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MINA to rejoin MAX!
After leaving MAX in 2002, original member MINA has returned to the group filling in the spot left by the exit of AKI back in August of this year (who ironically took her place). In 2002, MINA left the group to raise her child (she now has two children) and since last year has been…
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melody. announces retirement – Tokyograph
Singer melody. has suddenly announced on her official blog that she will be retiring as a music artist this January. Instead, she will be pursuing another one of her dreams, which is to become a designer of Western-style clothes. The 26-year-old singer made her major label debut in 2003. Since then, she has released 11…
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Maki leaves H&MC – Tokyograph
HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR vocalist Maki performed her final show with the group on Saturday at the Akasaka Blitz in Tokyo. In July, she had announced that she would be leaving the band by the end of this year due to her marriage to DREAMS COME TRUE’s Masato Nakamura. For the final concert, HIGH and…
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Kiroro, Keroro join forces – Tokyograph
The duo Kiroro will be singing their first movie theme song for the animated feature ‘Keroro Gunso 4,’ which is scheduled for release in March. Their song, titled ‘Minna Anata wo Aishiteru,’ will be released in February, ahead of the film’s opening. The film’s theme is ‘birth,’ which is appropriate for Kiroro as keyboardist Ayano…
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ORANGE RANGE to release new compilation album in December
The ORANGE RANGE boys are readying a new compilation album for a December 3, 2008 release. Unlike the double CD compilation release in 2007 that featured their hit singles, the December 2008 release will showcase their ura best like coupling songs, secret tracks, etc. (Via bounce.com.)
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“Amawari, the Lord of Kimutaka Spirit” coming to Hawaii
From the flyer: “Kimutaka no Amawari” Lord of noble soul Kimutaka no Amawari is a Kumiodori musical performed by more than 100 junior and senior high school students from Katsuren, Uruma. It is the story of Amawari, Lord of Katsuren Castle in the days of war in Okinawa 550 years ago. Date: Sunday, November 23,…
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Special guest this Wednesday at OTW
Off the Wall chef Grant “Sandaa” Murata sensei (of the Afuso Ryu Gensei Kai Hawaii) emailed to let us know that they have a special guest this Wednesday (10/15) at the restaurant. The special guest is a friend of his who lived in Hawaii about 30 years ago and often performed at the old Club…
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Featuring: San Jose Sanshin Kai on the Web
It’s always a nice thing to open my inbox to see an email to a sanshin-related website and such is the case for the San Jose Sanshin Kai. Their website has an English (they’ve kindly linked to Karakui.com here) and a Japanese version. So stop by their website and give them a warm welcome to…
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Kariyushi58’s new single set for a November release
Kariyushi58 will be releasing a new single on November 11th titled “Nana.” Included with the A-side song are the tracks “Kaze no Utai Hito,” “Aoi Basu,” and a cover of a song from The Blue Hearts. View the band’s YouTube playlist to see a bunch of their PVs. (Via bounce.com.)
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Two Okinawans top Oricon’s “Ideal Women” ranking
Oricon recently ran a survey of 1,200 men and women under 40, asking them to identify which celebrities they felt represented their ideal image of a woman. The survey was divided into two categories, one for music artists and one for actresses. In the artist category, Namie Amuro ranked #1, noted for her style and…
Karakui 