Eric Clapton to make 18th visit to Japan next February
Nov 12, 2008 Artist, Info, Music
Eric Clapton, 63, will be back in Japan for the first time in two and a half years, performing in Tokyo and Osaka next February. It will be his 18th visit to Japan. In celebration of the 35th anniversary of his first visit to Japan, event organizer Udo Artists Inc has designed various tickets for the upcoming concerts, and feature miniaturized versions of the posters used for Clapton concerts from his first visit to Japan to his 12th visit in 1999.
He will be performing at the Osaka Castle Hall on Feb 12 and 13, and at the Budokan in Tokyo on Feby 15, 18, 19, 24, 25 and 27. For those interested in purchasing tickets, the Tokyo number is 03–3402–5999. The Osaka number is 06–6341–4506.
JapanToday via Asianfanatics
Drama looks at media excesses in crime coverage
Nov 12, 2008 Artist, Info, Movie
Actor Sato Koichi, 47, will star as a detective who finds himself at odds with the media and caught up in an Internet hate campaign against the family of a criminal.
The film, “Nobody to Watch Over Me,” is about a detective (Sato) who tries to shield the family of a man arrested for murder. Shida Mirai plays the sister of the arrested man whom Sato’s character tries to protect from a media blitz.
Asked about what he thinks about the way journalists do their job, Sato said, “In my case, since I’m a bad guy in my private life, media coverage of me now works as a sort of moral hazard. Thanks to them, I have to watch what I do and say.”
The film will be released on January 24, 2009.
JapanToday
Risa Coda and Joji Miyao arrested for drug possession?
Actress Coda Risa, 22, was arrested for drug possesion with tennis pro also her boyfriend, Miyao Joji, 27. Coda Risa’s real name is actually Kikuchi Arisa and is charged for owning marijuana and stimulants.
Coda was arrested after police searched the apartment and found 0.027 grams of stimulants and about 0.7 grams of marijuana. Coda stated “I bought the marijuana because my boyfriend enjoyed it and we were planning to use it together.” Miyao was also questioned and was later arrested for joint and marijuana possession. Miyao and Coda both admitted on the charges being brought.
Investigators stated “Coda and Miyao met in May 2007 but only started dating this past September. Since then, Miyao has reportedly been spending 4-5 nights a week at Coda’s apartment, and she has been supplying the both of them with marijuana.”
Coda stated “I started doing stimulants around August 2007, though I have only been purchasing in very small quantities at a time from a Japanese dealer.” It seems that she started doing drugs when she broke up with her last boyfriend. Miyao also said that he didn’t know that Coda was doing stimulants too.
After some while when Miyao and Coda met, Miyao said he liked smoking marijuana, so she went and bought a gram for him to use. Miyao says he only smoked it twice in Coda’s apartment and in one of those occasions she smoked it with him.
Police are still searching on this case and hope to find more evidence on this investigation.
kojaproductions
Oricon: sexy voices
Nov 7, 2008 Artist, Info, Oricon
Which celebrities have a sexy voice? Oricon asked a thousand men and women that question in a poll taken last month. Fukuyama Masaharu unsurprisingly landed at the top of the list of male celebrities, though actress Sugimoto Aya was a more unexpected choice to lead the female list.
Fukuyama’s closest competition was from Tanihara Shosuke and Mizushima Hiro at #2 and #3, respectively. Kirin’s Kawashima Akira placed 4th, above popular actor Tamaki Hiroshi. The bottom half of the top ten consisted of Gackt, HYDE, Akanishi Jin, Abe Hiroshi, and Inaba Koshi (of B’z).
On the women’s rankings, Koda Kumi came in second behind Sugimoto. Actresses Maya Miki, Kuroki Hitomi, and Miura Rieko took the next three slots. Hamasaki Ayumi was #6, followed by actress Momoi Kaori. Shiina Ringo, Nakama Yukie, and Fujiwara Norika completed the list.
Tokyograph via asianfanatics
Composer Makoto Saeki passes away at 70
Nov 7, 2008 Info
Composer and arranger Makoto Saeki died of ureter cancer on Monday at a Tokyo hospital. He was 70.
Among Saeki’s works were the Hibari Misora hit “Yawara” and the more recent Hikawa Kiyoshi song “Ikken,” which both won a Japan Record Award.
