Published in today’s morning edition of Nihon Keizai Shimbun, singer-talent Becky is featured in a full-page full-color advertisement butt naked. Or rather, back naked.

The shoot took a minimal approach: no branding, simple background, natural makeup and lighting, freshly cut hair and some (very) minimal styling. She’s naked. It’s just a photo of her back and shoulder with her looking away from the camera. And much to my confusion, it has been billed as “shocking” according to the news sources I’ve been looking at. But…where?

In a fax to Takarajimasha, a Japanese publishing company known for publishing fashion magazines, the shoot was conducted with a homey atmosphere on a terrace, with classical music playing and minimal staff behind the scenes. It was created by the agency behind this beautiful ad with Kirin Kiki, everyone’s favorite Japanese screen grandmother, which earned them this year’s Yomiuri Advertising Award.

“For the sake of a beautiful advertisement, the consultants from the production team decided we’d cut my hair,” she wrote on her Instagram. “I’m sincerely grateful for this experience.“

It has been two days since the official release of Utada Hikaru‘s latest album Fantôme, and like fans, the singer-songwriter herself is surprised at how well it has been received worldwide.

At the time of writing this, the album currently charting at #1 in 6 countries (including Finland…?), 8 countries in the top 10, and charting in a total of 28 countries worldwide on iTunes. Which isn’t bad at all for a Japanese-language album that isn’t being promoted outside of East Asia.

Half her tweets the past few days have just been her confused about the fact she has been charting outside of Asia. As time progressed, the tweets got more and more confused; from “what does this mean?” to “what the hell?” when she saw it went #3 in the US.

The question is, where were y’all during the This Is The One era?

After a long wait of nearly 2 years, Spotify is finally launching its service in Japan with 40 million songs in its music catalog – but not everyone is getting access to it just yet.

The company is currently running an invite-only beta, which means some users might have to wait a little longer before they get an opportunity to use the popular music app.

Japanese users will have the option to either stream for free (with ads) or opt for Spotify’s ad-free paid subscription, which will cost 980 yen per month (or roughly $9.60). This make Spotify Japan’s first freemium streaming service.

Just in time for pumpkin spice season songstress Kana Nishino announced the release of her 29th single “Dear Bride”.  Described as a sweet uplifting song, the lyrics are dedicated to a close friend standing at one of the ‘turning points’ in life about to embark on her new journey as a married woman.

Two b-sides will be included on the single. A re-arranged version of “Kimi ga Suki” a track from her latest album “Just LOVE” and a new holiday themed song called “Merry Christmas”. The DVD version of the single includes the full version of her hit song “Have a nice day”, which was also originally released on “Just LOVE”.

“Dear Bride” will hit store shelves on October 27th. Check out the covers as well as the short ver. PV of “Have a nice day” below.

Hello, Arama! Japan readers and welcome to this week’s installment of #1 Song Review! Last week saw RADWIMPS defeat HKT48. RADWIMPS is back again this week, facing off against a newcomer. Find out what various staff members thought of the songs that topped the physical and digital charts this week and share your thoughts on them too!

Fresh off the finale of their 2016 world tour in front of more than 110,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome, metal idol sensation BABYMETAL will embark on a new adventure: an original shortform series.

The hybrid live-action and animated project is currently in development will be produced by Warner Bros.’ digital studio Blue Ribbon Content, Amuse USA, and manager and creator of BABYMETAL Key Kobayashi (a.k.a. KOBAMETAL).

The series was announced today by Sam Register, President of Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Digital Series.

Love affairs, shotgun marriages, divorce. The world of celebrity is never a dull one, unfortunately certain celebrities in general seem to have the worst luck when choosing their partner. Popular entertainment website goo held an online poll asking their users who they thought were the unluckiest female entertainers when it came to their love life.

Any guesses on who made the list? Check out the top 35 picks below

This month’s guests were Mako Mina, WHITE JAM, Wa-suta, Takigawa Alisa, Shiggy Jr., SOLIDEMO, Nasu Asako, and erica.

Mako Mina – Te wo Tsunagou yo

WHITE JAM – Sakanai de

Wa-suta – Kanzen Naru Idol

Takigawa Alisa – Iroasenai Hitomi

Shiggy Jr. – Summertime Love

SOLIDEMO – Orange

Nasu Asako – flora

erica – Kimi ga Ita