Kids love video games, and kids love dogs, so Sega Toys and Activision Publishing have combined the two in Wappy Dog, a virtual pet game for the Nintendo DS that’s a little less virtual, thanks to the bundled dog robot.
Teach your kids how to raise their own puppy without worrying about silly things , thanks to Wappy Dog, the robotic puppy with the adorably stupid name. Kids will feed, care for, and play with this cold, lifeless creature, its artificial personality slowly developing over time depending on how it’s treated.
Wappy …

Hello! Project trio Buono! will star together in a movie for the first time. The movie is titled “Gomennasai” and is an adaptation of a popular mobile phone novel. Asato Mari (“Ju-on: Kuroi Shoujo”) is directing.
“Gomennasai” is a horror story set in a high school in the Kanagawa prefecture. The three main characters are Hidaka Yuka (Suzuki Airi), Kurobane Hinako (Natsuyaki Miyabi), and Sonoda Shiori (Tsugunaga Momoko). The story starts when Shiori is unable to beat the talented Hinako in a test, and she begins getting harassed about it. Hinako …

Aoyagi Takao’s comedy manga “Koko ga Uwasa no El Palacio” (also known as “Welcome to the El-Palacio”) is being turned into a live-action television series. TV Tokyo will broadcast the show this fall, though the time slot has not yet been announced.
“Koko ga Uwasa no El Palacio” is a popular series that is currently being published in Shogakukan’s Gessan magazine since 2009. The third collected volume was released this past May.
The story revolves around a man who loses his memory in a traffic accident and wakes up surrounded by the …

Kabuki actor Onoe Tatsumi remained in a coma after an apparent suicide attempt by hanging at a park in Tokyo, police said Monday.
Tatsumi, 32, was taken to hospital after an acquaintance found him hanging from a tree at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward around 2 a.m. Sunday, police said. No suicide note has been found.
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Hello Kitty, Japan’s iconic cat character, glittered and gleamed in Tokyo after being reborn in Swarovski crystals for a good cause — raising money for disaster relief.
On display in a showroom in Tokyo’s fashionable Omotesando area were versions of the famous feline in everything from tiny earrings to melon-sized figurines.
The centerpiece of the project, a collaboration between the Austrian jeweler and Sanrio Co, the company that markets Hello Kitty, was a 20 cm (7.9 inch) limited edition figurine picked out in 19,636 crystals — and carrying a price tag of …

Management agency Johnny’s Jimusho has announced that Arashi member Aiba Masaki (28) is currently in the hospital due to spontaneous pneumothorax (collapsed lung). On the night of June 28, Aiba complained of chest pain after finishing a recording for the television show “Arashi ni Shiyagare.” He was taken to a hospital for examination, where the doctor diagnosed the pneumothorax and had Aiba immediately admitted.
Aiba was re-examined the next morning, and it was determined that he indeed had a collapsed left lung. He was advised to remain hospitalized for about a …

Representatives of Lady Gaga on Tuesday denied claims of a scam over sales of the singer’s wristbands for Japan’s earthquake relief efforts.
They described a lawsuit targeting the pop star and other companies involved in the sale and marketing of the $5 white and red "We Pray for Japan" rubber bracelets as misguided and without merit.
"This misguided lawsuit is without merit and unfortunately takes attention away from the kind deeds of the fans around the world who are supporting the people of Japan," Gaga’s representatives said in a statement.
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AKB48 producer Akimoto Yasushi is apparently planning to create an “official rival group” to AKB48. An announcement on Tuesday revealed that he is working with Sony Music to create a new group called 乃木坂46 (read as “Nogizaka 46″).
Unlike AKB48′s sister groups such as SKE48 and NMB48, this new group is specifically being billed as a rival to AKB48. The group’s name comes from the fact that the final audition will be held at the SME Nogizaka Building (where Sony’s office is located). According to Akimoto, the 46 was chosen with …

DREAMS COME TRUE has just made two announcements about upcoming live performances. In August, they plan to perform a series of free acoustic mini-concerts in the Tohoku region, and in October, they will hold their first U.S. tour since 9 years ago.
DREAMS COME TRUE just started their “DREAMS COME TRUE WONDERLAND 2011″ tour on June 24 at Sapporo Dome, and it is scheduled to end in Okinawa on September 23-24. In the middle of their tour, they are planning to do free acoustic performances in 4 of the prefectures heavily …

On July 16, TBS will broadcast a live music show called “Ongaku no Hi” (“Music Day”). It will last a total of 7 hours and 40 minutes, setting the all-time record for longest single music show ever televised. SMAP’s Nakai Masahiro (38) and TBS announcer Azumi Shinichiro (37) will serve as hosts.
At a length of 7 hours and 40 minutes, “Ongaku no Hi” will surpass even the big year-end music events like NHK’s Kouhaku Uta Gassen and Fuji TV’s FNS Kayousai. Currently, the longest such show is TBS’s “Countdown TV …