J!-ENT
Asian Entertainment News and Pop Culture

CRIEnglish.com reported, “Hong Kong Kung Fu superstar Jackie Chan donated an Olympic-themed costume designed by himself for his wax statue in the wax museum Madame Tussauds Hong Kong.”

“The gift was made to show his support for the upcoming Olympics Games, Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao Daily News reported on Wednesday.”

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CRIEnglish.com reported, “Inspired by his favorite childhood heroes Batman and Spiderman, Taiwan-based singer and songwriter Lee-Hom Wang wants his upcoming concerts to give him an opportunity to become “Music-Man.”

“Wang announced the theme for his concerts, due to be held on September 19 and 20 at the Taipei Arena, in a press conference on Tuesday.”

“Strong visual effects will be a feature of the concerts, Wang told the Tungstar. Fans can expect to see the same stylistic displays found in Batman, Spiderman and even Superman, he says.”

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CRIEnglish.com reported, “Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki was welcomed by delirious fans when she arrived in Hong Kong for a new project on Monday.”

“More than 20 security guards were summoned to the airport to hold fans at bay, Tungstar reported.”

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Mainichi Daily News reported, “A throng of Harry Potter fans flocked to book stores on early Wednesday, eagerly awaiting the release of the Japanese translation of J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series.”

“About 1.8 million first editions of the new book that is divided into two parts will go on sale at bookstores around the country.”

“Bookstore Kumazawa in Tokyo’s Hachioji drew 168 fans standing in a long line before its opening at 5 a.m. on Wednesday, the same time of the book launch. The book’s translator, Yuko Matsuoka, visited the bookstore before the opening wearing a witch’s costume.”

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Japantoday.com reported, “Pop duo Kinki Kids started their nationwide summer tour in Tokyo Dome this week. The duo will hold 27 concerts at 13 venues nationwide until Nov 23. Monday night’s concert was their first summer gig in eight years, a spokesman for the organizer said.”

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Here is another still-motion video by Plamoo! Always awesome to watch!

DISCLAIMER: youtube videos are courtesy of youtube.com and are on J!-ENT servers

Rhythm Tengoku Gold comes out for the Nintendo DS in Japan on July 31st. The game will be coming out in the US. Here are commercials from the game currently airing in Japan.

DISCLAIMER: youtube.com videos are courtesy of youtube and are not on J!-ENT servers

10 year techno veterans HIMAWARI debut on JapanFiles.com this week with their two CDs “Mineral” (2001) and “Pomposo” (2005).

Formed in 1998 in New York City (and currently now based in Tokyo), HIMAWARI is Takeshi Ichikawa and Lena. They originally met at a Ryuichi Sakamoto event in the city and quickly realized they shared a similar vision for music making.

While based in NYC, HIMAWARI performed regularly at club events in the metro area, and large-scale loft parties in Brooklyn with as many as 3,000 attendees. HIMA also played such events as the CMJ Music Marathon, and were regulars in the Moby VJ Team MOVEMENT events.

Working closely with long time engineer Kidoh Taki, HIMAWARI completed production on their second album “Pomposo” in 2005, with CD jacket design by Virgilio Santos of Dzark. HIMAWARI’s live performances feature cutting edge new digital images and Takeshi Ichikawa’s motion graphics.

HIMAWARI links!

HIMAWARI MP3s - http://www.japanfiles.com/himawari

HIMAWARI Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djEDcB9BcCA

HIMAWARI Official Website - http://himawaring.com

Japantoday.com reported, “Model Yuri Ebihara, 28, popularly known as “Ebi-chan,” attended a fashion show held by cosmetic maker Shiseido to promote its Maquillage brand in Taipei on Monday. Ebihara, who is well known in Taiwan for her Maquillage TV commercials, said, “I know my image in Taiwan is ‘kawaii’ (cute), but I would like many people to see my cool aspect, too.”

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Japantoday.com reported, “Music label Avex’s annual summer open-air live concert “a-nation” will be held in five cities from Aug 8. According to the organizers, the event will kick off in Aichi Prefecture and tour Miyazaki, Ishikawa, Osaka, Aichi and Tokyo. In the Miyazaki event, Gov Hideo Higashikokubaru will attend as a special guest.”

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