This week’s guests were Hata Motohiro, KEYTALK, and Murakami Keisuke.

Hata Motohiro – Uroko

KEYTALK – Tasogare Symphony

Murakami Keisuke – Mamoritai ~Kono Ryouteno Naka~

This week’s guests were Hata Motohiro and Tokunaga Hideaki.

Hideaki Tokunaga x Hata Motohiro – Ai / Rainy Blue / Kowarekake no Radio

Hideaki Tokunaga – Himawari no Yakusoku

Tokunaga Hideaki – Baton

This week, Kis-My-Ft2 topped the Oricon single chart with their new single “PICK IT UP”, selling 174,484 copies in its first week.

Kemono Friends topped the Oricon album chart their new album “Japari Cafe”, selling 27,197 copies in its first week.

G-Dragon topped the Oricon digital album chart with his new mini album “KWON JI YONG -KR EDITION-”, selling 11,641 copies in its first week.

They’re free! After months and months of speculation via the tabloids, it has been confirmed that former SMAP members Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, & Shingo Katori will be leaving Johnny & Associates once their contract expires on September 8th, 2017.

A letter penned by Johnny Kitagawa himself was faxed to the media confirming that the three of them had received offers from other agencies. In the letter Johnny talked about SMAP’s disbandment, again going over and how they came to the decision leading up to the official announcement. In August the groups disbandment was announced, and the group disbanded on December 31st, 2016.

There’s absolutely no hard feelings. Johnny wished Goro, Tsuyoshi, and Shingo the best of luck on their new paths in life and thanked them for the tireless effort they put in during their time in Johnny’s. He praised SMAP as a wonderful group of five men who not only left a strong impression with fans, but with his own heart as well. He’s confident that Goro, Tsuyoshi, and Shingo will continue to bring joy and happiness to people with whatever route they choose.

Thomas and I met at fashion school in Paris in 2012.

He was that dark brown-haired, tall and quite attractive young man with an alluring dark sense of style. My intuition (that is always on point) told me something about his overall brash attitude and allure told me he was into Japanese Visual Kei, suspicion that got confirmed as soon as I overheard him have a phone conversation in fluent Japanese. It piqued my interest and we engaged in a discussion and then we ended becoming friends.

I remember having a lot of fun discussing with him about all this Japanese culture thingy since, as you may guess, not much fashion students were into that kind of stuff. It was really enjoyable to get a teaser of his huge knowledge about the Japanese music industry since he already had some professional acquaintances there (especially within the Visual Kei scene). A few months later, he dropped out of school to pursue a modeling career in Japan.

We remained in contact fairly well the following years, which is quite miraculous since he didn’t come back in Paris until the last few month for a few weeks vacation. The occasion brought up the chance for me to ask him few questions about how his professional life went during all these years and his personal outlook about the Japanese music industry and especially the Visual Kei scene.

Check out the interview below!

The results of the AKB48 49th Single Senbatsu Sousenkyo “Mazu wa Tatakaou! Hanashi wa Sorekara da” is out! As reported, the event was supposed to be held at Toyosaki Seaside Park, Toyosaki Villa SUN Beach in Okinawa but was cancelled due to weather conditions. The results are still broadcasted via another indoor venue altho fans are not able to attend.

Sashihara Rino wins for 3rd consecutive year (4th win overall) with 246, 376 votes. This will be her last time participating in the general election. During the event, Watanabe Mayu who placed second with 149,132 votes, announced her graduation. Looking back, she has always placed top 5 in Sousenkyo and is filled with gratitude.  NGT48 Ogino Yuka, who surprisingly placed 1st during the preliminary results, ranked 5th place.

NMB48 Sutou Ririka shocked many as she announced her engagement during her General Election speech. Nothing much is clear but management says she will be explaining the details in the near future. About an hour after her announcement, Shukan Bunshun reported that she’s dating someone from the medical related industry.

Check out the results below!

Before their best album drops for their 10th year anniversary on July 28, Hey! Say! JUMP will be releasing a double A-side single on July 5. Catchy, fast-paced and upbeat, you can listen to a preview of “Precious Girl” here.

“Are You There?” is the theme song for NTV’s “Koshoku Robot” drama. The song is sung by “A.Y.T.,” a 3-person unit formed by Arioka Daiki, Yaotome Hikaru and Takaki Yuya, who are also starring in this TV drama. It has heartwarming lyrics and a somehow sentimental techno-pop sound. It’s a vitamin song that gives listeners a boost, and its simple melody makes the listeners hum it instinctively. “Are You There?” preview is out here.

Check out the PV previews for both songs below!

The first teaser for the upcoming film “8 Nen Goshi no Hanayome” (The 8-Year Engagement) is out!. The film, which sees Sato Takeru and Tsuchiya Tao co-starring again after “Ruroni Kenshin” is based on a true story. A heartbreaking and a miraculous love story of a man who waited 8 years for his true love. The film will be released on December 16.

Take a look at the released teaser below!