Earlier in the year rapper CHANMINA made her presence known in the Japanese scene with the release of her song FXXKER, less than a year later she’s already back with a brand new studio album titled CHOCOLATE.

Straddling the fine line between EP and studio album, 8 songs are included in total ranging from the catchy title track CHOCOLATE to potentially future dragging anthem TO HATERS. A special limited edition DVD version of the album includes four performances from CHANMINA’s first live ~To be QueeN~.

Hello!Project group Morning Musume 17′ will be releasing their 15th album titled 15 Thank You, Too. While it’s the groups 15th overall, it’s actually the first to be released under the moniker Morning Musume 17′. This will be the groups first studio album release in over 3 years, the last being 2014’s 14 Shou ~The Message~

15 Thank You, Too will be released in two versions. A limited edition blu-ray and standard CD only. Blu-ray content will include an entire concert by the girls, Morning Musume Kessei 20 Shuunen Kinen Event ~21nenme mo Ganbatte Ikimasshoi!~”. Additionally, depending on where you purchase the album from buyers will receive a limited B4 size clear folder while supplies last.  

15 songs make up the tracklist including the singles Jealously Jealousy, BRAND NEW MORNING, and Jama Shinaide Here We Go! Nine new songs will be included in total, with 3 of those consisting of temporary units featuring various members, which has become a staple in Morning Musume albums. The fan favorite single Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari will also be getting a makeover featuring a new arrangement and lines for all the current members.

Last month we reported that former Galileo Galilei vocalist and guitarist Yuuki Ozaki would be releasing his first solo album under the moniker warbear.  Now that the release date of the project has drawn closer, all of the details regarding this self-titled record have been made available to the public.

“warbear” will be a 13-track album which is designed to meet the ‘world standard,’ aiming to bring Ozaki’s distinctly Japanese melodies into a more global context.  The release was produced by Ozaki himself, his younger brother and former Galileo Galilei drummer Kazuki Ozaki, Philidelphia-based saxophonist Dan Wallace, and Yuuki’s musical mentor Kenichi Nakayama.

You’ll find the cover and complete track list for “warbear” right after the jump, so please do read onwards.

Back in the summer we reported that FOLKS singer and guitarist Fumito Iwai would be releasing his first solo single.  Now, many months later, he has finally published the full PV for that release’s lead track “Merry Gold” (“Shiro” is the ballad version) to his Youtube channel.

This music video was directed by Mani Kato and centers around the recording of the song, wherein a robber bursts into the studio.  What follows is an increasingly absurd series of situations as a police officer follows the robber, who has taken a hostage, around the space, made even more ridiculous when a news crew bursts onto the scene.  All the while, Fumito and his band fail to notice a thing, continuing to perform as this tense scene unfolds around them.

You’ll find this simple, yet surprisingly involved PV if you read on below.

Following a relatively quiet year, rock band [Alexandros] have announced that they will be releasing a new single titled “Ashita, Mata” on November 29th.  The lead song has been used as the CM track for Clorets mints during the past few months, while B-side “I Don’t Believe In You” was recently picked up as the CM song for BMW’s latest MINI-related advertisement.

Ahead of the single’s release, the group have also published the short PV for “Ashita, Mata” to their Youtube channel.  The video stars actor Masaki Okada as a young man caught between his hopes and misgivings about the world, these shots cut together with the band’s performance of the track in a wide-open field.

You’ll find this music video, the ad featuring “I Don’t Believe In You”, as well as the cover and track list for “Ashita, Mata” right after the cut.

Kanjani8 is proving the theme song to upcoming comedy film “Dorobo Yakusha” (Stand-in Thief) starring member Maruyama Ryuhei. In line with this, Showgate has released on Youtube the theme song “Outou Seyo” x movie “Dorobo Yakusha” special collaboration video featuring Kanjani8 and scenes from the movie.

“Outou Seyo” is released November 15, with lyrics by Porno Graffitti’s Shindo Haruichi and music by Nakano Ryota.

Maruyama will play Onuki Hajime, a former thief, who now works as a welder and lives happily with his girlfriend. His former partner in crime forces him to break into the mansion of a picture book writer to steal. He is caught by others while in the act, but they keep mistaking him for someone else. Hajime desperately keeps up the ruse to not get caught. The movie will be released on November 18, 2017.

Check out the music video below.

A teaser trailer has been released for the live-action film adaptation of Robico’s Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (My Little Monster) manga. Tsuchiya Tao will play Mizutani Shizuku, an overachieving high school student with reputation for being cold, while Suda Masaki will play Yoshida Haru, a brilliant but troubled high school student whose behavior can be unpredictable and disruptive. The two embark on a whirlwind courtship after a chance occurance throws them together.

The film will be released on April 27, 2018. Additional cast for the film are was also announced.

From November 10 – 12, this year’s edition of NHK Trophy took place in Osaka. This was the fourth event in the International Skating Union’s 2017 – 2018 Grand Prix Series. Out of Japan’s nine entries in the competition, none medalled.

Trouble reared its head on November 9 when Yuzuru Hanyu injured his right ankle during practice, forcing him to withdraw from the competition. He will be off the ice for the next three to four weeks, missing this season’s Grand Prix Final, an event that he has won for the past four seasons. He hopes to be back on the ice for the Japan Figure Skating Championships on December 20 – 24. The Japanese Olympic team will be announced at the end of that competition.

With Yuzuru out of the competition, the focus shifted to Satoko Miyahara, the reigning national champion. This was her first event since that championship, since she injured her hip 11 months ago. Satoko finished in fifth place with a total score of 191.80. Satoko’s short program received a score of 65.05, putting her in sixth place. Satoko’s planned opening jump, a triple lutz / triple toe, didn’t go as planned. The first jump was underrotated, while the second was doubled. Her spins received level fours, but her step sequence was only given a level three. “While on the ice I didn’t feel that I was doing well, so I was worried,” Satoko said. “But I didn’t have any major mistakes like falls, so I felt relieved.” Seeing as how she hasn’t competed in nearly a year, Satoko thought that she’d be nervous, but that wasn’t the case. “I was worried beforehand that I would be nervous and my legs might be shaking, but I was fine.”