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It’s baseball season so we’re playing catch (up)
Catching up on stuff I bookmarked from the ever awesome Tokyograph website and have finally gotten around to posting here. For the 1st Billboard Japan Music Awards, HY (an indie rock group from Okinawa) was awarded the Independent Artist of the Year 2009 and Yusuke (his grandfather is from Miyakojima) was awarded the New Artist…
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SPEED’s Takako Uehara finds new love – Tokyograph
Takako Uehara (27), a member of the female pop group SPEED, is reportedly in a new relationship. This week’s issue of Josei Seven contains pictures of Uehara with AKIHIRO (27), a dancer and a designer for a hip-hop fashion brand. AKIHIRO was seen late last month spending the night at Uehara’s home. He was also…
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Yukie Nakama to star in the TBS’s “Japanese Americans”
This autumn, TBS plans to broadcast a five-episode drama series titled “Japanese Americans.” The drama, an original work by veteran screenwriter Sugako Hashida, focuses on a Japanese family who emigrated to the United States a century ago and lived through World War II. […] Yukie Nakama (30) plays the heroine as Ichiro’s love interest Shinobu.…
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Meisa Kuroki becomes newest L’Oreal spokesperson – Tokyograph
Rising star Meisa Kuroki (21) is all set to become a bigger name worldwide, with the help of a major commercial contract. She has just signed on as a spokesperson for cosmetics brand L’Oréal Paris, whose beauty products are popular in more than 150 countries. Kuroki has been building her career in Japan since 2004,…
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Oricon: Amuro retains “kogao queen” title – Tokyograph
Oricon’s “kogao queen” survey has become an annual tradition. For the fourth year, the research firm surveyed a total of a thousand men and women, asking them to rank the female celebrities that they associated with the “small face” beauty trend. For the third consecutive year, singer Namie Amuro ranked #1, followed by actress Manami…
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Yu Yamada to star in “Koi no Karasawagi”
NTV has revealed that its next “Koi no Karasawagi” (“Much Ado About Love”) drama special will air on September 25. Based on the variety show of that name, this will be the sixth in a series of yearly specials that started in 2004. Like the previous specials, “Koi no Karasawagi: Love Stories VI” will consist…
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Oricon: impressive way of life – Tokyograph
As part of a recent survey, Oricon asked a thousand men and women to identify female music artists that they admired for their way of life. Namie Amuro ranked #1, noted for being a top artist while overcoming various challenges in her personal life, including being a divorced, single mother. (Link: “Oricon: impressive way of…
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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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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…
Karakui 