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.
On July 26, Toki Asako will release her new best album, “HIGHLIGHT -The Very Best of Toki Asako-.” For this album, Asako picked 13 songs, mainly from her albums “HEARTBREAKIN'” (2013), “BITTERSWEET” (2015), and “PINK” (this past January). There are two new songs on the album, the opener “STRIPE” and the closer “FANTASY.” Both songs were written by Asako and composed and arranged by Tomi Yo, who worked with Toki on her recent album “PINK.”
“HIGHLIGHT -The Very Best of Toki Asako” is described as an album that will make you happy, want to dance, and fall in love. It’s the perfect album for summer! Asako said that since she is an adult, she can’t dance carelessly, but she hopes that listeners will. Check out the album’s cover, tracklist, and video trailer below!
While still not legal, the road to legalizing same-sex marriages in Japan seems to be getting closer. Back in April 2015 Shibuya made headlines by offering “partnership certificates” to same-sex couples. These certificates aren’t legally recognized as marriage certificates, but they are seen as a close equivalent. These certificates can be used for civil issues such as hospital visitation rights. Since Shibuya’s decision to start implementing partnership certificates, many other cities in Japan followed.
As of July 2017 there are six cities/wards that formally allow same-sex partnership certificates. They are as follows:
- Shibuya, Tokyo
- Setagaya, Tokyo
- Iga, Mie
- Takarazuka, Hyogo
- Naha, Okinawa
- Sapporo, Hokkaido
There’s currently talks in Chiba and Yokohama to allow the distribution of these certificates, and it’s expected that they will pull through.
In a response to this many companies have started to change and update their guidelines to ensure the protection of their employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity, as-well-as recognize their employees same-sex partnership certificates. Corporate giant Kirin Holdings, Ltd is the latest high profile company to implement these new measures.
This week, KinKi Kids topped the Hot 100 chart with their new single “The Red Light.”
GLAY topped the Hot Albums chart their new album “SUMMERDELICS.”
Hello Arama! Japan readers and welcome to the second edition of our streaming charts! Notice that I said “charts” and not “chart”, because something new has been added this week! Last week, we debuted with just LINE MUSIC, but this week we’re adding YouTube!
There are some things to note about YouTube. Since it is a free service, unlike the other music charts we post, it’s going to be a bit different compared to the other charts. And as was noted by readers last week in regards to LINE MUSIC, YouTube views are sometimes manipulated.
Check out the new and improved Arama! Japan streaming charts below!
Comedy rock group GOLDEN BOMBER have been recruited to star in a brand new CM for “ICE BOX”. Titled “Summer Beach”, it will first air during the television series “World Wide Look! TV Special Investigator”.
This is the second time the group will be collaborating with Morinaga’s ICE BOX drink. Back in April 2012, lead singer Sho Kiryuin shared on his official blog that the band would be releasing a new song called “ICE BOX” which would be used for the drinks summer CM campaign. The silly CM was a hit for the group and ended up becoming one of the more memorable CMs aired that year. Five years the later the boys are back for another campaign, trying to prove that “ICE BOX” is indeed the ultimate summer drink.
The lead heroine has finally been announced for the highly anticipated film “Kensatsugawa no Zainin”. Back in May the films announcement dominated headlines due to the “dream collaboration” between former SMAP member Takuya Kimura and Arashi member Kazunari Ninomiya. Veteran actors Yutaka Matsushige and Tsutomu Yamazaki have also been announced for the film.
Filming for “Kensatsugawa no Zainin” began in July, with further details on the cast finally coming to light. Yuriko Yoshitaka has been selected to play the leading female role. Her character “Saho Tachibana” is a prominent prosecutor who plays a major role in the court case central the films plot.
Based off of the 2013 hit novel by Shusuke Shizuki, “Kensatsugawa no Zainin” follows a young up-and-coming public public prosecutor Keiichiro Okino (Kazunari Ninomiya). He receives the opportunity to work with Takeshi Mogami (Takuya Kimura) and is thrilled at the chance, Takeshi is someone he greatly admires in his work field. The two receive a new case when an elderly money lender is violently killed.
Ambiguous idol group “· · · · · · ·” will be releasing their first single CD titled “Tokyo” , for the first time their release will distributed on a nationwide basis. · · · · · · · is a female idol group whose concept is based on various cities in Tokyo. The concept hasn’t fully been explained, perhaps to let fans and the public create their own interpretation.
· · · · · · · ‘s music follows the style shoegaze, a sub genre of alt rock that gained prominence in the United Kingdom in the late 80s and 90s.
Besides the concept, every other aspect of the group is just as mysterious. The group technically doesn’t have an official name, and each girl doesn’t have a name either. All of the members are simply referred to as “.” In videos and live performances, their eyes are covered by a cloth decoration.
Fans have dubbed the group dots, dotstokyo, tenkyuu (“nine dots”), dotnine, nakaguro (“middle dot”), tententen (“dotdotdot”) and ten-chans (“dot-chans). There is no official way to pronounce it, but their social media suggest dots.