Namie Amuro will provide the theme song for Fuji TV drama, Boku no Yabai Tsuma which will premiere on April 19th and broadcast every Tuesday. The single, titled Mint, is set to release on May 18th. The upcoming psychological thriller stars Ito Hideaki and Kimura Yoshino as husband and wife.
Check out the covers and hear a clip after the jump!
Recently, a Korean netizen site, Pann, had a post about an AKB48 concert. The post was titled “Legendarily right-wing idols.” The post contains photos from their concert while the group performed the song “Bokutachi wa Tatakawanai.” That performance referenced World War II. Given that the song translates as “We Won’t Fight” and has a message of peace, the use of WWII imagery makes sense as a contrast to show what the world should be. The post also tried to link the performance to the 106th anniversary of the execution of An Jung-geun. He was a Korean freedom fighter who assassinated former Japanese prime minister / former Resident-General of Korea Ito Hirobumi.
Check out the comments after the jump!
March 28, 2001 is a special day in Japanese music history. On this day, 2 of the rising young female artists on the scene, Utada Hikaru and Ayumi Hamasaki, released their new albums. Utada released her second studio album, “Distance”, while Ayumi released her first best album, “A BEST.”
Utada was coming off the massive success of her debut album, “First Love”, which had sold over 7 million copies at the time and was the best selling album in Japanese history. Anticipation was high for her second album. Wanting to create a rivalry, Ayumi’s label, Avex, decided to release “A BEST” on the same day, against her wishes. Ayumi didn’t believe that she was at the point in her career where she should be releasing a best album. This show of force by Avex led Ayumi to take more control of her career in the future, so that she wouldn’t appear to be an Avex “product.”
Nearly 2 weeks ago, Shukan Bunshun broke the story that popular commentator Sean Kawakami, born Shinichiro Kawakami (according to Shukan Bunshun), but known professionally as SeanK, had falsified his educational background. Mr. Kawakami claimed he held an M.B.A from the prestigious Harvard University, however Mr. Kawakami never attended Harvard and does not even possess an undergraduate degree. Mr. Kawatani did attend Temple University in Tokyo, but dropped out soon after entering.
The handsome commentator appeared frequently on Fuji TV as well as TV Asahi offering insight on ways to revive Japan’s dying economy. He was even set to star in his own nightly program called “Your Time” on Fuji TV starting April 4th. Since the story was released Mr. Kawakami has resigned from his commentating posts and has apologized for the errors in his records. Explaining, “Before I knew it, there was an incorrect sentence placed on my homepage.”
The scandal has become a hot topic among Japanese netizens with many topics about him appearing all over the web. Although the scandal highlights a lack of verification on the part of the major TV networks, as well as deception in the entertainment industry, many just focus on Mr. Kawakami’s good looks .
Watch a investigative video and read netizen comments about the scandal below!
On March 28, it was announced that Mizuki Yamamoto and Hey! Say! JUMP’s Kei Inoo will star in a live action film adaptation of the popular manga “Peach Girl”, which will be released in 2017. Yamamoto will play the role of Momo Adachi, a former member of the school swimming team who has distinct features of tanned skin and red hair. Inoo will play the role of Kairi Okayasu, the most popular student in school who becomes interested in Momo. The original manga is by Miwa Ueda, who has written numerous hit manga such as “Oh! My Darling” and “Papillon -hana to chou-“.
Rock duo Chatmonchy has announced today they are going to provide the theme song for this year’s Tokushima Marathon, which will take place on April 24th. This track, called “Tomaran” (which is a play on words between Tokushima Marathon and Tomaranai), is meant to be a lively song able to fill up your energy tank while also reflecting on the beautiful scenery in which the marathon is going to take place: the last 20km of the Yoshino River. Runners will skirt both banks of it, and even Chatmonchy’s drummer and bassist Akiko Fukuoka is joining in! “Tomaran” is coming ten months after their last release, “Kyoumei”. Check the song just after the jump!
In honor of their 70th anniversary since establishment, Japanese cosmetic brand KOSÉ has announced a new TV commercial featuring 10 of the brand’s spokesmodels. The commercial is called “Tokyo Seven Days.”
KOSÉ’s spokesmodels boast big names in the artist and model industry, and the star-studded CM includes Yui Aragaki, Aya Ueto, Keiko Kitagawa, Mirei Kiritani, Kyoko Koizumi, Sumire, E-girls‘ Karen Fujii and Shuuka Fujii, Chisato Moritaka, and Rola.
More on the CM after the jump!