2017 is shaping up to be an extremely successful year for actor and singer Dean Fujioka.

It has been announced that he is slated to appear in the upcoming live-action film “Soratobu Taiya”, based off the hit novel by Jun Ikeido. The film will also feature TOKIO member Tomoya Nagase who will play the lead role of Tokuro Akamatsu, the president of a transportation company. One day there’s a tragic accident involving one of his company trucks that results in the death of a housewife. With the media blaming it on maintenance issues, his company receives major backlash. Tokuro decides to inspect the truck himself and finds out it’s actually an issue by the trucks manufacturer “Hope Jidosha”. Tokuro plans to take on Hope Jidosha to restore the name and dignity of his own company.

No, there is not a typo in the headline.

Taku Takahashi who is most known for his DJ work and being one-half of the popular hip-hop duo M-flo has taken a new unique approach to making music. Taku’s latest offering is a collaborative track titled “Pubic Hair Grooving – In Motion”. The song is an instrumental piece featuring no vocals, the smooth beats give the track an elegant vibe overall.

What makes this song so unique is that 15 women helped create the song, these women aren’t musicians however. All of these women were volunteers who donated their pubic hair to help create the song. This was achieved by mapping the hair as sound waves which then created a melody, Taku then put a beat on top of that. Each woman’s pubic hair created their own different sound.

MONDO GROSSO will release his first new album in 14 years, “Nandodemo Atarashiku Umareru”, on June 7. A few days ago, the song “Wakusei Tantra” was premiered. It was not revealed who the vocalist or the lyricst for the song were. It’s now been revealed the the song’s vocalist is Nogizaka46’s Asuka Saito, while the lyricst is Etsuko Yakushimaru, operating under the alias Tica•α.

The credits for three more songs from “Nandodemo Atarashiku Umareru” were also revealed. “SOLITARY” features vocals and lyrics by Owada Kei. “ERASER” features the vocals of Futagami Annu, who co-wrote the song with Shinichi Osawa. Kick a Show is featured on “SEE YOU AGAIN”, a song he co-wrote with Shinichi.

The short music videos for “Wakusei Tantra” and “SEE YOU AGAIN” have both been released. Check the out below!

Last year rumors were rampant that actress Satomi Ishihara was in a relationship with Tomohisa Yamashita.

The two worked together on the successful 2015 FUJI TV drama series “5-ji Kara 9-ji Made: Watashi ni Koi Shita Obōsan”, which is apparently when Satomi and Yamapi began their relationship. Throughout the past couple months many tabloids such as FRIDAY continued to report on the rumored relationship, with Yamapi being spotted going over to Satomi’s home many times during the week. One tabloid reporter even claims that the two have taken their relationship to the next level and are now semi-cohabited.

Three songs from 2017 were certified Gold this month for selling 100,000 copies: Doubutsu Biscuits & PPP’s “Youkoso Japari Park e”, Daichi Miura’s “EXCITE”, and WANIMA’s “Yatte Miyou.”

One song was certified Million this month for selling 1,000,000 copies: Shoujo Jidai’s “MR.TAXI.”

This week, Bodan Shonen Dan topped the Oricon single chart with their new single “Chi, Ase, Namida”, selling 238,795 copies in its first week.

Yuzu retook the top spot on the Oricon album chart their best album “Yuzu Iroha 1997-2017”, selling 23,894 copies in its third week.

Mr.Children topped the Oricon digital album chart with their new digital-only best album “Mr.Children 1992-2002 Thanksgiving 25”, selling 51,088 copies in its first week.

Hello, Arama! Japan readers and welcome to this week’s installment of #1 Song Review! Last week saw Mai Kuraki defeat Choutokkyuu and RADWIMPS. Mai is back this week, facing off against two newcomers. Find out what various staff members thought of the songs that topped the physical and digital charts this week and share your thoughts on them too!

Well known producer Tofubeats just released a new Music Video for “LONELY NIGHTS“, a Rap number featuring Hip Hop artist Young Juju.

This is the third new track in just a month for the Kobe producer, yet it takes distance from the previous numbers in terms of mood and structure: “LONELY NIGHTS” is indeed a mellow and straight to the point Rap piece, with a simple structure that sees Juju taking care of the verses, and Tofubeats singing in the chorus, both voices highly altered by autotune. It’s a simple number, but it does the job well, and the Music Video fits the mood of the track with the classic “riding around Tokyo by night” formula.