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DA PUMP loses 1, gains 7 – Tokyograph
DA PUMP member YUKINARI is leaving the group, it was announced on Wednesday. His departure is effective as of Thursday. At the same time, the group will be adding seven more members, bringing its total size to nine. In July, member ISSA fractured his leg and had to receive surgery. Because of that, the group…
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Gackt backs “Kamen Rider” – Tokyograph
The next ‘Kamen Rider’ series, titled ‘Kamen Rider Decade,’ premieres on TV Asahi on January 25. During a press conference for the show on Thursday, it was announced that Gackt will be providing the theme song. The title of the song was not announced, but the single’s release has been scheduled for the spring. This…
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This year’s Kouhaku Uta Gassen to feature two artists with ties to Okinawa
From zero artists with ties to Okinawa in last year’s NHK “Kouhaku Uta Gassen,” things look a whole lot better for this year’s one with the return of J-pop quartet SPEED and Yusuke Kamiji who is a member of the group Shuuchishin—making their first appearance on the annual music show. Oh, and let’s not forget…
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Stereo Pony steps up from “Bleach” to “Gundam” – Tokyograph
The new Okinawan girls band Stereo Pony is on a roll. Last month, they released their debut single ‘Hitohira no Hanabira,’ which was used as the ending theme of the hit anime series ‘Bleach.’ Now, they will be doing the theme song for the ‘Mobile Suit Gundam 00’ series, starting on January 11. The ‘Gundam’…
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Yukie Nakama cameo in “Elite Yankee Saburo” – Tokyograph
The upcoming movie version of ‘Elite Yankee Saburo’ is being reinforced with the addition of top actress Yukie Nakama. Based on a TV Tokyo adaptation of a gag manga by Shuji Abe, the movie stars Hideo Ishiguro as a teenage otaku who gets mislabeled as an ‘elite’ delinquent. Nakama will play a very minor role…
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Sakaguchi stars in Okinawan police drama – Tokyograph
Kenji Sakaguchi will be playing the lead in a police drama series titled ‘Honjitsu mo Hare. Ijou Nashi,’ set to air on TBS this winter. Sakaguchi stars as a cop assigned to a fictional remote island in the Okinawa prefecture, modeled after the real island of Hateruma. Nao Matsushita appears as the heroine, the only…
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“Code Blue” SP to air on January 10 – Tokyograph
Fuji TV has announced a broadcast date for its ‘Code Blue’ drama special. The episode is scheduled to air on January 10 at 9:00pm. The special is a continuation of the ‘Code Blue’ drama series from this past summer, which starred Tomohisa Yamashita, Erika Toda, Yui Aragaki, and Yosuke Asari as four young doctors training…
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Yukie Nakama to once again co-host NHK’s Kohaku
On Monday, NHK officially announced that Masahiro Nakai and Yukie Nakama will be this year’s hosts. The full list of performers are expected to be revealed soon. (Link: Mr.Children to make first appearance on Kohaku – Tokyograph.) This will be Yukie’s 3rd appearance (2005, 2006, 2008) as host of the music program and pairs her…
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Beni Arashiro drops last name for new single – Tokyograph
Singer Beni Arashiro is reinventing herself under a new name: BENI. She will once again be focusing on her music career, after months of silence, starting with a new single next month. Arashiro left her previous management agency, Oscar Promotion, at the end of August, and her contract with Avex expired at the end of…
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Kiroro announces another hiatus – Tokyograph
The female duo Kiroro held a short concert in Okinawa on Sunday. During the show, vocalist Chiharu Tamashiro announced that the group will go on hiatus by the end of the year. The news has been expected since August, when keyboardist Ayano Kinjo revealed that she was pregnant with her second child. Kiroro previously went…
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