Tokio to release a new single!

Johnny's pop group TOKIO have announced the release of a new single, called advance / Mata asa ga kuru, for February 3rd.

advance / Mata asa ga kuru, as with the group's latest singles, will be released in three different versions. Two of these will be limited editions, both featuring a DVD in addition to the CD. One will include the PV of advance and the other will include the video of Mata asa ga kuru.

The last edition, which is CD-only, will have two additional songs: CRY FOR THE MOON and Period. The instrumental counterparts of advance, Mata asa ga kuru and CRY FOR THE MOON will also be included in the disc.

BEST ARTIST 2009 Performers list!

BEST ARTIST 2009
Date: Dec 15th, 2009
Time: 7 PM (4 hours)
Station: NTV



The artist who will be appearing in the show are:

Aiko


Arashi


ayaka


Ikimonogakari


EXILE


Every Little Thing


KAT-TUN


Kanjani8


Kuwata Keisuke


Koda Kumi


GLAY


Kobukuro


SPEED


TOKIO


Nakashima Mika


NEWS


Perfume




Hamasaki Ayumi


Hirai Ken


V6


Porno Graffitti


Yuzu


Remioromen

Johnny's idols take turns in mini-drama project

Several Johnny's Jimusho idols will participate in a television mini-drama project on Fuji TV. Titled "0 Goushitsu no Kyaku," the show will consist of six stories, each lasting for a month. The weekly episodes will be 15 minutes long.

The drama is set in a city hotel called Point, where there is a strange "Room 0" that can reveal one's "grade" as a human being. Various guests with different circumstances visit the room, hoping to determine their own worth.

The first story stars Arashi's Satoshi Ohno as a salaryman who visits the room with a kyabakura hostess, only to discover that she gets a higher grade than he does.

In the second story, Kanjani8's Ryuhei Maruyama and Shota Yasuda play a comedy duo. Although they get along well, they can't find success together, so they visit the room to measure themselves.

The rest of the stories will be led by Shigeaki Kato (NEWS), Shingo Murakami (Kanjani8), Keiichiro Koyama (NEWS), and Shigeru Joshima (TOKIO), in that order. Yu Yokoyama (Kanjani8) will appear throughout the entire series as the storyteller.

The project will start with Ohno's story on October 23. Fuji TV will air the show late on Friday nights, at 1:05am.

Tokio's Nagase Tomoya stars in new drama

TOKIO's Tomoya Nagase is starring in a new drama on NTV next season. The show, currently untitled, is described as a comedy revolving around a superspy character.

Nagase plays Kyosuke Yoroi, a swindler serving a 30-year sentence after being caught for more than a dozen cases of fraud. However, the government sees that Kyosuke's skills can be put to use, so it arranges for his release under the condition that he becomes a spy to help fight against terrorists. His character is a bit clumsy and gets easily carried away, but he also possesses athleticism and sex appeal.

Each episode will tell one story, with different guests appearing each week. As part of his spy work, Nagase will be dressing up in various disguises, such as a pilot, a doctor, and a Korean actor resembling Bae Yong Joon. He will also be equipped with an array of gadgets, such as a ring that turns into a pistol and a shoe that doubles as a cell phone.

With Nagase filling in the "James Bond" role, his spy team will also have a beautiful "Bond girl"-type character named Dorothy.

Ryoichi Kimizuka is in charge of the screenplay. NTV will start airing the series in July, putting it in the network's Saturday 9:00pm time slot.