Pillow Talk Japan

Mamoru Hosoda’s next film releasing July 2012

Those who loved The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars, take notice: director Mamoru Hosoda has been working on his next film and plans to release it to Japanese theaters in July. Titled Okami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki (The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki), the film tells the story of a 19-year-old [...]

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Another day, another Chinese rip-off, now about trains

By now, you’re probably aware that China has few scruples about “reusing” other people’s concepts, to put it kindly. Recently, Chinese netizens found yet another example of China’s media plagiarism when they came across an online clip for an upcoming cartoon about trains and noticed the main character was eating Japanese-style onigiri and a map [...]

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Haruna Ai Finishes 85km Charity Run

The TV highlight of the weekend was the 33rd annual edition of NTV’s 24-hour telethon, “24-jikan Terebi – Ai wa Chikyu wo Suku.” And as usual, the main event was a long-distance run by a celebrity. This year, “new half” talento Haruna Ai (38) became the first transsexual to take on the challenge. She was [...]

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Shinohara Ryoko Back in the Lead

Just a week after losing her father, actress Shinohara Ryoko (37) had a happier announcement yesterday. She is to play the lead role in an upcoming Nippon TV drama series about tax investigators. Starting in October and airing on Wednesday nights, “Ougon no Buta” (The Golden Pig) features Shinohara in her first drama starring role [...]

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Journalists found dead in Chichibu

Two NTV journalists were found dead Sunday on a mountain in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, they had climbed the previous day to cover last week’s fatal crash of a rescue helicopter, police said. The two men were identified as Yuji Kita, a 30-year-old reporter who lives in the city of Saitama, and Jun Kawakami, 43, a [...]

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NTV Announcer Jumps to Death

NTV announcer Yamamoto Masumi was found dead in front of her high-rise apartment building in Sendai early yesterday morning. She was just 34. A suicide note addressed to her family was found and Miyagi Prefecture police are treating the death as such. Yamamoto’s death came as a shock to those who knew her, particularly as [...]

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Miyane, Christel to Team Up on Fuji

Japanese TV may have a new King of the Presenters. Just about anyone in the Kansai region of central Japan knows the name and face of TV presenter Miyane Seiji (46). His “Ohayao Asahi Desu” morning show (ABC TV in Kansai only) and “Miyaneya” afternoon show (NTV) are broadcast from Osaka every weekday. The ABC [...]

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Arashi to Hijack NTV Network

Stars often appear all over a network for a day to promote a new movie or album, but Johnny’s Jimusho idol group Arashi are to take over NTV for a whole week. The group are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their debut in November. To mark the occasion, various members of the group will…

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