Earlier today, Testuya Komuro announced his retirement in light of a weekly magazine reporting on him cheating on his wife KEIKO. It should come as no surprise that Shukan Bunshun is the source of this story.

In 2011, KEIKO was diagnosed with with a subarachnoid hemorrhage. During the time that his wife has been ill, Komuro has painted himself as a doting husband devoted to his wife’s care. Shukan Bunshun has revealed though that there is more to this story than meets the eye.

A weekly magazine has released a story that Tetsuya Komuro has been cheating on his wife of 15 years, globe’s KEIKO. During a press conference today in reponse to the story, Komuro announced that he will retire, thereby admitting his guilt. He apologized to KEIKO, his family, fans, and other people inconvenienced by his actions.

The new ratings chart is up! Several Jdramas have started airing, check out our list of Winter Jdramas 2018 to help you take your pick!

Kimura Takuya’s drama BG tops the premiere episode ratings with 15.7%, followed by Matsumoto Jun’s second season of 99.9 with 15.1% and Yamada Ryosuke’s family comedy Momikeshite Fuyu with 13.3%.

New taiga drama Segodon starring Suzuki Ryohei is off to a tough start with 15.4%, the lowest in 10 years and 2nd lowest in taiga ratings record.

On January 24, JUJU will release her new single, “Tokyo.” The song serves as the theme song for the movie “Inori no Make ga Oriru Toki”, which opens in theaters on January 27. The ballad deals with the emotional loss of someone important. JUJU recently released a mini drama video to accompany the song.

In addition, JUJU will release her seventh studio album, “I”, on February 21. This will be her first studio album since December 2015’s “WHAT YOU WANT.” Of note are the songs “Kawaisou da ne”, which was written and composed by Ken Hirai, and “Anata ga Kureta Mono”, which was co-written, composed, and arranged by Oda Kazumasa.

Check out more information on both of JUJU’s new releases below!

On May 27, 1998, Shiina Ringo debuted on the scene with the single “Koufukuron.” She debuted that year as part of a wave of female soloists that included Utada Hikaru, Ayumi Hamasaki, MISIA, and aiko. All of these women have had great success, but is Ringo ready to take a page from Namie Amuro’s playbook, and step away from the scene?

Since her debut, Ringo has been active on the front line of the music industry, whether it be as a soloist or as part of her now defunct band, Tokyo Jihen. However, her behind the scenes work has gained attention as well.

In 2017, Ringo garnered attention as the the creative force behind “Otona no Okite”, the theme song for the TBS drama “Quartet.” The song was performed by Doughnuts Hole, a temporary unit composed of Matsu Takako, Mitsushima Hikari, Takahashi Issei, and Matsuda Ryuhei. According to a music magazine writer, that collaboration came about due to Ringo’s love of Takako and Hikari’s singing voices. When the ofter for the theme song came, she took it.

Following up on a relatively busy 2017, singer/songwriter Kazuyoshi Saito recently revealed that he will be releasing his 19th studio album on March 14th.  Now all of the details about this release, titled “Toys Blood Music”, have been made available online.

“Toys Blood Music” will be Saito’s first full-length album since 2015’s “Kaze no Hate Made” and will include his previously released singles “Muddy Water” and “Hajimari no Sunset”, as well as nine other new songs for a total of 11.  Among those are “Jyunai”, which Saito wrote for Masayuki Suzuki in 2015, as well as “Good Luck Baby” and “Mondainai”, which both feature Sakura Fujiwara on their chorus.

The record will be issued in three different versions, with the Limited Edition to include an additional CD containing various tie-up songs Saito released during this era.  Of note, this will be his first album to be released on vinyl in 13 years, since the 2005 re-release of “Seishun Blues”.

Read on below to find both the cover and track list for “Toys Blood Music”, and look forward to additional coverage as the album’s release date draws closer.

Exactly one year after the release of his previous album “Blue”, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ohashi Trio has announced that he will be releasing a new studio record on February 14th.  Titled “STEREO”, this new release will include his already released tracks “SHE” and “Tori no You ni” as well as eight brand new songs.  Of note, famed guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei will be performing on the set’s second track “Embark”, and opening track “VENUS” was mixed by well-known British recording engineer Dan Parry.

“STEREO” is currently planned to be released in three different versions, with the two Limited Editions to include a DVD/Blu-ray which contains live footage from Ohashi Trio’s 10th Anniversary concert at Tokyo International Hall.  This special show included guest appearances by Hotei, who performed on both “Embark” and his own hit track “Bambina”, and Every Little Thing’s Kaori Mochida, who joined Ohashi Trio for a duet of her song “Shizuka na Yoru”.

You’ll find the cover and complete track list for “STEREO” if you read on below.

Nearly two years after their last release, indie rockers AL have finally made their second full-length album “NOW PLAYING” available for purchase this week.  The group have published a pair of PVs to their Youtube channel in support of this record, one for its title track and the other for penultimate song “Han An Kota”.

The video for “NOW PLAYING” contains footage from one of the band’s recent performances at Tokyo’s Liquidroom, cutting together various shots from the show.  Meanwhile, the PV for “Han An Kota” features the band performing the rollicking track outdoors while dressed in winter-appropriate garb.

You’ll find both of these music videos, as well as the cover and track list for “NOW PLAYING” right after the cut.