Police revealed on Tuesday that an arrest warrant has been issued for talento Minako Komukai (25), who is suspected of violating the Stimulant Control Law. Komukai’s whereabouts are currently unknown.
Last October, police uncovered a narcotics trafficking organization that was selling drugs on the streets of Tokyo’s Shinagawa ward. So far, more than 10 members of the organization have been arrested, including some men of Iranian nationality. More than 20 male and female customers have also been arrested. According to investigators, Komukai is said to have also been a customer, …

SMAP’s Shingo Katori (34) will star in Fuji TV’s next Monday night drama series, it has been learned. The currently untitled series will have Katori playing a marriage agency advisor who prides himself on bringing together countless couples, with his motto of "the man who sells happiness." Meisa Kuroki (22) and Naohito Fujiki (38) have also been cast.
The screenplay is said to be an original love story. Kuroki plays one of Katori’s clients, though she is "too beautiful" – the agency’s advisors are not used to finding a match …

The daughter of actor Yutaka Mizutani (58) and actress Ran Ito (56) will be making her debut in show business with a couple of dramas. The 20-year-old Shuri has been cast in "3 Nen B Gumi Kinpachi Sensei Final" (TBS) and "Sayonara Bokutachi no Youchien" (NTV), both set to air in late March.
"3 Nen B Gumi Kinpachi Sensei Final" is the last episode of the long-lasting "3 Nen B Gumi Kinpachi Sensei" series, starring Tetsuya Takeda (61) as a junior high school teacher. It was just announced last week …

Fashion model and actress Emi Takei 17 has been given her first starring role in a television drama series, with a show tentatively titled "Asukou March!" The drama is a live-action adaptation of Kaori Akiyamas manga "Asukou March! ~Kenritsu Asuka Kougyou Koukou Koushinkyoku~," which currently runs in Shueishas magazine YOU. Takei plays Nao Yoshino, a girl who fails the entrance exams of her target high school. She winds up enrolling in a technical high school called Kenritsu Asuka Kougyou Koukou, also known by the nickname "Asukou." Out of the 148 …

The shoujo manga series "Okusama wa 18-sai" is getting another television drama adaptation, this time starring 40-year-old musician and actor Takanori Nishikawa also known as T.M.Revolution. His co-star will be young actress Natsuna Watanabe 21. The original manga was written by Miyoko Motomura in 1969-1970, and it was turned into a successful drama series from September 1970 to September 1971 with Tetsuo Ishidate and Yuko Okazaki as the leads. The comedic story tells of a Japanese language teacher who is secretly married to one of his high school students. The …

A 36-year-old truck driver suspected of involvement in hundreds of burglaries in Gunma and Saitama prefectures between 2004 and 2010 was likely wearing Hello Kitty sandals during the crimes, just like when he was arrested, Saitama police have said.
Masakazu Kanda, currently on trial for theft and other charges at the Saitama District Court, was wearing pink sandals bearing the famous feline character when he was walking on a street in Saitama Prefecture in June 2010, catching the eye of police officers after footprints collected from residences where burglaries had taken …

Singer Kana Nishino (21), who is sometimes called the "queen of chaku-uta," has just reached an impressive milestone. Since her debut, her songs have been legitimately downloaded a total of 25 million times in a variety of formats, from chaku-uta ringtones to mobile video clips to full-length songs for the PC.
Nishino made her debut almost three years ago on February 20, 2008, with the single "I." This means that, on average, her songs have been downloaded approximately 23,000 times each day, though the bulk of the downloads actually happened …

For several decades, the trendy Harajuku district in central Tokyo has been a magnet for young people seeking the latest fashion trends and also for those who want to express their own style.
From imported luxury brands to "fast fashion," tiny individual stores offers shoppers and browsers a huge range of fashion goods, turning the area into Japan’s fashion mecca.
Following are some basic questions and answers about Harajuku.
Where is Harajuku?
The area is in Shibuya Ward and can be reached by train or subway. It is actually hard to identify the boundaries …

AKIRA (29) will become the first member of EXILE to act in one of NHK’s taiga dramas, it has been learned. He will appear in the ongoing series "Gou ~Himetachi no Sengoku~" in the role of Toyotomi Hidekatsu, one of the husbands of the main character Gou, who is played by lead actress Juri Ueno (24).
Historically, Hidekatsu was the nephew of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He became the second husband of Gou after she divorced Saji Kazunari, but Hidekatsu died shortly after that during Japan’s invasions of Korea. Gou later married …

Actress Kurume Arisaka (31) got married on Wednesday to a 33-year-old businessman who owns a dining bar, after a year and a half of dating. Her agency announced the happy news, saying that she plans to hold her wedding ceremony in October of this year.
The couple started living together in a Tokyo apartment last November, and the man proposed to her on Christmas when they visited the temple Tanjo-ji in Chiba. Like many others, they decided to register their marriage on February 2 due to it being an auspicious …