The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) published a 27-page preliminary report structured as a dissertation proposal exploring unfair contract agreements in the Japanese entertainment industry.

The JFTC is a federal commission of the Japanese government responsible for regulating economic competition, as well as enforcement of the Antimonopoly Act which prompted the commission’s creation during World War II.

It seems as if multiple times a year there are more and more reports of entertainers having trouble leaving their agencies, most recently seeing a rumor about Rola and her agency Libera as well as Maki Nishiyama and her office.  This report in particular focuses on unfair contract between entertainer and agency of which we’ve seen clearer conclusions for, and provides 4 study cases which include highly publicized contract disputes with Fumika Shimizu, Namie Amuro and SMAP.

Entertainment agency LDH, of which popular groups EXILE and E-Girls belong to, have announced a brand new project at live show venue under the concept of “LDH LAND“.

As a part of this project, childcare service “Concert Child Care” will be available starting from the Nagano date of “GENERATIONS LIVE TOUR 2017 ‘MAD CYCLONE’” to be held on July 22.

At live show venues where the service is available, concertgoers will have the option of placing their children “Concert Child Care” where they will be taken care of by professional, experienced staff members. It will be available for children from the ages of 1 to 5 years old and costs 5,000 yen (roughly $45 USD).

LDH says they hope to provide a pleasant and enjoyable time not only at the venue, but also before and after live shows as well.

Popular web portal and search engine goo has conduced a survey among their readers asking them to name their favorite “ikemen” vocalist from a rock band. The bands that made the ranking all release fascinating music that resonates in the heart of many people. While the music and vocals are very important, naturally looks also play a part in garnering new fans  and establishing a fanbase.

For this poll goo decided to focus on the newer generation of bands. If the band officially made their major label before the year 2000, they were ineligible to take part in the survey.

Who made the cut? The top 20 list can be seen below!

Tia is set to make her major label solo debut next month in August under avex pictures with the single “Deal with the Devil”. Tia originally got her start back in 2012 as a junior high student, collaborating with Ryo from the music group supercell. She released a bunch of popular anime tie-in songs under the stage name “Tia produced by ryo (supercell)”. The success of those songs eventually lead to Tia securing a deal with avex. After singing with avex Tia dropped her previous stage name where she will now simply release under “Tia”.

“Deal with the Devil” is the opening theme for the anime series “Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler”. The high energy track takes inspiration from Jazz and “Big band” music ensembles, paired with Tia’s smooth vocals it makes for quite the memorable debut.

The single will be released in two versions, a CD only and CD+DVD. A b-side titled “Say you love me” will be included on the CD+DVD version, it has yet to be determined if the CD only version will have the same b-side or a completely new song. Depending on where you order the single from, customers will receive a limited edition storage sleeve featuring characters from “Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler”.

J-urban songstress JASMINE has shared a brand new song celebrating one of her idols, actress and former singer Aya Sugimoto. The song has been uploaded on JASMINE’s official soundcloud account as a free download. Titled “Aya Sugimoto“, it’s a gift for fans who are currently suffering through Japan’s extremely hot and humid summer, which ties into Aya’s “image” in general.

The song was produced by RIKI (理貴) who is known for his work with AK-69, Miliyah Kato, and KOHH among others.

This week, KinKi Kids topped the Oricon single chart with their new single “The Red Light”, selling 200,257 copies in its first week.

GLAY topped the Oricon album chart their new album “SUMMERDELICS”, selling 52,642 copies in its first week.

Mr.Children retook the top spot on the Oricon digital album chart with their best album “Mr.Children 1992-2002 Thanksgiving 25”, selling 7,514 copies in its tenth week.

On July 19, Kuchiroro will release their new mini album, “LOVE.” This is the group’s first solo release since the album “JAPANESE COUPLE”, which was released in March 2013. Last October, Kuchiroro joined forces with the band apart to release the mini album “Mae e.” Check out more information on Kuchiroro’s new mini albm below!

Actress Masami Nagasawa appears in the latest promotional video for sports apparel “UNDER ARMOR” choreographed by Los Angeles-based dancer dance studio owner Ryan Heffington.

Heffington is best known for choreographing the music videos for Arcade Fire’s “We Exist” (2013) and Sia’s “Chandelier” (2014), both of which were nominated for Grammy Awards, and the latter of which won him a VMA Award. Other Sia videos that Heffington has choreographed include “Elastic Heart” featuring actor Shia LaBeouf, “Big Girls Cry“, “Cheap Thrills” and “The Greatest“.