Seven people, including the main cast and two staff members for the live-action “Sakamichi no Apollon” (Kids on the Slope) film, were injured on the evening of May 14, when the water taxi they were riding collided with a breakwater.

The staff and cast were returning to the harbor at Sasebo, Nagasaki from the outlying island Kuroshima, where they were filming Kids on the slope. 11 people were aboard the boat, including the captain. The film’s three main cast members Hey! Say! JUMP!’s Chinen Yuri , Nakagawa Taishi and Komatsu Nana all sustained light injuries. Two female staff members, aged 33 and 42, reportedly broke ribs. Those who were injured were brought to a hospital in Sasebo. There were thoroughly checked and results show no abnormalities. The filming will proceed as planned.

In its movie’s offical site, a message was posted “In some media, there are reports of bruises, but the three casts received a close examination at the hospital immediately after the accident and confirmed that there are no abnormalities. We apologize for causing worry to all fans.”

Miki Takahiro is directing film and Takahashi Izumi is writing the script. The film is slated to open in 2018.

Kinki Kids are gearing up for their 20th anniversary, a bunch of special projects have already been announced leaving fans in a frenzy.

A special SP of the popular drama Bokuara no Yuuki will air in the summer. Originally released in 1997, the SP will take place 20 years later in the present day. Both Kinki Kids members Tsuyoshi Domoto and Koichi Domoto will be reprising their roles in the drama. In the original drama after a devastating earthquake Tsuyoshi and Koichi’s characters go to the city of Makuhara for relief effort.

They are shocked to find that the city is under government lock-down, and all the day-day activities are currently solely managed by children and teenagers. All the adults were apparently killed off after a mysterious virus plagued the city. Forced to survive on their own, the young adults must try to save the city and combat the government who tries to hide the truth behind the entire situation.

Johnny’s super group Arashi will be singing the theme song for the upcoming ninja film “Shinobi no Kuni”.

Arashi’s leader Satoshi Ohno is the leading man in the film, playing the role of “Mumon”. A lazy but very elite ninja who has gained much notoriety due to his skills.  One day Mumon takes takes a job that requires him to kill a ninja from another family, what he doesn’t know is that his actions lead to a bloody battle between Oda Nobunaga’s army and the ninja of the Iga Province, who Mumon belongs to.

Supporting cast include Satomi Ishihara who will be playing Mumon’s wife Okuni. Ryohei Suzuki, Yusuke Ieyasu, and Hey! Say! JUMP’s Chinen Yuri round out the rest of the main cast.

The theme song titled “Tsunagu” will be Arashi’s 52nd single overall. It will be released in the standard CD only and limited edition CD+DVD versions.  The high energy song features prominent electric guitars and shamisen, perfectly melding the two styles of past and present. The last time Arashi sang a movie theme song was for the 2013 hit “Platinum Data”.  With such an all star cast and the power of Arashi behind the film “Shinobi no Kuni” will no doubt be one of Japan’s biggest hits of the summer.

“Tsunagu” will be released on June 28th, 2017 while “Shinobi no Kuni” hits theaters on July 1st. A trailer with a preview for “Tsunagu” can be seen below.

This week, V6 topped the Hot 100 chart with their new single “COLORS.”

Kis-My-Ft2 topped the Hot Albums chart their new album “MUSIC COLOSSEUM.”

This week on Recochoku, Mai Kuraki stayed on top for the third week in a row with “Togetsukyou ~Kimi Omofu~.”

On iTunes, BUMP OF CHICKEN topped the chart with their new single “Ribbon.”

This week’s guests were Nishino Kana, JY, and D.W. Nicols.

Nishino Kana – Pa

JY – Joshi Modoki

D.W. Nicols – Forever

This week’s performers were Nishino Kana and Ms.OOJA. There was also a segment on VIVA LA ROCK 2017 featuring BLUE ENCOUNT and Creephyp.

This week’s guests were Rekishi, Ito Seiko, Nishidera Gota, Takahashi Shigeo, and Kojima Ruriko. Kanjani8 also performed.

Kanjani8 – Samurai Uta