Actor and singer Takuya Kimura recently gave his top 5 recommendations for Manga. The Revelation happened on Takuya’s radio program called “Kikmura Saaaaan!”, supported by TOKYO FM.

With many people stuck at home, they’re always in the need for various media recommendations, this was one of the main reasons for Takuya giving his suggestions. What are Takuya’s 5 manga he still enjoys reading as an adult? Find out below!

Vocal group Kalafina officially parted ways in March 2019. After staying low profile for a bit, one of the vocalists KEIKO will officially be embarking on her own solo career.

KEIKO signed a contract with avex trax, and her first release with them will be the digital single “inochi no hana / Be Yourself“. It will be released on May 27th, 2020, however as a preview the instrumental for “inochi no hana” has been made avaible in some territories. A lyric video of the instrumental was uploaded to avex’s official YouTube page

Infamous tabloid Bunshun just released exclusive photos of popular actors Mackenyu Arata and Takayuki Yamada on vacation in Okinawa. They weren’t alone, as model Niki Niwa was also spotted having fun on the island.

All three celebrities have come under fire by the public and media due to their little get-a-way. Denny Tamaki, the governor of Okinawa, released an official statement back on April 25th asking people to not travel to Okinawa or to please cancel their plans. Around that time was when Japan officially announced a state of emergency in response to COVID-19. Denny stated that Okinawa simply would not be able to provide proper hospitality for large amounts of visitors.

This week, Official HIGE DANdism topped the Hot 100 single chart with their single “I LOVE…”, with 8,619 points, topping it for the seventh non-consecutive week.

JUJU retook the top spot on the Hot Albums chart with her best album “YOUR STORY”, topping the chart for the second non-consecutive week.

Eito topped the Streaming Songs chart with his digital single “Kousui.”

Utada Hikaru topped the Download Songs chart with her new digital single “Time.”

Ayumi Hamasaki topped the Download Albums chart with her best album “A COMPLETE ~ALL SINGLES~.”

We’re back with another episode of the Arama! Japan podcast! This episode covers April 2020! This month we covered a variety of topics, including the impact of coronavirus on the Japanese music industry, the Ayumi Hamasaki drama “M Ai Subeki Hito ga Ite”, Jaejoong‘s coronavirus prank, and more.

Featured on the podcast alongside myself this time are Ryusenkai and Hannah from Selective Hearing. Check it out below!

Check it out below!

This week’s mainly consisted of archive performances by the likes of Ayumi Hamasaki, Utada Hikaru, Seiko Matsuda, Koda Kumi, Ken Hirai, Tomomi Kahara, Hoshino Gen, and Yuna Ito. However, it did feature new at home performances by Hitoto Yo, Izumi Nakasone, Little Glee Monster, and AI.

Hitoto Yo – Hanamizuki

Izumi Nakasone (HY) – 366 Nichi

Little Glee Monster – ECHO / You’ve Got A Friend

Ai to Minna – Happiness

A few weeks ago, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry announced that the Japanese music industry saw a decline of .9% in 2019. The Recording Industry Association of Japan recently released its year-end report for 2019, going into more detail about the state of the industry over the course of last year.

Together, the physical and digital markets had a value of 299.8 billion yen at the end of 2019, a decrease of 2% compared to 2018.

In 2019, the revenue of the physical market, which includes CDs, vinyl, DVDs, and Blu-rays, decreased by 5% to 229.1 billion yen. This decline comes after three consecutive years of growth. Last year also saw a 7% decline in the number of units produced compared to the previous year, totalling 180.67 million units.

On the other hand, the revenue of the digital market, which is composed of downloads and streaming, increased by 10% compared to 2018, totalling 70.6 billion yen. This was the sixth consecutive year of growth, and the second consecutive year of double digit growth. It also marks the first time that the digital market has cracked 70 billion yen.

This week’s episode featured a mixture of new at-home performances, previously recorded performances, and old performances. This week’s guests included SixTONES, JO1, TK from Ling Tosite Sigure, WANIMA, Moriyama Naotaro, and Sunny Day Service.