This week’s guests were Tetsuya Komuro and JUJU.

Tetsuya Komuro x JUJU x Kanjani8 – DEPARTURES

JUJU x Kanjani8  x Chris Hart – Ashita ga Kuru Nara

JUJU – PLAYBACK

On August 5, Ken Hirai will release his 38th single, “Kimi no Kodou wa Kimi ni Shika Narasenai.” The mid-tempo ballad will serve as the theme song for the new TBS drama “Napoleon no Mura”, which premieres on July 19. “Kimi no Kodou wa Kimi ni Shika Narasenai” is the first A-side single that Ken has composed since May 2012’s “Kokuhaku.”

This single will be released in 2 editions: a CD+DVD Limited Edition and  a CD only Regular Edition. The Limited Edition’s DVD will contain a special long interview in commemoration of Ken’s 20th anniversary. The Regular Edition’s CD will have 3 other tracks besides the A-side. The first is the edgy B-side “Ai ni Kodaware.” tofubeats then remixes Ken’s single from last December, “Soredemo Shitai.” This edition of the single is rounded out by an over 10 minute long megamix of Ken’s songs, in celebration of this 20th anniversary.

Check out the covers and tracklists for “Kimi no Kodou wa Kimi ni Shika Narasenai” after the jump! There you can also see Ken’s performance of the song from last month’s Ongaku no Hi!

After coming out against the “Cool Japan” campaign recently, Gackt is tackling another controversial issue: the inclusion of special bonuses with cds. This topic has been getting attention for the past few years in light of the idol boom. The main beneficiary of this practice is AKB48. Their handshake passes and voting ballots have propelled the group to record sales. Fans often buy multiple copies of their cds to obtain these special bonuses in greater numbers, even though the cd content is exactly the same. Other acts have followed suit. Those who are in support of the practice say that “sales are sales” and that they are valid. Those who are against it say that they distort sales figures, and in result create a false sense of success / popularity.

In a recent conversation with Excite News, the singer came out against the practice. Some people felt as if he was attacking idol groups without naming them specifically, most notably AKB48. Fans of the unnamed acts then took to their defense.

The translated interview excerpt can be seen after the jump!

We’re back with this week’s edition of Oricon Flashback. This is where we look back on what topped Oricon this week 5, 10, 15, and 20 years ago. Think of it as a way to reminisce and learn about the past of Japanese music.

Nintendo has released an official statement announcing that their President and CEO Satoru Iwata has passed away. He was 55 years old

Nintendo Co., Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth.

Iwata underwent a successful surgery last year to remove the growth, forcing him to miss the annual E3 event, but quickly resumed his duties after a brief period of recovery. Unfortunately he also missed this years E3, the official reasoning given was due to other “business commitments”. Iwata began his career as a freelance programmer for HAL, a subsidiary of Nintendo. During his tenure at HAL Iwata worked on many beloved games including Balloon Fight, Kirby, and the Earth Bound franchises. Iwata joined Nintendo’s corporate planning division in 2000 and was eventually appointed the President of Nintendo in 2002 after  former president Hiroshi Yamauchi  retired.

During his time as President Iwata oversaw some of Nintendo’s most strongest and weakest periods, with the production of the GameCube, Wii, DS, and Wii U. No official successor has been announced but in the meantime Shigeru Miyamoto and Genyo Takeda will be taking the reins for now.

Japanese drama king Kimura Takuya arrived in Taiwan yesterday for the first time in his 28-year performing arts career. Hundreds of fans greeted the top Japanese pop idol as he arrived on his first trip to Taiwan.

Tourism Bureau officials said the Japanese singer-actor would feature in a promotional film, confirming the Internet rumors started on Friday night. According to bureau officials, Kimura is in Taiwan at the invitation of Hong Kong director John Woo, who is to direct the bureau-funded film.

Kimura emerged in the Songshan Airport lobby at 8:38 p.m. yesterday in a hat and thick-framed glasses, appearing happy to greet fans that had flocked to meet him. He told local media that the trip marks his first time in Taiwan, as well as his first time collaborating with Woo.

There is a new number 1 at the box office this week. Screening in a massive 774 screens, Avengers: Age Ultron dominates the chart and records the best opening weekend for a film in Japan this year. Love Live! The School Idol Movie gets a strong number 2 for its 4th week. Aside from the new Avengers movie, 2 other new films made it to the top 10.

Check out the latest ranking below.

On July 22, Koda Kumi is set to release her summer collection album, “SUMMER of LOVE.” The album will include various summer songs that Kuu’s released over the years, including “Lollipop”, “FREAKY”, and “With your smile.” The album will also include 3 new songs. Today, Kumi released the music video for one of those songs, “EX TAPE.” “EX TAPE” is an upbeat urban song. The music video for the song features her looking in on another version of herself.

In other “SUMMER of LOVE” news, Kuu also recently released a teaser for another new song on the album, “HURRICANE.” That clip can be heard after the jump, along with the music video for “EX TAPE” and the album’s tracklist.