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Two Okinawans to represent Japan in Elite Model Look competition – Tokyograph
The final round of Japan’s 2009 Elite Model Look contest took place on Wednesday. Out of an initial field of 3,000 candidates, two grand prize winners were chosen – Manami Teruya (16) and Yui Okuma (18), both from Okinawa. Teruya and Okuma will represent Japan in the international competition, which is being held this October…
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melody. and miyavi celebrate birth of first child
We were as surprised as anyone upon hearing of melody.’s retirement from showbiz back in October of 2008 and her subsequent marriage to rocker miyavi in March of this year. On the 29th the two celebrated the birth of their first child, a girl. Congrats! (Via Yahoo!ニュース)
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Meisa Kuroki to star in Oshii’s “Assault Girls”
Director Mamoru Oshii’s newest project is ‘Assault Girls,’ his first feature-length live-action film since ‘Avalon’ in 2001. The sci-fi action story will star Meisa Kuroki (21), Rinko Kikuchi (28), and Hinako Saeki (32). Oshii previously directed two short films with the ‘assault girl’ theme. The first, titled ‘Assault Girl: Kentucky no Hinako,’ was a segment…
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Second on the way for Chitose Hajime – Tokyograph
Singer Chitose Hajime (30) is expecting her second child, she declared in a blog entry on Saturday. That same day, while performing at an event in Kagoshima, she let the audience know that she is expected to give birth just before Christmas. Hajime has been married since January 2004 to a restaurant owner. She gave…
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alan sings for Kusanagi’s “Ballad” – Tokyograph
Singer alan (21) will be providing the theme song for Takashi Yamazaki’s upcoming movie, ‘Ballad: Namonaki Koi no Uta’ (opening September 5). Although she sang the theme songs for the two ‘Red Cliff’ movies, this is her first time doing one for a Japanese film. The movie, which started shooting last year, is an adaptation…
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“Gokusen” movie earns half a billion in opening weekend – Tokyograph
The highly anticipated ‘Gokusen: The Movie’ opened on 409 screens in Japan this past weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, more than 402,000 fans saw the film in theaters, earning ‘Gokusen’ close to 490 million yen. According to a statement by distributor Toho on Monday, the movie is projected to gross more than 4 billion yen…
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Ayano Uema’s new album available online at Amazon.co.jp
Ayano Uema’s sophomore album, “Majun,” is available for pre-order online at Amazon.co.jp for ¥2,000. The listing on Amazon.co.jp gives us a peek at what we may expect out of her new album. It’ll have a total of eight tracks and by the looks of it will be, like her debut album, original songs penned by…
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Meisa Kuroki named “Miss Lily” – Tokyograph
On Sunday, the International Flower Bulb Centre held a presentation ceremony for its 8th annual Miss Lily award, given to women who best match lilies. This year’s winner was young actress Meisa Kuroki (21). Kuroki remarked that she “finally feels like a woman again.” Just last month, she finished playing a female version of Oda…
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Ayano Uema’s 2nd album will be released on 8/2/09!!!
We knew she was working on her 2nd album back in January 2009 and now we finally have a release date and a title for it, “Majun,” which will hit local store shelves on August 2, 2009. No other information on the number of tracks or its price but we’ll report it as soon as…
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Save the Date: Saturday, October 24, 2009
Shari Tamashiro (All Things Okinawan) emailed about an event she’s organizing for Saturday, October 24, 2009, in Hawaii: I am organizing a FABULOUS program featuring award-winning storyteller Alton Chung, with performances by Derek Ichiro Shiroma and Frances Nakachi. We will be doing two shows: Nuchi du Takara at 1 pm and Okinawan, Japanese and Hawaiian…
Karakui 