Johnny & Associates duo KinKi Kids member Tsuyoshi Domoto, who was hospitalized last week for sudden hearing loss in his left year, has been discharged from the hospital.

According to his office, on the evening of the 27th he complained that he felt dizzy and had trouble hearing in his left ear. He received a medical examination at the hospital and was immediately hospitalized with instructions to rest for a week, Sankei reported.

Modelpress claims talent Rola currently speaks fluent English, but that wasn’t the case only two years ago. Now the people of Japan can follow her path with her brand new book “SPEAK ENGLISH WITH ME“.

The new book “SPEAK ENGLISH WITH ME” is said to provide useful expressions for SNS and e-mail—carefully selected, fun English phrases and “fashionable slang” used by native speakers. Rola presents study methods that helped her achieve her level of fluency from interacting with foreigners abroad and introduces words that can be used in everyday life.

Rock band RADWIMPS frontman Yojiro Noda has released his original song under his solo moniker illion for the upcoming theatrical adaptation of Sui Ishida’s “Tokyo Ghoul”.

The new track “BANKA” is included on the deluxe re-release of illion’s second album “P.Y.L“, out July 26, and was created in hopes to convey the mood and feeling of the film.

The upcoming film is from director Kentaro Hagiwara, who won the Sundance/NHK International Filmmaker Award in 2013. “Tokyo Ghoul” tells the story of human-eating creatures that are spreading throughout the Japanese capital and follows Kaneki, a boy who, after an accident, is half-human, half-ghoul.

“I made this song keeping in mind the intense passion of the film’s staff and cast, but also with the intent to provide a song that will reach the audience and fit well with the themes of the film,” illion commented. “I want it to bring hope to the characters who are struggling on-screen; that they will find even the slightest ray of hope.“

On July 1, Nippon TV aired their 11 hour-long mid-year music special “THE MUSIC DAY Ongaku wa Taiyou da” hosted by Arashi’s Sakurai Sho.

Nippon TV partnered with GEM TV, the entertainment channel from Sony Pictures Television dedicated to the latest content from North Asia, to simulcast the show across South Asia and bring the performance by popular singer and actor DEAN FUJIOKA–live from Singapore!

GEM TV provided us with a detailed account and photos from the momentous event from DEAN FUJIOKA, who was the first artist ever to perform outside of Japan for “THE MUSIC DAY“.

Former AKB48 member Yuko Oshima has announced her intention to take a hiatus from her entertainment activities.

In response, Oricon is reporting her agency alluded that this break is in order to improve her foreign language skills overseas. The details of when, where and for how long will not be announced for privacy reasons, but the period is expected to be about one year in an English-speaking country as early as August according to Nikkan Sports.

Her agency wants to reinforce that this is not a “soft” retirement, but timing has allowed her to take a short break to fulfill a personal dream before she turns 30.

“I’d like to be able to speak English properly and broaden my skill set,” she commented at a fan event in Sendai on July 2. “I want to live my life to the fullest.”

A couple of weeks ago we reported on BUMP OF CHICKEN‘s collaboration with Nissin‘s “Cup Noodles” brand, which saw them provide the backing track for the company’s “Kiki’s Delivery Service” themed commercial.  Today the band made the surprise announcement that it would be releasing this song, titled “Kinen Satsuei”, on all Japanese digital storefronts starting immediately.

In support of this sudden release, the group have also published a special lyric video for the song to their Youtube channel.  This video pairs well with the electronic-influenced track, making use of a series of 3-dimensional cubes which are displayed in an array of different configurations, sometimes with images contained within.

You’ll find the rather unique lyric video for “Kinen Satsuei” just beneath the jump.

After a quiet few months following the release of their second studio album, alt rockers Ame no Parade have announced that their new song “Shoes” is going to be used as the ending theme for TV Tokyo drama “Shimokitazawa Die Hard”.  “Shoes” has been described as a nostalgic sounding track based around the themes of city life and hope, singer Kohei Fukunaga hoping to convey these feelings from a distinctly youthful perspective.

In addition, “Shoes” will also be released as the band’s latest single on August 23rd.  The release will include four new songs, with the Limited Edition set to come packaged with a DVD containing footage from their recent album release tour.

Read on below to find the complete track list for “Shoes”, and look forward to catching a snippet of the song when “Shimokitazawa Die Hard” starts airing on July 21st.

Over the past couple of weeks, folk-pop duo Yuzu have released two different EPs – the acoustic “Utaou” and the more modern “4LOVE”.  Following up on both of these releases, the group have now published the music videos for each EP’s lead track to their official Youtube channel.

The PV for “Canaria”, Utaou’s lead song, was shot on the island of Yakushima, using drones to capture the gorgeous vistas found in the forest and mountains which make up the isle.  On the other hand, the video for “Ai Koso” was designed around the idea of unity, focusing on Yuzu performing the track while surrounded by a multinational cast of characters dressed in psychedelic costumes.  The 600 balloons which drop down from the ceiling are meant to evoke the studio set used when The Beatles broadcasted their performance of “ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE” all over the world on June 25th, 1967.

You’ll find this pair of contrasting music videos right after the cut.