted to wait until after she attends a ceremony for her movie on Dec 28, the source said.
Pop diva Lady Gaga, tenor Placido Domingo and rock veterans Chuck Berry and Patti Smith will join a star-studded lineup to ring in the new year Saturday in New York.
As with every Dec 31, the main celebration will be held at Times Square in the heart of Manhattan, where more than a million people are expected to gather to watch the New Year’s crystal ball drop at the stroke of midnight.
The party, first held in 1908, is one of the biggest in the world to ring in the new year.
Lady Gaga and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will press the button that drops the giant glittering ball at one minute before midnight.
Ahead of midnight, the indefatigable Berry, now 85, will perform at a club near Times Square, while rocker Smith will give three concerts on the Lower East side of Manhattan.
Domingo, 70, will perform at The Metropolitan Opera, while the New York Philharmonic will offer a concert at the Lincoln Center.
Separately, a local company is making a big splash by selling a patch it claims can prevent hangovers.
The “Bytox Hangover Prevention Remedy” is an “all-natural specially-formulated” patch containing “a powerful blend of antioxidants, vitamins and amino acids.” Bytox claims the ingredients “have been shown to reduce and prevent hangovers.”
If the patch works, it may help save lives: according to the New York Department of Health, alcohol-related emergency department visits more than double on New Year’s Day compared to the daily average.
TOKYO — Actress Chiaki Kuriyama, 26, has been chosen as the face of a new range of platinum jewelry by Ginza Tanaka, part of the Tanaka Kikinzoku Group. Kuriyama attended the product launch in Tokyo this week in a striking purple dress with a shining white platinum necklace and matching earrings. “You feel more confident when you put them on,” she said. “It makes me feel radiant.”
When asked if there were prospects of her putting a bauble on her ring finger, Kuriyama replied, “Not for a good while yet. I’m still a child. I’ve got a lot of growing up to do first.” Kuriyama has reportedly been dating actor Tetsuji Tamayaki, but the actress was tight-lipped on the subject.
TV commercials for the new jewelry range will air from Friday.
TOKYO —AKB48’s Internet provider service, AKB Official Net, opened on Tuesday. If you register for membership on AKB Official Net, you can use the service AKBaby which synthesizes your photo with the image of your favorite AKB48 member to simulate how a baby would look if the two of you were to have a child.
Yes, you read that right.
The homepage shows Yuko Oshima asking “Would you have a baby with me?
The membership fee is 1,480 yen a month. Once you become a member, you can use an AKB48 email address (for example, @akb48.ne.jp, @atchan.akb48.ne.jp and so on), so you can communicate with other fans too.
Also, you can get advance tickets to the AKB48 theater and can register for the AKB48 Official fan club at the same time for free.
AKB48 Official Net says it will add more services for AKB48 fans.
From left: Lu-Kitae, Ayaman Director and Fantasista-Sakurada
TOKYO —Ayaman Japan is a girls’ entertainment group performing mainly at party events around Roppongi and Nishi-Azabu. There are 100 members in Ayaman Japan, all of whom were scouted by the leader who is called “Ayaman Director.” But only three members, including “Ayaman Director,” do media appearances.
Ayaman Japan doesn’t belong to any talent agency. Rather, they are an amateur group that performs through connection with members. They don’t get paid.
Ayaman Japan started to become famous after appearing on the TV variety program “Tonneruzu no minasan no okage deshita” in 2010. They became famous with their first song “Poipoipoipopoipoipopii” (don’t ask us to translate the title).
After their first hit song, Ayaman Japan collaborated with the comedian Tanoshingo to release a new song “Dodosuko-poipoi” on June 15. Ayaman Japan also collaborated with comedian Shingo Fujimori from “Oriental Radio” to release a new song “Natsu age motion” on Aug 10.
Even though they are pretty, the girls tell dirty jokes and behave in a manner that Japanese women generally don’t do in public. Some people think they are fun, while others get offended by their actions.
Satomi Ishihara appears as a doctor in NHK's new medical suspense drama.
TOKYO —Actress Satomi Ishihara will star in the two-part NHK medical drama “Shimei to Tamashi no Limit,” based on the novel by mystery writer Keigo Higashino.
Ishihara, 24, plays a resident intern at a university hospital who aspires to become a cardiac surgeon. However, she harbors suspicions about the death of her father during an operation. Finding the truth becomes her mission in life.
At a press conference to promote the drama, which airs from 9 p.m. on Nov 5 and 12, Ishihara said that her mission in real life is to be nice to her parents and work at something that will be good for people.
TOKYO —Actress Yuko Takeuchi, 31, has released a cookbook titled “Takeuchi Marchais, presenting 102 delicious warm-hearted recipes” (1,350 yen). To mark the launch of her book, Takeuchi will attend a premium women’s only party next month and interview 15 women about their favorite recipes and what they like to cook most of all as a present for someone.
The 15 women will be chosen by lottery and organized by Crea magazine.
Takeuchi said she is looking forward to the talk show event with women who are passionate about cooking.
