On Thursday, NHK announced that V6's Yoshihiko Inohara (33) will serve as a regular newscaster on the network's new morning show, "Asaichi." The show will air weekdays at 8:15am, starting on March 29.

NHK revealed its plans for a large-scale morning program a couple months ago. The show "Seikatsu Hot Morning" (8:35-9:25am) is ending, and "Asaichi" will take its place. The time slot is being expanded to 8:15-9:55am, which pushes the network's Asadora slot to an earlier 8:00-8:15am time.

NHK has been broadcasting morning news shows since 1966, but Inohara's appointment marks the first time that a celebrity has been used as a caster on one of them.
Source: Sankei Sports | TG

Director Yoshihiro Nakamura ("Golden Slumber," "Team Batista no Eikou") is working on his next film, based on a novel by newspaper reporter-turned-author Gen Araki. Titled "Chonmage Purin," the movie will star NEWS member Ryo Nishikido (25) in his first big screen role.

"Chonmage Purin" is a strange tale about a young samurai from the Edo period named Kijima Yasube (Nishikido) who slips through time, winding up in the present day. He meets a single mother (Rie Tomosaka) and her 6-year-old son, and through this encounter, he becomes a popular pastry chef.

For the pastry chef role, Nishikido has been undergoing special training at a well-known school since December. He is also practicing for the samurai scenes. He will appear with various hairstyles in the film, which will naturally including the chonmage (topknot).

Filming starts on February 6, and theatrical release is planned for early summer. The supporting cast includes comedian Hiroki Konno, Shiori Kutsuna, Hitomi Sato, Keisuke Horibe, Yuji Nakamura, and Jun Inoue.
Source: Sports Hochi

Noriyuki Higashiyama (Shonentai), Masahiro Matsuoka (TOKIO), and Tadayoshi Okura (Kanjani8) are joining forces to create a special unit called The SHIGOTONIN. The three are appearing together in the TV Asahi series "Hissatsu Shigotonin 2009" next season, and naturally they will sing the show's theme song, titled "Kyouka Suigetsu." The single goes on sale February 4.

"Hissatsu Shigotonin 2009" starts on January 9, airing every Friday at 9:00pm.
Source: Sankei Sports

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The upcoming "ROOKIES" movie, a continuation of the TBS live-action series from this past spring, will feature a couple new cast members as part of the Nikogawa baseball team. "Ikemen" actors Yusuke Yamamoto and Takuya Ishida have been confirmed as the team's new recruits. Yamamoto has been cast as a talented player aiming for the Major League, while Ishida plays a gutless beginner.

Of course, the drama's main cast is returning, led by Ryuta Sato, Hayato Ichihara, Keisuke Koide, Yu Shirota, and Sousuke Takaoka.

The movie opens in theaters next May.
Source: Nikkan Sports, tokyograph

On Wednesday, the winners of the 21st Nikkan Sports Film Awards and the Yujiro Ishihara Award were announced. The biggest victor was Yojiro Takita, earning Best Director for "Okuribito," which also picked up the the prize for Best Picture.

SMAP's Masahiro Nakai landed Best Actor for his performance in "Watashi wa Kai ni Naritai," which opened last month. Best Actress went to Haruka Ayase for multiple films, including "ICHI."

Masato Sakai ("Climber's High") won Best Supporting Actor, while Yui Natsukawa ("Aruitemo Aruitemo") won Best Supporting Actress. Teen actress Kaho earned Best Newcomer for her lead role in "Utatama," and "No Country for Old Men" was named Best Foreign Film.

"Climber's High" (directed by Masato Harada) also picked up the Yujiro Ishihara Award. The Yujiro Ishihara Newcomer Award was given this year to Shota Matsuda for his performance in "Ikigami."

Nikkan Sports is also running a vote-based set of Fan Awards for Best Picture and Best Foreign Film. Fans have already voted on the top ten movies for this year's first and second halves, which will combine to form the pool of 20 nominees for the overall awards. "Kurosagi" and "Hana Yori Dango Final" were the two leaders in the domestic film category. Voting is currently under way until December 10 for the overall awards.
Source: Nikkan Sports , tokyograph

Actress Honami Suzuki has announced that she is making her comeback after a 10-year absence from show business. She married comedian Takaaki Ishibashi (of Tunnels) in 1998, but because she was already pregnant at the time, she retired to raise her child. She and Ishibashi have had two more children since then, and now that they have gotten older, she has decided she is ready to resume her career.

Suzuki will start off by appearing on the cover of the January issue of the magazine Mrs., which will also begin serializing her cooking-themed essay "Honami Shokudo." Although she currently has no other work lined up besides the essay, she is aiming to gradually return to acting.

Suzuki was one of the most popular actresses during the late '80s and the '90s, starring in many hit television dramas such as "Non-chan no Yume," "Tokyo Love Story," and "News no Onna."
Source: Sankei Sports, tokyograph

The upcoming movie version of "Elite Yankee Saburo" is being reinforced with the addition of top actress Yukie Nakama. Based on a TV Tokyo adaptation of a gag manga by Shuji Abe, the movie stars Hideo Ishiguro as a teenage otaku who gets mislabeled as an "elite" delinquent. Nakama will play a very minor role as a mysterious nun.

The movie opens in theaters on February 28.
Source: Sponichi Annex , tokyograph

Ohayou
That's my new journal recently,
I'm happy today-- coz I meet someone that resemble Kazuya~ LOL
Oh my god~ he's so Kazuya o mitai na~~
ureshii, so I continued to watch over him LOL