Koike Teppei - 小池 徹平

Name (Romaji): Koike Teppei
Name (Kanji): 小池 徹平
Profession: Actor & Singer 
Birthdate: 1986-Jan-05 
Birthplace: Osakasayama, Osaka, Japan 
Height: 167cm 
Weight: 54kg 
Blood type: B 

Star sign: Capricorn

Family:
* His immediate family consists of his father, mother, and a younger brother.
* The name "Teppei" came from his father's favourite manga, "Ore wa Teppei."
* His cousin, Kyomoto Taiga, is a member of Johnny's Junior.

Eiji Wentz

* He is really good friends with Eiji Wentz. They often visit each others houses, watch movies and go out to eat together. When they were doing street lives, they often borrow each others clothes.
* Teppei calls Wentz "Ei-chan".
* They have spent Christmas together ever since they met. (The first year, they took purikura in Shinjuku; the second year, they ran a marathon for their indies debut PV; the third year, they ate at a hamburger shop; the fourth year was a WaT event and love*com photoshoot)
* For Wentz's 20th birthday, Teppei bought him a lot of underwear. (Wentz has showed up on variety TV wearing just underwear a lot of times)
* In "Bokura no Ibasho" (a manga based on Teppei's life story), Teppei said the only thing he had in common with Wentz was their love of music. Other than that, they are the complete opposite. ("If we were in the same class or something, I definitely think we wouldn't be friends" - quote from "Bokura no Ibasho")

Biography

Teppei Koike (小池 徹平) is an actor, and singer from Japan. His nicknames are “Teppei-chan”, “Teppei-kun,” and “Te-chan”. He was born in Osakasayama, Osaka. Capricorn. Blood type B. Belongs to the production company Burning Productions. Is a member of the singer-songwriter duo WaT.
History
* He lived in Imakuma, Osakasayama-shi, Osaka-fu. Attended Osakasayama-shi Dai-3 junior high school. Belonged to the basketball club at a junior high school. He was a student with a pleasant personality, always smiling, spent earnest student life.

*2001
- Attended Osakafuritu Nagano high school. At that time his gym teacher was Hiroshima Sadakazu who served an assistant umpire in 2006 FIFA World Cup.
- He won the grand prize in [14th JUNON SuperBoy contest] (at the age of 15). Got the agency, Burning Production.

*2002
- Moved to Tokyo in spring, and changed the school to Horikoshi high school.
- Set up a duo with Wentz Eiji from the same agency, started street performance. When he entered the agency, a member of the staff told him there was a boy who was the same age as he was and played the piano and the base, it was about Wentz Eiji after all, that's how he met Wentz. In the agency, there was no one who was the same age as Teppei except Wentz. Appeared in the drama [Tentai Kansoku], in which he made a debut as an actor.

*2004
- In February, WaT released a debut CD 'Sotsugyo TIME' from independent label.
- Graduated from Horikoshi high school (Yamashita Tomohisa in NEWS, Tanaka Kohki in KAT-TUN, Kitayama Hiromitsu in Johnny's Jr, Shirota Yu in D-BOYS, Sakai Wakana, Otsuka Chihiro, Kawashima Ai etc. were in the same class).

*2005
- His first photo book 'First letter from TEPPEI' was out on 18 July, and held an event of handshaking with fans. About 3,000 fans gathered. WaT signed with Universal Music in August, released a single 'Bokuno Kimochi' which made their major debut. With this song, they were ranked 2nd place in the Oricon chart for the first entry. The had the record with the shortest time gap between debut and appearing for the first time in NHK Ko-haku Utagassen.
- Made his first appearance in the film 'Taga tameni'.

*2006
- Won #43 Golden Arrow awards as the new face. Won #20 Japan Gold Disk awards as The new artist of the year.
- First leading role in the film 'Love?Con'.
- His second photo book 'kiss me, kiss me' was out on 15 oct and held an event of shakehand with fans. About 10,000 fans gathered at a time which was the greatest number in the record.
- Presented as an official supporter for 2006 volley ball World cup
- Won #39 Best Hit Song festival 2006 as The best new artist.
- Won #39 Japan Cable radio awards as The special award.
- Won #48 Japan Record awards as The new artist of the year.
- Appeared in #57 NHK Ko-haku Utagassen 2nd time.

*2007
- First solo single 'Kimini Okuru Uta' release on 14 Feb.

Character
* Height: 167cm, Weight: 54kg, Shoe size: 26.5cm
* He has a pale 2 centimetre-across birthmark on his left thigh.
* He doesn't like his slightly bowed legs.
* He had a small job to earn pocket money with watering plants around the flats when he was small.
* He's got short eye sights therefore wears contact lenses at work, and glasses at home. He started wearing glasses at 13, then changed to contact lenses at 14. And he's got dry eyes therefore carries an eye drop with him all the time.
* He's proud of his abdominal muscle, and even co-stars admitted he had a great abdominal muscle although he was terrible swimmer when he was doing the drama 'Water Boys 2'.
* At the final selection of JUNON Super Boy contest, he kept singing Kobukuro's 'Wadachi' despite of his guitar string snapped.
* His guitar string once again snapped during the performance in NHK Ko-haku Utagassen in 2005. Although his microphone fell down during his performing 'Boku no Kimochi', he continued singing till the end.
* He updates his blog everyday in his official web site (Only he's suspended several times due to busy schedule since 2002), which shows he cares a lot about his fans.
* He's not keen on arguments, what's called a 'pacifist', which is shown in the episode he quit going to Karate class when he was small because he didn't like fighting with others and got home in tears.
* He used to be called 'Koike', 'Koicchi', KoiQ' when he was a school boy. He's been called 'Teppei' just since he moved to Tokyo.
* According to himself, his personality is basically honest, but a bit lazy and slow.
* According to Wentz, he's quite man and outgoing although he's said to be a cute guy, which he doesn't show much on TV.

Favourites, Dislikes
* Favourite foods are soy sauce flavoured noodle, sushi. Dislikes are melon, watermelon, whipped cream. He doesn't like the seeds in watermelon.
* A girl of his dream is the one who is kind and considerate of others. He also falls for someone who has a big gap in something. He also has a deep attachment to the clavicle and finger nails.
* Although he's a fan of Hanshin Tigers, he knows only a few players' names.
* The 1st alcohol he had when he became 20 was imo-jouchuu (sweat potato liquor), and favourite alcohol is awamori (Wentz likes it).
* However, he can't drink a lot, he goes asleep when he gets drunk. He also gets pampered when he gets drunk.
* He doesn't like pyjamas.
* He always eats a beef jerky as a snack with drinks.
* He's fond of nature. When he moved to Tokyo, everything in his room were in green colour.

Habit, Speciality, Hobby, etc.
* He used to belong to the basketball club at a junior high school and played the position of guard. The coach was very strict.
* The start of his getting into music was when he listened to 'Natsuiro' by Yuzu, which impressed on him and made him wonder 'why do I feel so happy listening to this song'. The 1st CD he bought himself was Yuzu's album.
* His habit is to fix his hair, and he sticks his tongue out of his mouth when he is fixing his hair.
* He's not bad at dance and cooking. His speciality is chicken with white cream sauce.
* He often takes photos of moon and stars with a digital camera. He often shows Wentz those photos he took, but he can't get any good reactions from Wentz.
* He is left-handed (originally was right-handed, but while he was copying his father who was left-handed, became himself left-handed without noticing), but he becomes right-handed when he plays the guitar, bowling, or write a calligraphy.
* He's got 5 guitars at the moment.
* He says he wants to marry before 30.
* He eats a lot although he doesn't look like.
* He grinds his teeth and rolls about a lot while he's asleep, so he's much noisier in his sleep than in awake. He's once given Wentz who was sleeping next to him a dolphin kick.
* He had many complaints about his grinding his teeth and terrible rolling in his sleep while in training camp for 'Water Boys 2'.
* He didn't know that women could grow beard until a member of JUNON staff told him about it at the end of 2006.

Family
* His family consists of father, mother, and 1 younger brother. He respects his father so much.
* His name 'Teppei' was taken after his father's favourite manga "Ore wa Teppei". And his parents wished him to become a person who devotes himself to whatever he does therefore used the kanji character ? in his name.
: He looks like his mother, and his smile looks like his father. The reason why his smile doesn't look like his mum is because she's always with a worried look.
* His father is daring, mother is a worrywart. He says he's more like his mother.
* He gets on very well with his brother who is 3 years younger than him therefore has never had a fight with him. He often gets advices about his work from him over a phone.
* Actor Kyomoto Masaki is a relative from his father's family, but not immediate relative.
* When he moved to Tokyo, drove for 10 hours from Osaka with his whole family. They tidied up his room together, and slept over in his room 1 or 2 nights.
* The gift he bought his mother with his very 1st wage was a pair of earrings.
 Favourite musicians
* Fukuyama Masaharu...Teppei wants to become like him. They met each other for the first time in 2006 FNS music festival. Fukuyama was mentioning in his radioshow about Teppei as a pleasant young man.
* Kobukuro... When Teppei met Kobukuro for the first time at the photo shoot for JUNON magazine, he sang 'Bokurano Ibasho' along with the guitar, and in return, Kobukuro sang their song 'YELL' which made Teppei in tears over excitement.
* Yamazaki Masayoshi...Teppei confessed Yamazaki he'd been a great fan of Yamazaki's at the backstage when they both were in the TV show 'Music Station'. He also took a photo with Yamazaki together, and later Wentz made fun of Teppei by pretending to drop the camera in which he kept the photo, he was so annoyed with Wentz he felt like hitting him seriously.

Qualifications
* He's got a driving license, but hardly ever drives.
* He's got a license for a small ship, which he took for the photo shoot for JUNON. He was very quick to pick up.
* He's qualified the 2nd grade in the use of the abacus.

Tears
* He cried in tears at the event for their indie debut.
* He burst into tears over the joy when he appered in Music Station as WaT for the first time.
* He burst into tears earlier than anyone else after finishing the shoot of the drama 'Gokusen'.
* He watched the last episode of the drama 'Water Boys 2' at his home in Osaka with his family. It was only him who was in tears during watching the drama.
* He sang SMAP song 'Orange' at the Junior high school's graduation ceremony, and cried in tears. But no one else except him was crying.
* He was in tears when Wentz sang Ozaki Yutaka's 'I LOVE YOU' at Karaoke.
* He was touched by the film 'Crayon Shin-chan Arashiwo yobu mo-retsu! Otona Teikokuno gyakushu', and burst into tears in the middle of the night after watching it.

Photo/TV Shooting
* The hardest work he's ever done is the drama 'Water Boys2'. During the term of the shooting, he would work 6 days for the shooting, 1 day for practice on synchronised swim. He couldn't swim before he started this drama, and went to gym for practice by himself.
* Snowboarding scene is seen in the video '5 centi', however, he had had an experience of snowboard only for 3 hours before he did the video.
* He went to the beach for shooting the video of 'Hava Rava', he stayed overnight at a hotel nearby. He felt like being on a school excursion and started telling a ghost story to Wentz who didn't want to hear. However, he saw something like a ghost and got really scared, so he held Wentz's hand and shared one futon and mattress together with Wentz when he went to sleep.

Language
* Basically he speaks standard Japanese when he's on TV, but he tends to use Kansai dialect more often recently. He uses Kansai dialect when he speaks with Wentz.



Here are some images for Teppei Koike:

Ishihara hooking up with photographer, says Friday magazine

TOKYO — Weekly magazine Friday revealed in its July 23 issue that actress Satomi Ishihara, 23, has gotten together with the photographer who worked on an official photo book. In the article “Nana-sai ue no koibito no heya kara shigoto he” (“Heading from the apartment of my older lover straight into work”), Friday tells of how Ishihara frequents the condo of Koji Emori, 30, who worked on the “Ningen Shikkaku” film photo book, and is late picked up from in front of the building by a car sent by her management.
Ishihara has also been spotted leaving for work from another condo that is also registered in Emori’s name.
Ishihara’s management released a statement saying that Emori is just a work associate, but Friday quotes Ishihara as saying, “We met during ‘Ningen Shikkaku,’ and got to know each other after the shooting was finished in August 2009. He’s not a lover, but more like a very close acquaintance.”

Namie Amuro ready to have a 'Wild Summer'

TOKYO — Okinawan singer Namie Amuro, 32, will appear in the next edition of Coca Cola’s “Zero” commercial series that begins airing on Saturday.
The “Wild Summer” commercial will feature Amuro strutting her stuff in front of a background of flames while being blasted by bursts of wind. The singer said the commercial is meant to make viewers feel like they can beat the summer heat.

Kanata Hongo - 本郷奏多

I found someone quite interesting here, and I thought I would share about it here, hahah... ^ω^

Name (Romaji): Kanata Hongo
Name (Kanji): 本郷奏多
Profession:  Actor & Model
Birthdate: November 15, 1990
Birthplace: Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Blood Type: O
Star Sign: Scorpio









Career

Hongō has appeared in several movies, including Moon Child, which also starred Gackt, Hyde and Leehom Wang. Hongō played the role of Sho as a child, while the adult role was played by Gackt. He appeared in a movie called Hinokio which was released in July 2005 in Japan. Hongō is also the young boy in the singer Yui's music video for her song "Tomorrow's Way." In 2006, Kanata was cast as the popular anime character Ryoma Echizen in the live-action adaptation film of The Prince of Tennis[1]. He joined the majority of the Seigaku Regulars of the Prince of Tennis musicals as he was replacing Kotaro Yanagi, who couldn't play the role due to a car accident he was involved in.

Hongō also portrayed the young bassist Shinichi Okazaki in the movie Nana 2, which was released in Japan on December 9, 2006. He had replaced Ken'ichi Matsuyama who had previously played Shin in the first Nana film. His next feature film was alongside Michael Pitt and Keira Knightley in Silk which was screened at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. This marked Hongō's first appearance in an English language film, where he played a Japanese servant boy. He also starred in another music video, B'zs "Eien no Tsubasa" along with Tsubasa Honda and in GReeeeN's music video of "Namida Sora".

In television, Hongō's first major role was as major supporting character Hinata in Himitsu no Hanazono and performed a wonderful tear jerking moment in one of the later episodes. His superb job in acting lead him to being another major supporting character in the drama Seito Shokun! as rebellious student Kohei Aoki. Later, he appeared as a guest in two other shows. In 2008, he starred as Riku Okamoto in Seigi no Mikata, broadcasted by NTV. He said Okamoto was probably his most normal role to date. He was then featured in the music video for The Gospellers' "Sky High", which was the opening to the second season of anime Nodame Cantabile.

Hongō starred in three films in late 2008. They included Aoi Tori, K-20: The Fiend with Twenty Faces and Goth. The latter two were released in Japan on the same day, December 20. Goth is based on a Japanese novel with the same name, written by Otsuichi.

Here are some images for Kanata Hongo:

Mango Lassi

Here is a perfect drink for summer: mango lassi, which combines the popular Indian yogurt drink with mango juice, creating a rich taste. 105 yen.

Kumi Koda opens personalized 'channel'

TOKYO — Celebrating 10 years since her debut, singer Kumi Koda showed her appreciation to fans by opening her own personalized “channel” on a streaming video service for a period of five days from July 7-12.
The site was quickly inundated with over 650,000 viewers.
Viewers were treated to streaming video of Koda’s past live performances, music videos, and brief “live” appearances by Koda herself. ON July 11, Koda mass emailed 3,000 female fans for “girls’ talk.”
Apparently, Koda’s “girls’ talk” has so far inspired three couples to get married. Koda, speaking on the experience of getting in touch with her fans, said, “I really just want to make everyone happy. And my fans have made me happy in return!”

6 dead, 5 in serious condition due to water accidents across Japan

TOKYO — Six people died, five others were in serious condition and one went missing Monday following water accidents across Japan, as many people took to the outdoors as temperatures soared to 35 C or higher in many parts of the archipelago, according to authorities.
   
In Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, 6-year-old Jo Takahashi died after being swept away at the mouth of a river which he was visiting with his family, while Tomonori Kawano, a 33-year-old company employee, drowned at Tokyo’s Kasai Rinkai Park in a waterfront area along the Tokyo Bay.
   
Tomoki Kimura, a 17-year-old high school student, died after being hit by a small boat while he was swimming in the sea near a fishing port in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.
 
In Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, Hiroki Yokota, 20, drowned at Lake Inawashiro. He was visiting the area with his colleagues for a barbecue.
   
Two men—Kazunori Saiin, 72, and Norio Arai, 69—died while fishing for ayu at respective rivers in Shiroishi, Miyagi Prefecture and Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture.
   
The five who were unconscious are two elementary school boys who nearly drowned in rivers in Osaka and Tokyo prefectures, two junior high school students who were swimming at beaches in Aomori and Niigata prefectures, and a 4-year-old boy who fell into an irrigation ditch in Fukuoka Prefecture.
   
A man believed to be in his 60s is missing after someone reported that a man was drowning at a beach in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
   
Meanwhile, Kenichi Kawamura, an 18-year-old college student from Hiroshima who was one of two men swept downstream in a river from a campsite straddling Yamaguchi and Hiroshima prefectures Sunday, was found dead Monday in the river.
 
Police continue to search for Keisuke Inoue, a 24-year-old also from Hiroshima, who remains missing after trying to rescue Kawamura.

Tokyo int'l toy show opens with 36,000 items on display

Friday 16th July, 04:54 AM JST

TOKYO — An international toy show opened in Tokyo on Thursday with around 36,000 toys and other items made by 139 Japanese and overseas manufacturers on display. Among the items on show at the four-day International Tokyo Toy Show 2010 is a golf simulation video game produced under the supervision of teenage golfer Ryo Ishikawa.
   
The show at Tokyo Big Sight in Koto Ward will be open to toy makers for the first two days and to the public for the weekend. Japan’s toy market in fiscal 2009 shrank 0.9% from the previous year to around 649.4 billion yen, partly due to sluggish consumer spending, according to data provided by the Japan Toy Association, which is organizing the event.

Daigo holds impromptu live performance in Shinjuku

TOKYO — Musician Daigo, 32, and his 3-member band Breakerz staged an impromptu live performance (what Japanese refer to as “guerrilla live”) at Shinjuku’s Station Square venue on Wednesday.
The band took the stage with no prior announcements or advertising for the event, to the surprise of 5,000 fans. They played their new single, “hEaVeN,” released the same day as the performance.
Daigo is the grandson of former Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita. When he was asked for a reaction to the political debate over whether to raise the consumption tax, he replied, “It reminds of my days in school, getting bullied. I can’t really say much about it.”

Akina Nakamori celebrates second pachinko machine

TOKYO —

Singer Akina Nakamori, 45, has lent her name and image to the pachinko world for a second time. The “CR Nakamori Akina - Utahime Densetsu~Koi mo Nidome nara~” machine, manufactured by maker Daiichi, was announced at a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, with the singer herself appearing in a chic black dress and a wide smile to celebrate her second machine in four years.
“There’s loads of photos of me included from when I hit the big time,” the singer teased, “and I think players will have a great time with the game.”
A total of 13 live scenes of Nakamori crooning classics along with her new single “Crazy Love,” produced especially for the release, are available in the game, along with a cutesy cartoon version of the singer called “Chibi-Na.”
Around 200 members of the singer’s fan club were invited to the press conference, heartily wishing Nakamori the best on her birthday, which was on Tuesday.
A special “Utahime Densetsu Campaign” promotion was also announced, giving players the chance to win 10 million yen worth of prizes related to “Chibi-Na” (including a small car) between Aug 20 and Oct 31.
The pachinko machines are set to be released nationwide in September.

More people growing vegetables for food safety, healing purposes

TOKYO — An increasing number of people are growing vegetables on balconies and even on a rooftop garden at a railway station to ensure food safety and for healing purposes.
   
There are now vegetable cultivation sets that come with a pot, seeds and culture soil.
   
On top of JR Ebisu Station in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward overlooking Tokyo Tower and Roppongi Hills, there is a 500-square-meter vegetable garden for rent in a corner of the roof, where a lawn and flowerbeds spread.
   
Called ‘‘Soradofarm,’’ it was opened by East Japan Railway Co, or JR East, last fall. The annual fee is 93,000 yen for a three-square-meter site and 117,000 yen for five square meters.
   
Half of all applicants for membership are successful.
   
‘‘I came here to sow seeds as it is getting warm,’’ said a 75-year-old widow whose husband underwent rehabilitation therapy on the railway station’s rooftop before his death. By touching the soil, the woman said she feels as if she is talking to him.
   
She said the broccoli and potatoes that she grew from fall to spring were ‘‘so tasty.’‘
   
Nao Sato, 31, a resident staffer at the Soradofarm garden, told her, ‘‘Why don’t you grow mint next time?’’ The membership fee covers seeding, vegetable seeds, fertilizers and rental tools.
   
Because of the convenient location of the railway station, the rooftop garden attracts various people, including residents in the neighborhood and commuters.
   
The ‘‘Garden Island Tamagawa Store’’ run by Protoleaf Corp, a culture soil manufacturer in Tokyo, is also crowded with people interested in vegetable gardening.
   
Protoleaf spokeswoman Tomoko Nishiyama said, ‘‘While flower sales are dropping slightly, seed and seeding companies are increasing the variety of vegetable seeds and seeding.’‘
   
A package of culture soil suitable for each vegetable, such as tomatoes and ‘‘goya,’’ or bitter gourd, and seeding can be directly planted there to save space. When the vegetable is harvested after one year, the package can be disposed of.
   
The store is preparing a kit for beginners containing a planter, soil and fertilizer and gives advice to customers about seeding suitable for cultivation on balconies.
   
Indoor mini-cultivation sets are also handy. Tokyu Hands’ Shinjuku store in Shibuya Ward set up a special corner for such sets until mid-April.
   
In March alone, the store sold 310 sets to grow green soybeans from seeds and 170 sets to grow enough rice for one of rice bowl.
   
A Shinjuku store official said, ‘‘There have been cultivation sets for a long time, but they were mostly for flowers. But since last year, cultivation sets for edible things have been on the rise.’’

Robbery Tried at Police Station

Sendai - A knife-wielding man entered a police station in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, and demanded money, but was arrested on the spot, police said. Kazuhiro Hatakeyama, 22, entered Kesennuma Police Station at about 12:40 p.m. Monday, the police said. Carrying a kitchen knife with a 16-centimeter blade, the unemployed man threatened a 37-year-old female worker at the reception counter of a traffic safety association on the first floor, saying, "Give me some money, or I'll kill you." But the man was quickly apprehended as several police officers were nearby.
The police said he was arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery and violating the Firearms and Swords Control Law.
Source: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20100714TDY02T03.htm

Former Morning Musume singer Hitomi Yoshizawa to run in Sydney Marathon

TOKYO — Morning Musume band member and actress Hitomi Yoshizawa will participate in the Sydney Marathon on Sept 19, she said this week.  Yoshizawa made the announcement at an event promoting Audio Technica’s sports headphones, Player’s Line.
It won’t be Yoshizawa’s first appearance in a marathon; she took part in the Vancouver half marathon in April. She finished that race in 2 hours and 36 minutes.
“I’m debating whether I will do the full or half marathon in Sydney,” Yoshizawa said. “I want to shave about 7 minutes off my half marathon time. Whatever I do, I want to finish with a smile.”

Heavy rain hits western Japan, leaving 1 dead, others missing

TOKYO — Torrential rain hit western Japan early Wednesday, leaving one woman dead and several other people missing, and forcing local governments to recommend that more than 170,000 people evacuate from their homes amid flood warnings. The woman who died was pulled from a river in Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture, local police said.
 
In Sera, Hiroshima Prefecture, a woman was missing after three others were rescued from a house hit by a landslide. A man also went missing in Tsuwano, Shimane Prefecture.
   
Among those subject to evacuation recommendations were 125,000 people in Fukuoka and Saga prefectures in northern Kyushu, including some places that recorded more than 100 millimeters of rain per hour. The remaining 48,000 were in Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures.
   
Heavy rain forced West Japan Railway Co to suspend bullet train runs between Hiroshima and Kokura in Fukuoka Prefecture for two and a half hours, affecting 16,500 passengers.
   
It also affected train traffic in western Japan prefectures ranging from Fukuoka to Kyoto and Osaka. Expressways were partially shut in the prefectures.

Speed: The Comeback Queens are All Grown Up

From left: Eriko Imai, Hitoe Arakaki, Hiroko Shimabukuro and Takako Uehara.







TOKYO — Cheerful and playful at their Shibuya studio, the four women of Speed have the energy and excitement of a debutant J-pop girl group. Yet their joviality masks the fact that they’re veterans of the most successful female Japanese group of all time. Between forming in 1996 and splitting up in 2000, Takako Uehara, Eriko Imai, Hitoe Arakaki and Hiroko Shimabukuro sold over 20 million records. Ten years later, as they prepare for a reunion tour, the women of Speed are all still in their 20s.
“We were talking with each other like ordinary 20-something girls over dinner,” says Uehara. “It had been about seven years since we’d stood on stage together, and I knew I needed to remember I was ‘Takako Uehara of Speed.’”
The challenge for the group now, though, is that the J-pop scene has changed in the last decade. During their heyday, Speed were pitched as rivals to fellow Okinawan quartet MAX. Since then, girl groups have fallen out of fashion. Otaku acts AKB48 and Morning Musume maintain male followings, but only the electro-tinged trio Perfume enjoys mainstream popularity. In fact, it’s edgy and colorful Korean girl groups that have been making inroads into Japan—4Minute, 2NE1 and After School. So how does Speed feel about returning to compete in a music market where styles have moved on?
“Maybe each one of us has different feelings about it,” says Shimabukuro. “I think we let go of our stardom once and now we’re starting all over again from zero. We’ve been taking it slowly and considering what we want to do more this time.”
Speed’s incredible rise began when the girls met at Okinawa Actors School, famous for producing Namie Amuro and MAX. The band originally included seven to nine members, but when a TV show from Tokyo came calling, they were trimmed down to a quartet.
“We have no idea how four of us were selected or who decided it,” admits Imai.
In December 1995, the girls were introduced on the music-ranking program “Yoru mo Hippare” as younger sisters of Amuro—then, as today, the hottest pop star around. They asked the public to help think of a name.
“The names were like The Habus and Mongooses or Ryukyu Girls or Okinawa Girls—they were horrible!” says Imai. “We then decided [on Speed] unanimously.”
Within six months of relocating to Tokyo, the group had released its debut single, “Body & Soul.” The song spent 31 weeks on the charts and would be followed by five No. 1 singles, including “White Love” in October 1997, which sold an astounding 1.8 million copies.
Unlike most artists from Okinawa, Speed was signed to Toy’s Factory records rather than J-pop powerhouse Avex—a move the women say allowed them to be more expressive and creative. “At that time, there were no girls’ groups dancing in boys’ big clothes, and we told Toy’s Factory our starting point was TLC, so we had something fresh,” says Imai.
The teens lapped up their sudden success. “We drove a car around the town with windows down playing our songs at earsplitting volume,” reminisces Uehara. “We were so childish in private, but we enjoyed it.”
The group broke up at their peak, announcing the news in October 1999 and formally splitting the following March. Why? “Because of adolescence?” jokes Takako. “I was thinking, ‘I want to do what I want now.’”
The four young women set off to pursue their own dreams. Arakaki went to New York to study art and obtain a yoga teaching license. Uehara modeled, while Shimabukuro launched jazz outfit Coco d’Or. Imai was the most active, renaming herself Elly in 2005 and emerging as a solo singer who writes all her own material. But it was the birth of her son, who has a hearing disability, that would eventually provide an impetus for the group to reform.
“There is an annual TV charity show named ‘24 Hours TV,’ and we all participated in it in 2008,” Imai says. “I wanted to convey the songs of Speed to my son somehow… There was also a girl named ‘Nojiri’ suffering from a serious disease, who we met when we were about 14 years old, and she was about 10. Now she is 21 and she wished that she could listen to the songs of Speed again. So these two wishes led us to get back together.”
For their 2008 comeback single, “Ashita no Sora,” Speed reunited with the producer they’d worked with throughout their career—Hiromasa Ijichi. The old magic is still there, apparently: despite the group’s sound remaining much the same, the track rose to No. 3 on the charts. A new single, “Himawari—Growing Sunflower,” forms the basis of the current nationwide tour.
When asked how the public may take to the group’s re-emergence, Arakaki seems intent on retaining her Okinawan roots.
“I made up my mind to continue being a member of Speed until I become an old lady, even if we didn’t get together again,” she says. “I’ll treasure each moment with a spirit of ‘nankuru naisa,’ which in Okinawan means ‘whatever will be will be.’”
Speed will perform at Nippon Budokan on Friday from 6:30 p.m. (tickets cost 6,500 yen), and at Zepp Tokyo on Aug 1 at 4 p.m. (tickets 3,900-4,200 yen).
This story originally appeared in Metropolis magazine (www.metropolis.co.jp).

Mother admits activating washing machine with daughter inside

 Wednesday 14th July, 03:01 PM JST

FUKUOKA — A 34-year-old woman under arrest for allegedly killing her 5-year-old daughter in Fukuoka Prefecture has told investigators she used to confine her in a washing machine and activate it as a way of discipline,  investigative sources said Wednesday. The suspect, Junko Egashira, who was arrested June 30 on suspicion of strangling her daughter, Mone, at their home in Kurume City on June 27, said she put her in a washing machine three times in June by covering her mouth with adhesive tape and tying down her hands and legs.
Egashira told the investigators she had also taped the machine’s lid so that Mone would not be able to escape, and left her inside for two or three hours.  She also admitted that she ran the water inside the machine and set it to start spinning, although she may not have taken such steps in all of the three cases, the sources said. Fukuoka police suspect that Egashira’s abusive behaviors escalated and led to the murder.

Michael Jackson memorabilia stolen from Kyoto department store

KYOTO — Items of memorabilia from Michael Jackson’s concert tours were stolen from a special sales event at the Daimaru department store in Kyoto, investigative sources said Tuesday. The department store said it found on July 8 and 9 that nine items worth about 169,000 yen were missing. The missing goods include a pamphlet signed by Jackson’s concert tour staff and a limited-edition gold disc, it said.
The department store held the sales event from late June, offering about 1,000 products related to the legendary American musical artist, who died in June last year, including his autograph for 400,000 yen. Customers were able to freely touch the items. ‘‘This is the place where fans come to enjoy seeing the goods and it’s a shame that such thoughtless acts have happened here,’’ an official at the store said.

Suo, Kusakari to Make Dance Film about Chaplin

TOKYO — Filmmaker Masayuki Suo, 53, will direct his wife, former ballerina Tamiyo Kusakari, 45, in his upcoming film, “Dancing Chaplin.” The film is inspired by world-famous dancer Luigi Bonino’s stage performance based on early film-era comedian Charlie Chaplin.
Last year, the director captured on film his wife’s final performance as a ballet dancer. The couple began a relationship in 1996 on the set of the Japanese film, “Shall we Dance?”
The film will be a re-imagining of the stage performance of the same name, choreographed by dancer Roland Petit, now 86 years old. Suo said the film—set for release in April or May, 2011—will aim to capture the feel of Chaplin films and will be broken into two acts, reminiscent of a stage ballet performance.

Tomato Juice with a Sour Kick

Tomato-based food manufacturer Kagome has released a new brand of tomato juice. Fruity Tomato comes mixed with a dash of lemon to give the product a slightly sour kick. The drink contains 60% real tomato juice. The lemon masks the tomato smell of traditional tomato juice.
Kagome says the drink is easy to consume even for those that dislike the taste of tomatoes.
The juice, aimed at middle-aged women and other consumer groups who tend to dislike regular tomato drinks, comes in a 777-gram pack and retails for 325 yen.

Mitsubishi Heavy to Commercialize Waterless Solar Thermal Power System

TOKYO — Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd plans to commercialize as early as 2015 the world’s first solar thermal power generation system that does not require water during its power generation, company officials said Tuesday. The system will enable electricity generation in deserts and cut power production costs by 20 to 30% from levels for conventional systems, they said.
   
Conventional solar thermal power generation systems need water as the sun’s thermal energy collected through mirrors and other special boards is used to boil and evaporate water to spin turbines for generating electricity. The new solar thermal power system will spin turbines by heating compressed air with solar thermal energy. Since the new system does not require water or pumps, its structure can be simpler.
   
The company plans to cooperate with an Australian research institution to develop the new power generation system, with an eye to beginning operations of a demonstration plant in 2013.

Fujitsu to boost investment in cloud computing business

TOKYO —

Fujitsu Ltd will boost investment in cloud computing to 100 billion yen in fiscal 2010, from 65 billion yen in the previous year, as the business is expected to be at the center of future growth. ‘‘We will invest 100 billion yen, which accounts for 25 percent of spending on capital investment, and research and development costs in fiscal 2010, in the cloud computing-related business,’’ Fujitsu Ltd President Masami Yamamoto told a news conference on the company’s management strategy.
 
‘‘This is because the center of profit growth in the mid- and long-term lies in cloud computing,’’ which allows software and stored data to be accessed remotely via the Internet, he said.
   
The company said it also plans to nurture about 5,000 cloud computing experts by the end of fiscal 2011, while setting up a data center in southern China by the end of the fiscal year through March 2012 to accelerate its cloud computing business in the country.
Fujitsu has set a sales target for the cloud computing-related business of between 1.30 trillion yen and 1.50 trillion yen in fiscal 2015, Yamamoto said.
   
Yamamoto also showed eagerness to engage in mergers and acquisitions to enhance Fujitsu’s businesses in areas such as software, saying that the company is aiming to boost alliances with various global partners.
   
On Fujitsu’s mobile phone business, in which the company and Toshiba Corp recently agreed to integrate, Yamamoto said it is first aiming to build a strong base in the Japanese market.
   
‘‘We would like to cautiously proceed with (advancing into overseas markets) by monitoring the possibility of new mobile handsets overseas centering on smartphones toward 2011 and 2012,’’ Yamamoto said.

EXILE concert tour expected to draw 1.1 million fans

TOKYO — All male pop group EXILE will kick off a national tour on July 17 that will see the group play 22 gigs in 10 cities, with the number of fans attending expected to top 1.1 million.
Last year, the band drew around 500,000 fans when they held 34 concerts in 10 cities. If they exceed the 1 million mark this year, it will set a record for concert attendance in Japan. Around 600 crew will accompany the group on tour in 150 trucks and vans.
Meanwhile, Filipino fashion designer Zaldy Goco will be in charge of their costumes for the tour. Zaldy is well known for designing outfits for big stars, such as the late singer Michael Jackson and Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, 66. It is the first time for Goco to produce costumes for Asian stars. He said his costumes will match the tour’s title of “FANTASY.”

Playwright Kohei Tsuka dies at 62

TOKYO — Playwright Kohei Tsuka, who created popular dramas such as ‘‘Kamata Koshinkyoku,’’ died of lung cancer at a hospital in Chiba Prefecture on Saturday, sources familiar with the matter said Monday. He was 62.
   
In January, Tsuka, a South Korean resident in Japan, announced that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer and was undergoing treatment. Tsuka, also a stage director and fiction writer, won the Naoki literary prize in 1982 for the novel version of ‘‘Kamata Koshinkyoku,’’ which was also made into a movie.

.....Rest In Peace.....

Christel Takigawa Receives 'Platinum Muse Award'

TOKYO — Freelance anchorwoman Christel Takigawa, 32, was the guest of honor at the recent “Platinum Muse Award” ceremony. After receiving a platinum necklace, she said happily “I don’t mean to blow my own horn, but platinum suits me perfectly.”
This award is given each year by the industry to the “woman who shines like platinum.”
Takigawa explained: “Platinum matches the way I live and the way I think. It is something that has high purity and will not lose its value. I hope that describes me, too.”
Naturally, she was asked what type of guy she likes. “Someone who is passionate about his work would be ideal,” she replied.

Kobe Beef Farmers Worry about Foot-and-Mouth Outbreak

KOBE — Prized for its tender, marbled texture and succulent flavor, Kobe beef is a delicacy that can cost 19,000 yen for a slab of steak at some Japanese restaurants.
 
But cattle farmers near the central city of Kobe are worried an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the southern prefecture of Miyazaki, another key beef-raising region that often supplies calves to Kobe breeders, could spread to them as well—and impact Japan’s premium beef market for years to come. “I have to think seriously about the risk,” said Shigefumi Tanimoto, a rancher for more than 20 years on Awaji Island, just south of Kobe. “If the foot-and-mouth disease came to Kobe, I could lose everything.”
 
The disease broke out about two months ago in Miyazaki, on the southern island of Kyushu. To keep it from spreading, more than 270,000 animals were destroyed, including several valuable stud bulls, bred to sire calves with optimal fattiness. Under a state of emergency declared by the governor, people who lived in particular areas were urged not to travel, and vehicles leaving the prefecture had to have their wheels disinfected.
So far, the outbreak appears to have been contained, and no cows in the Kobe region have been found infected. Last week, the government said it completed preventative measures, allowing area residents to travel freely. But the disease is highly contagious and the virus can be spread by water droplets, shoes, vehicles and other means.
 
“Foot-and-mouth disease is notorious for its ability to spread widely by many means especially animal movements,” said Peter Roeder, an animal health expert and adviser for the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. But given the strong steps authorities have taken, he sees only a low chance of the likelihood of the disease spreading. The virus causes lesions inside the mouth and on hooves, sometimes resulting in lameness. Calves are much more at risk of dying than older cattle. Humans cannot get infected from eating contaminated meat, but there have been rare cases of transmission from direct contact with sick animals.
 
The culling of cattle will reduce the supply of meat available and drive up prices, farmers and experts say.
 
And even if the disease is contained, the killing of so many cows is a heavy blow to the market for “Wagyu” beef—which includes Kobe and Miyazaki brands—since it means many farmers in Kyushu will have to restart the selective breeding process that has been key to producing the high-quality meat.
“Usually it takes two to three years to raise and fatten cattle before slaughtering,” said Yasuhiro Nakashima, a professor of food and agricultural economics at Tokyo University. The breeding process to replace lost stud bulls could take much longer, experts say.
 
About 1,300 Miyazaki cattle are sold to the Kobe region every year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. But this year, sales were postponed or canceled because of the outbreak.
 
Restaurant owners who specialize in Kobe beef say their products are untainted, but they worry consumers still will avoid the meat. Past scares about mad cow disease and bird flu have hit their businesses, says Kazuho Miyasu, 48, owner of the Kobe steak house Miyasu. “It usually takes four to five years to get our customers back after so much damage,” said Miyasu.
 
The origin of the virus that causes the disease is still unknown, but prefectural officials say it is similar to a strain found in South Korea.
The owner of Kobe’s Teppankyaki Onishi, Masakazu Onishi, said he agrees slaughtering cattle suspected of having the disease is the only way to eradicate it, but he sympathized with farmers.
 
“Some farmers care for their calves like their own family members,” said Onishi. “I would be devastated if I were them.”
Back on Awaji Island, Tanimoto says the disease—if it does spread—could destroy years of hard work. “In the past 20 years I have raised four generations of cattle,” said Tanimoto. “Foot-and-mouth disease would wipe out my business.”

Lavenders in Full Bloom, Numata, Gunma Prefecture

Sunday 11th July, 03:00 PM JST

Around 50,000 lavender plants are in full bloom at Tanbara Lavender Park at Numata, Gunma Prefecture.

Japan's DoCoMo Plans New App Platform for Phones

Tokyo: Japan's number one mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo has said it will add a new application platform to its "i-mode" handsets this year as it tries to catch up with Apple's runaway iPhone success.

NTT DoCoMo will allow third-party individuals to develop applications for the company's 50 million "i-mode" users, spokeswoman Makiko Furuta said.