A very long 30-car train ran on Yokosuka Line

Yokosuka Line is one of the railways operated by East Japan Railway Company(JR East). It connects Tokyo Station with Kurihama Station in Yokosuka city, Kanagawa prefecture.

The standard trains on the line are 11-car and 15-car. However, a 30-car train ran on Yokosuka Line on December 25th, 2014.

Why did 30-car train run on the line?

The reason is that a 15-car broke down and could not run for itself at Tokyo Station, and that another 15-car train had to pull it to its rail yard.

A 30-car train running is rare, so many rail fans gathered to see it.

Here are videos of 30-car train running.

Who is Mamiko Okamura?

Mamiko Okamura(岡村真美子) is a Japanese weather forecaster. She is also an pianist. She graduated from Kunitachi College of Music.

She has appeared on "NHK News 7" since 2011. She is popular for cute looks.

Shukan Bunshun, one of leading weekly magazines in Japan, reported on December 25th that Okamura had have adulterous affairs with two men.

One is an officer at Japan Meteorological Agency. His name is anonymous in the article of Shukan Bunshun.

The other is Daisuke Sato(佐藤大介). He is also a weather forecaster. He has appeared on "Hiru-obi(ひるおび)", the daytime news show of TBS. He and Okamura belongs to the same weather information company, Weather Map Co., Ltd. According to Shukan Bunshun, they have had sex in the office of the company.

Both Okamura and Sato was replaced on their own programs on December 25th.

Here is the video of Mamiko Okamura weather forecasting.


Why did Okamura have illicit affairs?

One reason is that she has a kind of sexual addiction. According to Cyzo, one of leading monthly magazines in Japan, she said to her friend, "I'll go mad if I can't have sex at least once a month."

Another reason is the corporate culture of NHK. Compared to other companies, illicit affairs happen in NHK more frequently. For example, according to Shukan Bunshun, Sae Nakarai(半井小絵), who had appeared on "NHK News 7" as Okamura's predecessor, had an illicit affair with Yoshinori Tateyama(建山義紀), an baseball player.

What is "Dictionary of Japanophile People"?

Dictionary of Japanophile People, or Dictionary of Pro-Japanese People (Japanese: 親日人名辞典; Korean: 친일인명사전) is a Korean book that lists 4,398 names of Korean people who collaborated with the Imperial Japanese government during its colonial reign over Korea from 1910 to 1945. It was published by "Institue for Research in Collaborationist Activities" in South Korea in 2009.

The dictionary includes, for example, Park Chung-hee(3rd President of South Korea), Ahn Eak-tai(the composer of the national anthem of South Korea), Park Yeong-hyo(the creator of the first Korean Flag ), Kim Seong-su(the founder of Korea University and Dong-A Ilbo), Paik Sun-yup(the first four-star general in the history of the South Korean military) and so on.

Park Chung-hee was an officer of Manchukuo Imperial Army. Manchukuo was a puppet state dominated by The Empire of Japan from 1932 to 1945.

Ahn Eak-tai composed the music for celebrating the tenth anniversary of the founding of Manchukuo.

During Japan colonial period, Park Yeong-hyo held important posts, such as Director of the Bank of Chosen, Chairman of the Korean Economic Association and so on. In addition, he had a seat in the Diet of Japan.

Kim Seong-su operated Keijo Textile Corporation (Kyungbang) and amassed wealth during Japan colonial period.

Paik Sun-yup was an officer of the Manchukuo Imperial Army.

According to The Hankyoreh, one of leading newspapers in South Korea, Seoul Metropolitan Council approved 2015 educational budget on December 19th, 2014. The budget includes the funding for distributing Dictionary of Japanophile People to all of junior high schools and high schools of Seoul city by Cooperative Education Bureau of Seoul Metropolitan government. Some people point out that it is a kind of governmental hate speech.

[Link]
The Hankyoreh (written in Korean)
http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/schooling/669945.html

Who is Sakura Yashiki?

Sakura Yashiki(家鋪さくら) was the last wife of Takajin Yashiki(やしきたかじん).

Takajin Yashiki was a popular musician and TV personality. He got immeasurable popularity especially in Kansai region including Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, etc. He had been married three times. He had been in the hospital for  esophagus cancer since January 2012. He finally died on January 3, 2014

Here are videos of Takajin Yashiki singing.




Sakura Yashiki had been taking care of Takajin in the hospital for two years. She got married to Takajin in October 2013, just three months before the death of Takajin.

After his death, Sakura inherited Takajin's entire estate according to his will, although Takajin had a daughter with his first wife. In March 2014, Sakura founded Office TAKAJIN Co.,Ltd, which administrates Tajajin's copyright. She is getting numerous income from his copyrights.

Many people suspects that she married not for love but for money. There are some evidences.

First, she is suspected of bigamy. She married to Ivan Signore in September 2010 in Italy. She went back to Japan in December 2011. In the same month, she met Takajin at a party, and they started dating soon.

However, Sakura and Ivan did not divorce when Sakura and Takajin started dating. Ivan tweeted on March 15th, 2012, as below:

far from my wife and I am going crazy. Maybe it's time to think how to get out this situation. Move to Japan?

Soon after Takajin's death, Ivan criticized Sakura on his twitter as below:

mercenary [...] - any person who works solely for money Essentially a bitch..................
— Ivan Signore (@ivansignore) January 8, 2014

Sakura insists that she divorced Ivan before she married to Takajin. However, it takes 5 to 7 years to get divorce in Italy in general.

Second, Sakura is suspicious of creating Takajin's oral will in conspiracy with a lawyer. She took a video of his oral will. According to a person who watched the video, the lawyer said to Takajin, "Do you agree that Sakura Yashiki will inherit your entire estate?" Takajin said "Yeah..." in a hazy state. It is doubtful whether Takajin understood the lawyer's words.

If you want to see her photos, click the link below:
https://www.google.co.jp/search?q=%E3%82%84%E3%81%97%E3%81%8D+%E3%81%95%E3%81%8F%E3%82%89&safe=off&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=d7mCVMm3C4K2mAWbhYGYCw&ved=0CB4QsAQ&biw=1366&bih=643#safe=off&tbm=isch&q=%E3%82%84%E3%81%97%E3%81%8D+%E3%81%95%E3%81%8F%E3%82%89

[Link]
Takajin Yashiki's memorial website administrated by Office TAKAJIN Co.,Ltd
http://yashiki-takajin.jp/

Who is Ichiro Kishida?

Ichiro Kishida(岸田一郎) is a editor and media producer in Japan. He was the editor in chief of the popular magazines such as "Begin," "MEN'S EX," "LEON,", "NIKITA."

When he was the editor in chief of "LEON," he created the Japanese slang "Choi-waru-oyaji(ちょいワルおやじ)", which means an older and rugged man. Also, he featured Panzetta Girolamo on its cover as a symbol of  "Choi-waru-oyaji."

In 2014, he was sued by a female model for forcing her to have sex with him. According to her story, he said to her that he would not let her to appear on Tokyo Girls collection, one of the most famous fashion shows in Japan, if she does not have sex with him. She reluctantly bowed to his threat. However, he broke his word because he has no power to decide who to appear on it.

This is a movie of Ichiro Kishida.


This is a movie of Panzetta Girolamo.


[Link]
Ichiro Kishida's blog
http://ameblo.jp/zino-kishida/

Panzetta Girolamo's blog
http://www.leon.jp/contents/girolamo

Who is Rina Sasazaki?

Rina Sasazaki (笹崎里菜) is a Japanese model. She is also a student at Toyo Eiwa University. She won the beauty pageant to name Miss Toyo Eiwa 2011.

She got an official job offer as an announcer of Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV) in September 2013, and she was going to start to work from April 2015.

However, NTV cancelled the job offer in May 2014. The reason is that she had a work experience at a hostess club in Ginza. NTV argues that she lost integrity which most viewers demand for announcers.

In October 2014, she filed a lawsuit with Tokyo District Court for a retraction of the cancellation of the job offer.

Many legal experts think that she will win the case, because the judges cannot admit job discrimination.

This is a video of Rina Sasazaki.


[Link]
Rina Sasazaki on twitter
https://twitter.com/rinachi16

Who is Serika Kiyomizu?

Serika Kiyomizu (清水芹夏) is a Japanese actress and model.

She appeared in "King's Brunch" as an reporter from April 2nd, 2011 to March 31th, 2012. "King's Brunch" is the popular infotainment program of TBS.

On November 13th, 2014, she was arrested for using cocaine by a joint investigation team of Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Akita Prefectural Police.

This is a news video about the arrest of Serika Kiyomizu.



Serika Kiyomizu's blog
http://ameblo.jp/selica-kiyomizu/ (Inaccessible)

Serika Kiyomizu on twitter
https://twitter.com/selica1225

Who is Noriko Motokado? What is DIO Japan?

Noriko Motokado (本門のり子) is the president of DIO Japan, Inc. Her maiden name is Noriko Kojima (小島のり子). She used to be a ping-pong player.

DIO Japan had been operating call centers all over Japan since 2008, but it stopped the business on August 8th, 2014. Finally, it applied to Tokyo District Court for bankruptcy protection from its creditors under the Civil Rehabilitation Law on November 12th, 2014.

In 2012, DIO Japan used a government subsidy to open new call centers in Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi. The purpose of the subsidy is to create jobs in Tohoku region which was damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11th, 2011. The subsidy amounted to a total of 4.2 billion yen.

However, since the beginning of 2014, DIO Japan has closed the call centers and fired the employees. According to the report of NHK, one of the call centers didn't even acquire devices to start its business as a call center. Therefore, some people say that DIO Japan defrauded the subsidy.

Some people says that the process of the bid for the subsidy was opaque in the first place, because DIO Japan was less experienced in business of call center compared to its competitor firms. One of the competitors says that Noriko Motokado might have made an backstage deal with politicians or government officials.

This is the news report about DIO Japan. The picture of Noriko Motokado appears at 0:53.

Who is Yurina Yanagi?

Yurina Yagagi(柳ゆり菜) is a Japanese glamour model, actress.

She entered the spotlight on October 24th when she appeared on "Massan(マッサン)", a morning drama program of NHK. She performed a nude model of a poster for advertising wine. The viewers were surprised because she got undressed and presented semi-nude.

She appears on other dramas and movies. For example, she starred in the movie "Uwakoi(うわこい)" in 2014. Here is the trailer of Uwakoi.



Dancing is her special skill. She used to dance as a backup dancer behind EXILE.

Here is another video of Yurina Yanagi.




Her big sister, Iroha Yanagi(柳いろは) also works as an glomour model.

Here are videos of Iroha Yanagi.




[Link]
Yurina Yanagi's official website
http://www.yanagiyurina.com/

Yurina Yanagi's blog
http://www.yanagiyurina.com/blog/

Yurina Yanagi on twitter
https://twitter.com/Yngyrn0419

Iroha Yanagi on twitter
https://twitter.com/iroha_1204

Iroha Yanagi's blog
http://ameblo.jp/8aminel8/

Former Morning Musume member Ai Kago's husband, Haruhiko Ando, was issued an arrest wattant.

Haruhiko Ando(安藤陽彦) is an executive in Japan. He is known as the husband of Ai Kago(加護亜依), a former member of Morning Musume(モーニング娘。). According to Internet gossip, he has a close relationship with Yamaguchi-gumi(山口組), the most large gang group in Japan.

According to news reports, he was issued an arrest warrant on October 24th. He is suspected of violating the law on investment deposits and interest rates. The law sets the maximum interest rate at 20%. However, he lent approximately 2.5 million yen to a man at a rate exceeding the maximum rate of the law, in conspiracy with a gang of Yamaguchi-gumi.

He still has not gone home, and he is concealing himself.

He was arrested on suspicion of extortion in 2011, but he was exempted from prosecution.

According to rumor, he has habitually been violent toward Kago. In addition, he used to behave violently to Tomomi Kahara(華原朋美), a popular female singer in Japan, while he was an boyfriend of Kahara.

Here are music clips of Morning Musume when Kago was a member of it.







[Link]
Ai Kago's blog
http://www.diamondblog.jp/kago_ai/

Ai Kago on twitter
https://twitter.com/lovbus

Who is Rina Deguchi?

Rina Deguchi (出口莉奈) is a nameless female singer, a member of "CoverGirls," a nameless female music group.

She became notorious for her own lie. On October 20th, she reported a stalking victim to the police, and she was protected by the police. Then, she temporary stopped her activity as a singer. On October 23th, however, it was revealed that she pretended to be victimized by a stalker.

Why did she tell the lie? She said the police that she did not want to appear on an upcoming live show.

Here is a video of Rina Deguchi.


[Link]
Rina Deguchi's blog
http://ameblo.jp/deguccirina/

Rina Deguchi on twitter
https://twitter.com/cgs_chanchan

What did Mari Yaguchi say in her first appearance on TV in 1 year and 5 months?

On October 23th, Mari Yaguchi(矢口真里) appeared on "Miyaneya(ミヤネ屋)" which is a afternoon tabloid show of Yomiuri Telecasting(読売テレビ). It was her first appearance on TV in 1 year and 5 months. She stopped appearing on TV soon after it was revealed that she had an affair with Kenzo Umeda(梅田賢三) even though she was married to Masaya Nakamura(中村昌也). Finally, Yaguchi divorced Nakamura.

What did she say on 'Miyaneya?"

At the beginning of her appearance, she said to the camera "Ladies and gentlemen, it's been a long time. I'm Mari Yaguchi. I'm terribly sorry for causing trouble on this occasion. Thank you for inviting me. Thank you very much."

Then, Seiji Miyane(宮根誠司), the host of "Miyaneya", and Kouzo Inoue(井上公造), a reporter on show business, interviewed her.

As for the adultery and the divorce, she said "It was all my fault. There is no doubt that I hurt Nakamura."

As for her future, she said "I have no idea. I have no plan from tomorrow. Maybe my agency has received some offers. However, I want to express my feelings at first. And then I'll accept offers if I am needed. I'll retire from show business if there's no need of me."

As for Kenzo Umeda, "He's my current boyfriend. I live with him." However, she also said that she had no thought of getting married with him soon.



[Related articles]
Who is Kenzo Umeda?
http://topics-on-japan.blogspot.jp/2013/06/who-is-kenzo-umeda.html

Mari Yaguchi comes back to show business
http://topics-on-japan.blogspot.jp/2014/10/mari-yaguchi-comes-back-to-show-business.html

Mari Yaguchi comes back to show business

On October 23th, Mari Yaguchi(矢口真里) is going to appear on "Miyaneya(ミヤネ屋)" which is a afternoon tabloid show of Yomiuri Telecasting(読売テレビ). It will be her first appearance on TV in 1 year and 5 months.

Mari Yaguchi(矢口真里) is a Japanese pop artist, actress and TV personality and former member of Morning Musume(モーニング娘。). She got married to Masaya Nakamura(中村昌也), then an nameless actor, in 2011. However, it was revealed in May 2013 that she had an affair with Kenzo Umeda(梅田賢三), a male nameless fashion model. As soon as the adultery was revealed, Yaguchi and Nakamura got divorced. In addition to it, Yaguchi stopped appearing on TV because Nakamura's agency, Watanabe Entertainment(ワタナベエンターテインメント), pressured television companies not to put Yaguchi on their TV programs.

What has enabled Yaguchi to appear on TV again regardless of pressure by Watanabe Entertainment?

The answer is that Yaguchi has won the backing of Burning Production(バーニングプロダクション) which is the most influential entertainment agency in Japan. Yaguchi's agency, UP-FRONT GROUP(アップフロントグループ), has not a capital but a good relationship with Burning Production.

Why is the first appearance on "Miyaneya?"

Because the host of "Miyaneya", Seiji Miyane(宮根誠司) has a close relationship with Ikuo Suo(周防郁雄) who is the president of Burning Production. Suo is the most influential person in Japanese show business, and is said to have a relationship with Yakuza, Japanese mafia.

Why does Yaguchi want to return to show business?

The reason is that Yaguchi needs to earn money to feed Umeda, who she lives with. Although she is said to have about 100 million yen in savings, she has to pay over 20 million yen to her ex-husband Nakamura for recovery of pain and suffering damages. In addition, Umeda has no job because he became notorious for the adultery.

The police report on Tomohisa Yamashita was sent to the prosecutor.

On October 21th, the police report on Tomohisa Yamashita(山下智久) was sent to the prosecutor. He is suspect of damaging and taking away the cell phone of a non-celebrity woman. The case against him is expected to be dropped, because Yamashita and the woman have already reached an out-of-court settlement.

According to the articles of the tabloids in Japan reporting in July, Jin Akanishi(赤西仁), Ryo Nishikido(錦戸亮) and Tomohisa Yamashita skirmished with a group of non-celebrity people on the street in Roppongi in June. A woman of the group took a film of the skirmishing with the camera of her cell phone, and Yamashita took away the cell phone and ran away. At a later date, the woman filed a damage report to the police. And then, Akanishi, Nishikido and Yamashita got into the trouble with the police.

[Link]
Tomohisa Yamashita's official page
http://www.johnnys-net.jp/page?id=artistTop&artist=18

Jin Akanishi's official website
http://jinakanishi.com/

Jin Akanishi on twitter
https://twitter.com/Jin_Akanishi

Kanjani Eight's official page
http://www.johnnys-net.jp/page?id=artistTop&artist=13

Osaka's mayor debates with civic leader on hate speech

On October 20th, the mayor of Osaka city, Toru Hashimoto(橋下徹) debated with the leader of "Zaitokukai(在特会)", Makoto Sakurai(桜井誠).

Zaitokukai is shortened as "Zainichi Tokken wo Yurusanai Shimin no Kai (在日特権を許さない市民の会)" meaning Citizens against the Special Privileges of the Zainichi. Zaitokukai is known for its hate speeches against Zainichi, who are Koreans residing in Japan.

The theme of the debate was hate speech. However, from the beginning of the debate, they kept shouting at each other and were not arguing on the same wavelength. The planed length of the debate was 30 minutes, but it ended in 10 minutes.

Before the start of the debate, Sakurai criticized the reporters of NHK, Asahi Shimbun(朝日新聞), Mainichi Shimbun(毎日新聞) and Kyodo News Service(共同通信) for their anti-Japanese news reports.

This is the video of the debate. The debate starts at 11:00.



[Link]
Toru Hashimoto on twitter
https://twitter.com/t_ishin

Makoto Sakurai on twitter
https://twitter.com/Doronpa01

A porn star appears on Toyota's website

On September 19th, Mana Sakura(紗倉まな) started to write a column for "GAZOO.com", which is the website operated by Toyota Motor Corporation.

She is a popular porn star in Japan. She is also known as a car lover.

According to Tokyo Sports(東京スポーツ), one of the leading tabloids in Japan, the news surprised people in advertising agencies. For it is rare that a large company uses a porn star as advertising in Japan.

A Toyota's spokesperson said to Tokyo Sports, "We continue to use a car lover for advertising, regardless of his or her occupation."　It is possible that another porn star appears on GAZOO.com.

There are arguments both for and against the news on the Internet.


Here are the links to Sakura's columns for GAZOO.com.

Part1: http://gazoo.com/car/pickup02/Pages/column_mana_140919.aspx
Part2: http://gazoo.com/car/pickup02/Pages/column_mana_141003.aspx
Part3: http://gazoo.com/car/pickup02/Pages/column_mana_141017.aspx


Here are clips of Mana Sakura.








[Source]
Tokyo Sports: 紗倉まなと世界のトヨタが衝撃合体 広告業界も仰天
http://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp/entame/entertainment/322364/

[Links]
Mana Sakura on twitter
https://twitter.com/sakuramana0000

Mana Sakura's blog
http://www.dclog.jp/sakuramana/

Mana Sakura's diary
http://blog.livedoor.jp/sakura_mana/

Who is Shizuka Nakamura?

Shizuka Nakamura(中村静香) is a popular glamour model in Japan. She is popular for her big breasts and her baby face.

"Shizuka" was named after "Minamoto Shizuka(源静香)" in Doraemon(ドラえもん), one of the most popular cartoons in Japan.

She also works as an actress. She appeared on a number of TV dramas and movies as a small role.

Here are clips of Shizuka Nakamura.

[Link]
Shizuka Nakamura's blog
http://ameblo.jp/shizuka-nakamura/

Shizuka Nakamura's profile
http://beamie.jp/t/shizuka_nakamura.html

Who is Maki Goto's husband?

On July 22nd, Maki Goto(後藤真希) announced in her blog that she married to an office worker from her hometown. She is a former member of Morning Musume(モーニング娘。).

According to Internet gossip, Maki Goto's husband is one of cohorts of Yuki Goto(後藤祐樹), her little brother. Yuki Goto was arrested for stealing copper wires from construction sites with his cohorts in 2007. According to rumor, Maki Goto's husband was a member of the group of thieves.

According to one estimate, Maki Goto made a comeback to show business recently because she needs to feed her husband.

Here are music videos of Maki Goto.




[Link]
Maki Goto's blog
http://ameblo.jp/gotomaki-923/

Who is Mariko Seyama?

Mariko Seyama(脊山麻理子) is a 34-year-old female news anchor in Japan.

She is now appearing on "Morning Cross"(モーニングCROSS) which is the morning news program of Tokyo Metropolitan Television. She anchors the program together with Jun Hori(堀潤).

Seyama worked at Nippon Television(日本テレビ) as a broadcaster from 2004 to 2010. During the time, she anchored several TV programs of Nippon Television, such as "Oha!4 NEWS LIVE."

Seyama works as a glamour model recently. In Japan, it is rare that a news anchor works as a glomour model.

Here are movies of Seyama wearing bikini.









[Link]
Mariko Seyama's blog
http://ameblo.jp/seyama-mariko/

Mariko Seyama on twitter
https://twitter.com/mariko_seyama

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Masatoshi Hamada been having an affair for 3 years.

According to June 13th's FRIDAY MAGAZINE(フライデー), one of the leading weekly magazines in Japan, Masatoshi Hamada(浜田雅功) has been engaging in an adulterous affair with Maiko Kikkawa(吉川麻衣子) for 3 years.

Masatoshi Hamada is a 51-year-old comedian and works as half of a comedy duo "Downtown(ダウンタウン)" with Hitoshi Matsumoto(松本人志). "Downtown" is one of the most popular comedy duos in Japan. Outside of the field of comedy, Hamada also works as an actor and an singer.

Here is a comedy show on which Hamada is appearing.


Maiko Kikkawa is an unknown 29-year-old glamour model with big breasts.

Here are movies of Maiko Kikkawa.




Hamada and Kikkawa started an affair in 2010, when they acted together in the drama "Kenji Onijima Heihachirou"(検事・鬼島平八郎) of TV Asahi(テレビ朝日).

Hamada issued a statement on June 14th that he admitted to adultery and he apologized to his wife and his two children.

Natsumi Ogawa(小川菜摘), Hamada's wife, also issued a statement on June 14th that she and her children forgave Hamada for having an adulterous affair.

On the other hand, Kikkawa got fired from K-point(ケイポイント), her modeling agency, on June 12th, the day before FRIDAY MAGAZINE was published. According to rumor, K-point was pressured by Yoshimoto Kogyo Co.(吉本興業), Hamada's comedy agency.

[Link}
Masatoshi Hamada's official website
http://www.h-dream.com/

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Who is Nonoka Ono?

Nonoka Ono(おのののか) is a popular glamour model in Japan.

She had a part-time job selling beers in Tokyo Dome during a baseball game. She sold the most beers among all of the salesgirls in Tokyo Dome. She is known and described as a over-cute salesgirl of beers.

Here is a video of Nonoka Ono giving a demonstration of selling beers. In this video, she said there were a lot of male customers who tried holding her hand.


Here are clips of Nonoka Ono in a bathing suit.






[Link]
Nonoka Ono's blog
http://ameblo.jp/ohhag-inu/

Nonoka Ono on twitter
https://twitter.com/nyonyo_ka

Ryo Aska had adulterous affairs with Ai Iijima.

Shukan-bunshun(週刊文春), one of the leading weekly magazines in Japan, reported on May 29th that Ryo Aska(飛鳥涼) had adulterous affairs with Ai Iijima(飯島愛) around 2008. They enjoyed sex using MDMA, an illegal drug.

Ryo Aska is a musician and works as a duo "Chage and Aska" with Chage(チャゲ). "Chage and Aska" is one of the most popular duos in Japan. He was arrested on suspicion of possesion of stimulants on May 17th.

Here are music videos of Chage and Aska.




Ai Iijima worked as a porn star, and then became a TV personality. She appeared on a lot of TV programs, but she retired from show business in 2007.
She died in 2008 at the tender age of 36. According to police reports, she died of pneumonia. However, some people suspects that she died of a drug overdose.

Here is a documentary of Ai Iijima.


[Link]
Chage and Aska official web site
http://www.chage-aska.net/

Ai Iijima's blog
http://ameblo.jp/iijimaai/

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Who is inside Funassyi?

It is not too much to say that "Funassyi"(ふなっしー) is the most popular mascot in Japan now. For example, on the New Year's Eve in 2013, Funassyi appeared on year-end TV programs with high ratings, such as Red and White Singing Contest(紅白歌合戦) of NHK, "Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!"(ダウンタウンのガキの使いやあらへんで!!) of NTV.

(If you don't know yuru-kyara, see What is "Funassyi"?)

Here is a video of Funassyi.


Many Japanese is wondering who is inside Funassyi.

According to Internet gossip, the person inside Funassyi is the man who is a 38-year-old owner of an interior furnishings shop in Funabashi city(船橋市), Chiba prefecture(千葉県).

At the beginning of November 2013, "Josei-seven"(女性セブン), one of the leading woman's magazines in Japan, had a surprise interview with the man. He admitted he is the right person inside Funassyi.

[Reference]
NEWSポストセブン：ふなっしーの「中の人」　直撃に「本当に急いでるんですよ」

[Link]
Funassyi's website
http://terawarosu.jimdo.com/
Funassyi on twitter
https://twitter.com/funassyi

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