EXILE front man and main vocalist ATSUSHI has cleared up rumors regarding his love life. At the end of September the infamous tabloid magazine FRIDAY reported that ATSUSHI was involved with a woman in her 20s. She apparently works as a teacher in an elementary school, and had her eyes set on marriage.

Today on October 4th ATSUSHI made a post on his official Instagram account shedding some light on the rumors. He was confused as to why such an old picture was only now making headlines. ATSUSHI admitted that the two dated in the past, and revealed that the picture printed in FRIDAY was four years old. The two decided to part ways two years ago, largely in part to his studies and constant activities overseas. ATSUSHI apologized to both his fans and his ex for getting her involved in this mess with the media, and asked his fans to please respect her privacy.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Instagam entry commented on a surprise appearance the singer made at the wedding of a lucky fanclub member. While he hasn’t found that special someone to call his wife yet, he asked fans to look forward to the “resurrection” of EXILE next year. ATSUSHI is currently spending a lot of his time overseas perfecting his craft to make the comeback that much more special. The full Instagram post featuring his impressive English can be seen below.

Actors Haruma Miura and Meisa Kuroki joined their co-stars in a press conference for the upcoming highly anticipated drama series Otona Koukou. 

The show tackles Japan’s sensitive and somewhat controversial low birth date, but with a fun twist. In-order to combat the countries low birthrate the government decides to set up an “Otona Koukou”, basically an adult high school. Any adult over 30 years old is forced by the government to enroll in the school if they have no sexual experience.

Miura plays the lead role of Eito Arakawa, he is 30 years old and is naturally single. After graduating from a prestigious university he obtained a high position at a bank, often receiving praise for his work. Despite being very attractive he is still a virgin and doesn’t even have experience, what are the chances!

Kuroki’s character Maki Sonoda is in a similar situation. The 32 year old has a job at a trading company and is single. Despite being very attractive she also has no experience, and is forced to enroll in the adult school by the government.

On October 4, Shishido Kavka will release a new digital single, “Haneda Blues.” The song is a collaboration with Yokoyama Ken of CRAZY KEN BAND. The song, which was written by Ken, is the first in a three month collaborative project.

“Haneda Blues” is a throwback to the Showa era and has a music video which features a drastic image change on Kavka’s part. In the clip, she cuts her trademark long hair, 50 centimeters of hair, in fact. Check out the video and more below!

On September 30, YUKI’s contract with Sony Music Artists came to an end. YUKI originally signed to Sony as part of the band JUDY AND MARY in 1993, later debuting as a solo artist under the company in 2002.

The news was announced on October 1 on the site for commune, YUKI’s official fanclub. Due to the end of YUKI’s contract, commune stopped accepting new members on October 1. commune will end on February 28 of next year.

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.

Seems like it’s a very busy season for the family of Jin Akanishi and Meisa Kuroki, mostly known as Akakuro. Besides taking care of their family as the responsible parents they are, they’re both working on their own respective projects. Kuroki has been busy doing modeling work and just released a new photobook titled Incarnation.

As for Akanishi, he is one of the main stars in the successful Youku webdrama The Legends of Monkey King. Back in his home country of Japan, Akanishi has taken part in a futuristic photo shoot for the Autumn/Winter issue of SWAG HOMMES magazine, vol. 5.

Here’s a preview of behind the scenes of the shoot titled: Floating Beats 

This week’s guests were Rihwa, SPYAIR, and An Cafe.

Rihwa – Michishirube

SPYAIR – MIDNIGHT

An Cafe – Ikenai Mousou x Abunai Chinjuu

In light of Namie Amuro’s retirement announcement, she has decided to release a career retrospective best album, spanning the years 1992 to 2017. The album is titled “Finally” and is set for release on November 8. The album will come in three editions: 3CD+DVD, 3CD+Blu-ray, and 3CD.

“Finally” will include 52 songs over its three CDs, with the first 39 songs being new recordings.  The album will also include six new songs. Details on two of the new songs, “Showtime” and “Hope”, have already been released. “Showtime” serves as the theme song for the TBS drama “Kangoku no Ohimesama”, while “Hope” serves as the new “One Piece” opening theme song. Another of the new songs, the title track “Finally”, made its debut today as the new “NEWS ZERO” ending theme.

The DVD / Blu-ray that comes with “Finally” will feature 12 music videos, including some for the new songs on the album.

To round out her career, Namie will be doing a five dome tour starting next February, visiting Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Sapporo. For those who can’t make it to Japan, Namie will be touring Asia as well. The dates for the tour will be released in November.

Namie is asking for her fans’ help in making the setlist for this tour. She’s opened a special site for fans to vote for their favorite songs, in hopes that she’ll perform them on the tour. The site features all of Namie’s releases in chronological order, complete with audio samples. Voting runs from today through December 31.

Check out more information on Namie’s new best album and the tour setlist voting site below!