One of Hayao Miyazai’s most beloved films, “Kiki’s Delivery service” is set to be released as a live action film in March of 2014. The original animated version was released in Japan in 1989, and then dubbed and released in the US by Disney in 1997. It is, simply put, the story of a young…
Because Aya Sameshima is a popular search term for this blog, I decided to follow up on her story. After the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, Aya Sameshima and her Tepco Mareeze teammates were sent to new homes. Sameshima ended up in the United States playing for the Boston Breakers after Japan’s Women’s World Cup…
So far this story doesn’t have a lot of legs, but some Japanese Tabloids and internet sites are reporting that Ai Kago, who recently was hospitalized after attempting suicide has signed a contract for 100,000,000 yen, or well over 1 million dollars at current exchange rates. As I said, mainstream media has not yet confirmed…
Asuka Fukuda, one of the most popular of the original members of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume is making a comeback to the world of entertainment. She was the youngest member and left very quickly after the group began to dominate the pop music world. The official reason for her departure was to concentrate…
Many Japanese news media outlets are reporting that Ai Kago (age 23), formerly of Morning Musume attempted to commit suicide on September 11th. She was found in her apartment in Roppongi in Tokyo by a member of her talent agency. The agency member then immediately called 119 (the equivalent in Japan to 911) for an…
We reported back in April that model/actress Koyuki, who is also well-known in the United States had married uber-popular actor Kenichi Matsuyama who may be best known abroad for his work in the Death Note live action movie series. (Koyuki and Kenichi Matsuyama Get Married) On September 3rd, they announced that Koyuki is pregnant. She…
The internet is alive with comments about how bad the Aqua Timez rock band’s lead vocalist Futoshi’s rendering of Kimi Ga Yo. Now, in defense of Futoshi, that is a hard song to do well and is definitely out of his genre. Aqua Timez is a fine band, especially as Japanese rock bands go, so…
Saki Kumagai, the Japan defender most World Cup fans will remember as being just a moment late on Alex Morgan’s goal in the World Cup final game this year, has been warned by the Japan Football Association. All of her pending media appearances have also been put on hold. The player attended a celebration party…
As Japan enjoys the honeymoon after a historic World Cup Finals victory, one starting member of Japan’s Women’s Soccer Team will be preparing for a real honeymoon sometime in the near future. As she and the rest of the team were still on the pitch celebrating their victory, about 30 minutes after the deciding goal…
Even the new 2011 World Cup Champions, Nadeshiko Japan have jobs. Most of them play for company affiliated teams in Japan’s corporate league. This means that aside from training and playing in games, they have regular jobs they do during the off-season. One such player is Aya Sameshima, who is with the Boston Breakers now…
In the wake of the earthquake and tsunami that recently hit Japan, Tokyo Electric has been much aligned for its handling of its nuclear plants and power supply. One other casualty of the situation is the disbanding of ToDen’s (short for Tokyo Denryoku) women’s soccer team. Also called TepCo, Tokyo Electric’s team called the Mareeze…
Japan refers to its Women’s World Cup Soccer Team as “Nadeshiko Japan”. They have only had limited success on the world stage, but in the 2011 world cup, after a huge upset of German, it looks as if they are going to be garnering the attention of a much arger audience than usual. This article…