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Ai Kago will be making her return to Japanese TV this Friday on Fuji TV

Former Morning Musume and super popular Japanese idol Ai Kago (加護亜衣) announced on her blog last Friday that she’s officially back in Japanese showbiz! Affectionately called “Aibon” or “Kago-chan” by her fans, the 20 year old cutie revealed she’ll make her first Japanese TV appearance since her second smoking scandal more than 2 years ago.

“Aibon” is back in the spotlight, this time as a serious actress and talent

Ai Kago is going to be the guest on Japanese showbiz icon Sanma Akashiya’s Fuji TV late night variety show “Sanma no Manma” (さんまのまんま) this Friday. On the show Aibon will talk about her downward spiral, her road to recovery, her succeeding in losing 22 pounds and her current status as a bona fide Japanese actress and “talent”. Aibon has recently returned from Hong Kong after completing her role in “Super Chef” (スーパーシェフ), her first movie since her comeback. The film will be shown in Hong Kong this fall and be in theaters in Japan next April.

If Ai Kago and Maki Goto got together, what would you name the unit?

Ai Kago has also began filming a historic suspense drama with NTV (Nippon TV) in the ancient capitol of Kyoto since returning to Japan.  She plays a princess and from the leaked press photos I’ve seen she looked absolutely adorable!  Upon her return she was asked about the rumor of her and former Morning Musume member Maki Goto (current AVEX artist) forming a new unit.  Aibon responded that it was also the first time for her to hear such speculation but she’d welcome it.

Yuko Ogura has to fend off inquisitive reporters who think grilling is not the only way she treats her meat

Cute as a button Japanese gravure idol Yuko Ogura (小倉優子) aka “Yukorin” was in Osaka to promote her Korean BBQ restaurant chain “Yakiniku Ogura Yuko” (焼肉小倉優子) yesterday. As always swarms of media personnels and cameramen followed the adorable Yukorin (ゆうこりん) to the Nishi Nakajima Minamigata store, but their focus wasn’t necessarily on the meat she was flipping on the grill. They were more interested in the meat Yuko Ogura has been rumored to be stroking lately.

Some Japanese gossip magazines claim the doe eyed, porcelain doll like 24 year old is romantically involved with real estate tycoon Keiichi Kozuki (上月啓市) and pictures of the two attending a baseball game were published. However, at the Korean style “yakiniku” BBQ meet & greet Yuko strongly denied the allegation by saying, “Sorry guys, but we’re really just friends. I don’t have a boyfriend.” Yukorin went on to say, “I never stayed over at his place. After the game we had dinner with a bunch of friends and after that we all went home separately. My agency is really strict about this kind of things so it’s not possible for me to spend the night.”

Yukorin kept repeating statement like, “He’s a really nice person but we’re just friends” and “My agency is really strict so…” The over emphasis on “friend” makes us wonder if something is really going on.

Ai Kago at Narita International Airport last Friday

Former idol and Morning Musume member Ai Kago (加護亜依) aka Aibon has officially kicked off her comeback in a big way after over 2 years of hiatus that stemmed from her “smoking incidents”. The always cute Aibon (あいぼん) left for Hong Kong this past Friday to work on an upcoming Hong Kong blockbuster movie tentatively titled “Kung Fu Chef” or “Super Chef” (功夫厨神). This is Ai’s first major work project since announcing her return to Japanese showbiz as an actress back in April.

Aibon appeared to be in high spirit at her press conference

At a brief press conference held at Narita International Airport before her departure, the 20 year old said, “I’ve finally made a comeback! I’m somewhat nervous but I shall do my best.” Commenting on the scar left from her suicide attempt, Aibon said, “I’ve done the worst possible thing as a human being so I’ll never do that again.” On her blog which has recently received top ranking in hits she wrote, “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to talk much about my projects but forget about that as I bring you the good news! It’s been confirmed I’ll starr in a Hong Kong movie. I didn’t know I’d get offered a job that quickly…I’m so happy!”

Aibon going over the script for Kung Fu Chef before leaving for Hong Kong. She’ll be there until early June.

Miss Kago is indeed very lucky (her new management is obviously fighting very hard for her) to land a role in “Super Chef”. The movie starrs the legendary Hong Kong action superstar Sammo Hung (洪金寶) as the charismatic super chef and former Taiwanese boy band F4 member and Asian heartthrob Vanness Wu (吳建豪) as his disciple. Aibon will play the younger sister of the boss that runs the restaurant. Her character often gets in trouble and she has an acute sense for taste and is skilled in the art of tea and spices.

Random photos from Ai Kago’s popular blog

When reporters asked about her beau, cafe operator Yasuyuki Ishimoto (石本靖幸) who’s 18 years her senior, Ai replied, “He’s more like an older brother than a boyfriend to me. He told me to go and do my job seriously.”

At the press conference the subject of smoking was once again touched on. According to Aibon, she quit smoking by sucking on her favorite milk flavored candy and mint gum.

Alright fellas, here’s the final installment of OhmyNews / Ura Channel’s exclusive interview (<– original video here) with mega popular former Morning Musume and Hello!Project artist Ai Kago aka Aibon. And thanks for your encouraging comments…it’s good to know that the effort I put in is worth while!:)

“Morning Musume aren’t idols”

Aibon started off the final portion of her interview with famous Japanese showbiz reporter Masaru Nashimoto by saying the super popular Japanese girl unit “Morning Musume” wasn’t meant to be an idol group, but was viewed as such. Instead she considers Morning Musume to be a female singing group. Back then she was given the kiddish “Kago-chan” role so she had to play along. But now she’s starting anew and would like to be considered other than an idol.

Masaru proceeded to ask her if she still smokes now that she’s turned 20 and is legally allowed to smoke in Japan. Aibon replied, “Actually I’ve already quit before this. But even though now I can smoke freely I no longer feel like smoking. And nowadays I also feel it’s not so good manner wise to smoke.”

Aibon gave an interesting analogy to the situation. She said, “It’s like when you’re a small child you’re not allowed to go on some of those bigger rollercoaster rides and you really want to ride them. But once you’ve grown and passed that height requirement you don’t really feel like getting on them anymore.”

When the veteran interviewer Masaru Nashimoto mentioned that the reason he doesn’t smoke (honestly I was shocked, I imagine Masaru to be the typical chain smoking, yakitori eating, shochu drinking Japanese old geezer…guess I was wrong) is because when he visited a shrine while on a school trip in high school some people next to him were smoking and it made him feel ill, Aibon told him she felt the same way. She explained that by smoking and being around smoke it made her voice coarse, and added that it’s not okay for underage kids to smoke, even if they don’t get caught. Haha it sure sounded like Aibon was doing an anti-smoking campaign!

Toward the end Masaru quipped that he is more than 40 years Aibon’s senior (he’s 63). Aibon expressed genuine surprise and said she didn’t think he’s that old. When he told her he was born in 1944 Aibon said, “Oh that’s the same year my grandma was born!” which drew a bunch of laughter. Country side people sure have kids young!

Best of luck to the older and wiser Miss Ai Kago…please don’t cut yourself anymore

Today’s portion was rather short and here’s what the former idol and Hello!Project artist Ai Kago shared in the interview with Ura Channel and OhmyNews:

Click here for original video

Veteran Japanese entertainment reporter Masaru Nashimoto asked about her plans for the future. she replied that she doesn’t know exactly what’ll happen but because she has experienced a lot by being in Japanese showbiz since she was 12 years old (which she’s quite proud of), she feels that with her ability to convey different emotions she’d like to give acting a try.

Aibon has been doing some writing on a daily basis. Someday she hopes to get a book published and would be happy if in some way her book can be of help to someone.

She also revealed that she has kept in touch with some Morning Musume and Hello!Project members and they provided her with encouragement. She was touched when some of them asked her, “Hey Aibon how are you doing?” since only her ex fellow members call her by that nickname (calm down you fanboys…I’m sure she meant in her “real” life). To Aibon the Hello!Project girls are her source of inner peace.

When she received text messages from them she felt she wanted to rejoin the group. But she knew it wasn’t possible, so she decided to work hard on her own.

When Masaru brought up Aibon’s former partner in crime Nozomi Tsuji, she responded that she was really surprised to hear about her sudden pregnancy and marriage and she’s seen Taiyo Sugiura’s (Nozomi’s hubby) blog before. But from the sound of her voice I suspect Nozomi isn’t one of the people she is in constant contact with. She was also surprised to hear about the “Mikitty incident” (please check out my blog on 1/9 and 2/15) but believes Miss Miki Fujimoto will make a strong comeback since that is in line with Miki’s personality.

Finally the conversation moved onto Maki Goto, who’s currently on a secret mission in LA. Aibon said she was in touch with her until right before she departed for the States. She explained that she has always liked Maki and feels they share many similarities. She thinks Maki is a strong person so she will surely succeed, and hence she must strive for success herself too.

Both Aibon and GoMaki choose LA as their preferred destination to get away

Aibon was pleasantly surprised when she was presented with a scrapbook made by her fans for her recent 20th birthday

I wonder how many people are actually reading the stuff I’ve been putting up about this Aibon exclusive interview with OhmyNews. Is it even remotely interesting to you guys? I know I’m totally late on today’s episode…hope I didn’t make too many of you Aibon wotas antsy!:)

But I do wonder if it’s worth it for me to keep going.

Anyway here comes what’s juicy from Part 4 of Masaru Nashimoto’s interview with former Hello!Project super idol Ai Kago:

Original video here

When asked about the nature of her relationship with the seemingly sleazy restaurant entrepreneur Yasuyuki Ishimoto, Aibon replied, “I’m very close to him. He’s been helping me out so much. I’d like him to continue to look out for me and be the one I can talk about my problems with. He is like my one man supporter club!”

She added that she hasn’t given much thought about their future (meaning marriage), since she’s the type of person who tends to focus on the present.

The 4th generation Morning Musume said that some of the things she’s learned this past year include being thankful and learning to have confidence to tackle something. She felt that coming from an idol background she was used to being sheltered and lacked the ability to realize something. But now she wants to challenge different things to see herself grow. In other words, just do it! Aibon concluded that the best way to become stronger is to just believe in herself.

Aibon also touched on some of the problems she encountered since joining showbiz (this alone sheds a lot of light on why she did what she did). She explained that when she first joined the popular j-pop all girl group Morning Musume people often commented that she looked older than her age. As years went by it should’ve been natural for Aibon to “grow up”, but instead she became more childish. And it didn’t help that her work surroundings reinforced such image. Even though she was getting older, the majority of her fan’s demographic remained young so she was required to put on the “Kago-chan” act. The grown ups around her all asked that she maintain such kiddish image for the viewers.

As Aibon was constantly pressured to play up that “Kago-chan” act, her work related stress most likely began to accumulate. Now looking back Aibon thinks she didn’t realize at the time that wasn’t the proper way to carry on. And here’s something heavy…she said if she had continued doing what she did, she would’ve turned out really jacked!

“Kago-chan” couldn’t handle constantly having to be a kid in front of the camera, so she acted like a juvenile

To all the fans who have followed and supported her, knowing that she betrayed them twice Aibon once again expressed deep remorse.

The 20 year old Miss Ai Kago revealed that her mother understands her the most and she appreciates her a lot. When Aibon first got sent back to Nara for “home detention” in 2006 then when she was let go by her management Up Front Agency last year, her mother was the most furious at her but also gave her the most encouragement.

By the way Aibon commented that she hadn’t told her mother about this exclusive interview she’s doing and she would probably be surprised when she hears about it.

Stay tuned…I might just bust out Part 5 later today!

Shokotan, the princess of cosplay

The cute and sexy Japanese idol / singer Shoko Nakagawa aka “Shoko-tan” takes Japanese entertainment icon Akiko Wada to school with a short private lesson on the subculture of “otaku”, or “otakuology”. This is taken from the TBS show “Private Lesson - how to make a proper Akiko Wada”. For more information on Akiko Wada please check out my blog on Feb. 14th.

Say what? But you don’t speak Japanese? Well you’re in luck because the videos I’ve dug up are translated. And kudos to the people who worked on this piece…I think they did a fine job translating!

Part 1:

Part 2:

Ryoko Hirosue called it quits on her marriage

Japanese model and fashion designer Takahiro Okazawa, 32

The now 27 year old mother of one was among one of the hottest commodities in the Japanese entertainment world toward the of 1990s and at the turn of the century!

Japanese actress and former idol Ryoko Hirosue announced on her website today that she has divorced her husband of more than 3 years, Japanese model and fashion designer Takahiro Okazawa. Ryoko burst onto the Japanese showbiz scene when she was only 14, appearing in commercials and photo shoots. 2 years later the Kochi Prefecture native got an even bigger break when she debuted as a singer with the hit song “Maji de Koi Suru Go Byo Mae”.

Ryoko and Takahiro caught in 2001 in Sendagaya district of Tokyo

A young Ryoko Hirosue pitching for Japanese wireless giant DoCoMo

Ryoko stirred up a media frenzy when she enrolled in the prestigious Waseda University back in 1999 but didn’t bother to show up on campus until almost 3 months later. She never really attended any of the classes and ended up dropping out.

Ryoko’s first day at Waseda University was a carefully orchestrated event by her management agency

Posing with French actor Jean Reno at the press conference of their 2001 international hit movie WASABI

But Ryoko blew it by getting knocked up by then boyfriend Takahiro Okazawa in 2003. They subsequently had a hurried wedding ceremony in January of 2004 after Ryoko held a press conference at the end of 2003 to confirm the rumor that she was pregnant. This was really ironic because the plain looking girl I had nicknamed “koala face” since she first surfaced had starred in a popular Japanese drama back in 2001 on Fuji TV with Japanese heartthrob Yutaka Takenouchi titled “Dekichatta Kekkon” (Shotgun Wedding)!

Ryoko Hirosue at the press conference in December 2003 to announce her pregnancy and marriage

I remember Ryoko’s sudden pregnancy and marriage drew a lot of criticism from both fans and media back then. Many on going projects related to her had to be put on hold indefinitely, altered or scrapped altogether. And just like I thought, her popularity and career took a nose dive when she tried to make a comeback after the birth of her boy. As a matter of fact, her status has never been the same ever since.

Ryoko cited work related issues as part of her reason to divorce

The lovely Rina Akiyama

The 22 year old Japanese gravure model / actress first made it to the main stage of showbiz through the Kamen Rider series, playing Mana Kazaya. But these days she’s more well known for her sexy ass. While Rina doesn’t have any “junk in the trunk”, the slender Tokyo native has been given nicknames such as “oshirina” (a play off the Japanese word for butt), “pretty butt idol” and “queen of pretty butt”.

Personally I don’t think her butt is *all that*, but it does go with the rest of her body quite well. You be the judge:

Rina Akiyama proves that you don’t need a huge booty to get attention from guys

Continuation of CDTV’s (Countdown TV) top 20 ranking for ideal girlfriend according to Japanese guys that was just released this month.

No. 11 - Reina Tanaka

One look at the extremely popular Morning Musume and you’ll want to take this kitty home! (and yes guys, she’s legal) The girl from Fukuoka LOVES singing karaoke.

No. 12 - hiroko (mihimaru GT)

The 23 year old vocal that makes one half of the super poppy Japanese duo is from Hyogo Prefecture (next to Osaka)

No. 13 - BoA

What hasn’t been said about this Korean sensation who’s made it big in Japan and captured the heart of countless fans since ‘01? She’s pretty, sings well, can really dance, speaks Japanese fluently and got a great personality…what more can you ask for?

No. 14 - Eri Kamei

The 6th generation member of Japanese all girl idol group Morning Musume has made a really nice transition from the awkward, extremely shy little girl when she first joined to a confident and beautiful girl next door

No. 15 - Ayaka (絢香)

This singer / songwriter burst onto the j-pop scene only back in ‘06 but already has been compared to Hikaru Utada and Mika Nakashima

No. 16 - Ai Kawashima

The talented street performing singer / songwriter turns 22 today! The vocal of the now disbanded j-pop duo I WISH has had a tough life, orphaned as a toddler and losing both of her adopted parents while she was still in school.

No. 17 - Yui Aragaki

This Okinawan teenager first entered Japanese showbiz as a model for a popular fashion magazine. She has since appeared in several dramas and is highly sought after for commercial work.

No. 18 - Risa Niigaki

You can’t help but love this 5th generation Morning Musume and current sub-leader. The 19 year old Yokohama (just south of Tokyo) native charms her fans with her positive and energetic attitude.

No. 19 - aiko

You’d never have guessed this baby faced singer / songwriter from Osaka is 32 and has been making hits for over 10 years

No. 20 - Shoko Nakagawa

By now “Shokotan“, as all of Japan calls her has become a household name. The self professed otaku and former gravure idol has a huge loyal fan base and is the unofficial “princess of blogging“.

Kumi Koda in her glamorous form

Here’s more info regarding the aftermath of Japanese pop diva Kumi Koda’s careless radio comment at the end of last month that wombs after 35 turn to shit. (Technically, she said “amniotic fluid in the uterus will go bad” but it doesn’t sound very colloquial and smooth that’s why I’m sticking to my translated version) Last Thursday Fuji TV aired an exclusive interview with Kumi Koda on its FNN Super News which was taped the previous day. In the interview Kumi had completely transformed her appearance to show just how remorseful and contrite she was. Gone were the gaudy make up and hair and her trademark blinged out long nails. They were replaced by a solemn Kumi in black suit, plain hairdo speaking in a low voice and at times in tears.

Kumi Koda delivered her apology in an exclusive interview with Fuji TV

The FNN Super News interview generated a 10.1% viewer rating, which was only about 8% above the average. This shows me that contrary to what mass hysteria her innocent womb comment seem to have brought on, the majority of the country isn’t really up in arms coming to lynch her. It’s only the media and a few internet sites composed of mostly bitter people with no life of their own that are making a huge deal out of this. Unfortunately the Japanese entertainment world is still a very old fashioned one and they take immediate precaution against any scandals big or small.

It’s easy to see why there are bitter Japanese women who’d love to see Kumi Koda go down over something so trivial

Kumi has been a long time friend of Japanese showbiz veteran and respected senpai (senior, elder) Akiko Wada and Kumi often seeks her advice about things in her personal life too. On Akiko’s popular talk show “Akiko ni Omakase!” on TBS this past Sunday she revealed the development that’s happened so far.

Japanese showbiz veteran Akiko Wada (R) and her co-host Ryuta Mine

- The person who’s responsible for Kumi Koda’s radio show on Nippon Hoso has been greatly affected too. He used to come to work in jeans and sandals but these days he shows up in a suit and stays in the “self-reflection” room studying the broadcasting manual for 10 hours every day. (This is such a typical Japanese punishment…I bet he has to turn in a “self reflection” report at the end of each day too)

- Through her private conversation with Kumi, she felt Kumi really regrets making the comment and knows she has hurt the feelings of people with her words. Kumi told Akiko, “I’ve done something bad” and couldn’t stop crying.

Japanese showbiz icon and often feared singer Akiko Wada

- During her interview with Fuji TV, at one point the interviewer asked Kumi if she’d like to have children too someday. Only an incomplete part of her reply was used because they were deemed too heavy.

- Kumi’s record label Avex still plans on kicking off the concert tour of her new album “Kingdom” on April 12th. However Kumi doesn’t quite feel the same way. She has told Akiko Wada that she thought April was too early a date to resume working. She said something terrible and by returning so quickly she’s afraid she might be trampling on people’s feelings, especially since rehearsal must start at the beginning of March if the show is to go on according to schedule.

- Where Kumi’s coming from, she’s not sure if she’ll be able to sing her songs about love right after she’s said these hurtful things. But her record label Avex feels that she has many fans that support her and by coming out to perform it’s also one way to show her remorse.

- Kumi Koda feels she wasn’t able to fully express her apology during the interview, but Akiko Wada thinks she is genuinely sorry for making the remark. Also, at this time Kumi has no motivation to begin rehearsing.

Kumi Koda’s not ready to go back to work yet

Millions of dollars will be lost by postponing Kumi’s national concert tour. So Avex is working really hard trying to convince her to be back on schedule. But if her management agency doesn’t carefully consider the possible future outcome over money, things could backfire and ruin Kumi’s career.

But then again Kumi’s new album “Kingdom” has been selling well and captured the No. 1 position again on the latest Oricon chart (Japan’s Billboard Top 100) this past Monday. See, I told you a few haters mess up everything!

Don’t the fans exert any influence?

Kumi Koda’s latest album Kingdom is still occupying the No. 1 position on Oricon

Here are a few of “Mr. Big Tits Revolutionary” Yoshiharu Noda’s harem:

Akiko Hinagata - One of the original gravure idols along with Fumie Hosokawa and Reiko Kato that started the “big tits” craze back in the 90s.

Akiko paved the way for other big hipped, wide shouldered Japanese idols to be accepted

A classic magazine cover with her signature “Hina pose”

Recent shot of Akiko Hinagata, now a divorcee and mother of one child

With Hikaru Kawamura (left) and Emi Kobayashi (right) at a recent Suns Entertainment event

Mariya Yamada - Akiko Hinagata’s “kohai” (junior). Famed 90s big boobie gravure idol and one of the main stable of Yellow Cab Production.

Mariya has nicely made the transition from gravure swimsuit model to a “talent” (a Japanese name for entertainer). Nowadays you can often catch her on different TV shows.

MEGUMI - The crown jewel of Yellow Cab Production at the turn of the century and still Noda shacho’s (president) favorite girl now at Suns Entertainment, the H cup tittie monster MEGUMI has also made the smooth transition from gravure idol to a popular talent on Japanese TV. Along with other popular gravure idols of her generation such as Waka Inoue and Sayaka Isoyama, she is famous for her skillful posing techniques which show off her ample bosom.

These days MEGUMI is known as a sharp tongued “baradoru” (variety idol)

Emi Kobayashi - The 25 year old gravure model has a sensual, classy look and possesses a healthy F cup chest.

Emi was also the image girl for Sapporo Beer and Oiso Long Beach water park, both of which basically guaranteed her success in Japanese showbiz

That sexy face and body’s got 1/8 Russian blood

Hikaru Kawamura - Plenty have been said about this “one-kei” (literally translated - older sister) mature young lady style Japanese talent in previous posts. The self proclaimed “forever 26″ gravure model is currently entangled in a legal battle with her boss Yoshiharu Noda.

I would love to watch her perform in an AV

Look at that luscious body…makes me wanna just lick her up and down!

2006 year end party: Hikaru Kawamura (2nd left), Mariya Yamada (center), Saki Seto (right)

Saki Seto - Technically the 22 year old gravure model is no longer with Suns Entertainment. She mysteriously dropped off the Japanese entertainment map since summer of last year after rumor surfaced about a romantic link with troubled entrepreneur Masahiro Origuchi of the failed Goodwill Group. Nobody has been able to reach Saki and Noda shacho has said he didn’t consider her retired but permanently inactive. What a damn shame!

Who would’ve thought this photo taken at an earlier event with Noda shacho would foretell what was to come

The angelic face and sexy body of Saki Seto

With fellow Suns Entertainment gravure model Emi Kobayashi (right)

Somebody please bring this sexy little kitten back!