NMB48 song tops Oricon chart

NMB48's new single "Junjo U-19"

The newest song by NMB48, a sister group of AKB48, has risen to the No. 1 spot in Oricon’s rankings for Feb 20. “Junjo U-19” is the third single in a row from NMB48 to occupy the No. 1 spot.

The group is based in Namba, Osaka. Members of the group said that it is like a dream.

The No. 1 ranked album is L’Arc~en~Ciel’s “BUTTERFLY.” The group hasn’t held the No. 1 spot since late 2007.

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Kuroki reported pregnant 2 weeks after denying relationship with Akanishi

Meisa KurokiJapan Today

TOKYO —

 Popular actress-singer Meisa Kuroki, 23, is two months pregnant and has announced her marriage to former KAT-TUN singer Jin Akanishi, 27, tabloid media reported Thursday.

The news, first reported by Sports Nippon, comes two weeks after the couple denied they were dating. “We’re friends but he is not my boyfriend,” Kuroki said in a statement released last month by her agency, while Akanishi’s agency, Johnny’s Jimusho, released a statement in which he said “We are not going out.”

The gossip started when the pair were spotted together at Tokyo DisneySea on Jan 22, Sankei Shimbun reported. A Johnny’s spokesperson said that Akanishi did go to Tokyo DisneySea, but he wasn’t alone with Kuroki. They were among a group of friends, the spokesperson said.

Besides DisneySea, the pair were also seen in Okinawa on Jan 14 and at Lalaport Toyosu in Tokyo’s Koto Ward on Jan 21.

Akanishi is going to release the album “JAPONICANA” in Japan and the U.S. on March 7, and go on a concert tour of five cities in the U.S. He will also be seen in the Hollywood film “47 RONIN,” alongside Keanu Reeves, to be released in December.

Kuroki has a second album, “UNLOCKED,” due out on Feb 15. Sports Nippon reported that she will continue working after giving birth.

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Masami Nagasawa relishes her role as detective

Masami Nagasaki shows her detective pose.TV ASAHI

TOKYO —

 Masami Nagasawa says she is very happy to play a detective in her newest TV drama, “Toshi Densetsu no Onna,” which will air on TV Asahi on Friday nights from April.

It has been three years since Nagasawa appeared in a TV drama series. “Toshi Densetsu no Onna” is a mixture of comedy and mystery. Nagasawa plays Tsukiko Otonashi, a police detective who is obsessed with urban legends and who works on unsolved cases behind the legends.

Nagasawa said her character is always on the lookout for evidence to link crimes to unexplained urban legends. She even goes so far as to investigate crimes by herself in secret.

The obligatory romance is provided by Junpei Inomata who plays a handsome forensic investigator. He falls in love with Tsukiko at first sight.

Nagasawa told reporters she has wanted to play a detective for a long time. She said that the director was very open to her ad-libbing jokes.

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Aya Ueto gets a 'sister' for Aoki ads

Aya Ueo, right, and Ayame GorikiAOKI

TOKYO — Actress Aya Ueto, 26, is happy to have a “sister” for the new ad campaign for clothing brand Aoki.

Ueo and Ayame Goriki, 19, who belongs to Ueto’s agency, will be appearing in the new TV commercial campaign, wearing suits.

“A lot of people have told me that Ayame looks like me,” Ueto said. “It’s like I’m looking at me a long time ago.” Goriki gushed: “I’m so happy that I look like Ueto. I feel like we are sisters.”

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Reina Triendl joins White Family in Softbank Mobile ads

SOFTBANK MOBILE

TOKYO —

 Model Reina Triendl is making a guest appearance in Softbank Mobile’s Shirato (White) Family ads.

Triendl, 20, plays a “student from Hawaii” who comes to Japan for a homestay with the Shirato family. “I’m Tada. I’m from Hawaii,” she says in the ad. Wearing a school uniform, Triendl is a modern girl who uses “gal” language.

She communicates well with other family members played by Aya Ueto, 26, and Kanako Higuchi, 53, who believe she is from the U.S. state of Hawaii, but in reality, she is from Hawai in Tottori Prefecture.

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Kyoko Koizumi to release album containing 30 songs for 30th anniversary

TOKYO — Singer and actress Kyoko Koizumi, 46, will release a 2-disc album containing 30 songs that her celebrity acquaintances and friends have chosen to mark the 30th anniversary of her debut as a singer on March 21. The album also includes a 160-page booklet containing photos of Kyon-kyon (as Koizumi is popularly known) over the past 30 years.

The album is titled “Kyon30 ~Nantettatte (It’s) 30 years!~” (3,900 yen with booklet). Koizumi debuted as a singer in 1982 with the song “Watashi no 16 sai.”

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Erika Sawajiri tries her hand at designing clothes, handbags

BeeTV

TOKYO — Actress Erica Sawajiri, 25, has designed a line of clothes and handbags as part of a promotion for a new cell phone drama she is appearing in. The new line is a collaborative effort between BeeTV and popular brands Samantha Thavasa and MERCURYDUO for the drama titled “Let M the reason why I love you other story.”
The story is about two women who are opposite in fashion, hairstyle, make-up and personality. Sawajiri plays both characters and designed clothes and bags to match each character in the drama.
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TV commercial of the week: Staff Service with Cyborg

TOKYO —

 This commercial is for Staff Service which is a big recruiting company.

Staff Service currently shows two kinds of Cyborg commercial series. One features the Cyborg temp worker 022 (the number “022″ refers to the phone number of Staff Service), and stars Mikako Tabe. The other features Cyborg full-time worker 003 (Cyborg 003/Françoise Arnoul) from the famous cartoon/animation “Cyborg 009.”

In this version, featuring Tabe, workers have to clip 50 sets of material together for a presentation in 30 minutes and worry that they cannot make it. Then Cyborg temp worker 022 transforms her right arm into a Gatling gun and does the job in no time at all.

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Kuroki, Akanishi deny they are dating

Meisa KurokiJapan Today

TOKYO — There have been several tabloid reports recently that actress Meisa Kuroki, 23, and former KAT-TUN singer Jin Akanishi, 27, are a couple. But both stars this week denied the couple were in a relationship.

“We’re friends but he is not my boyfriend,” Kuroki said in a statement released by her agency, while Akanishi’s agency, Johnny’s Jimusho, released a statement in which he said “We are not going out.”

The gossip started when the pair were spotted together at Tokyo DisneySea on Jan 22, Sankei Shimbun reported. A Johnny’s spokesperson said that Akanishi did go to Tokyo DisneySea, but he wasn’t alone with Kuroki. They were among a group of friends, the spokesperson said.

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