This is a very good opportunity for existing webmasters who are currently supporting Morning Musume, Hello!Project and its members through their websites. There are a few conditions:

1. You should be an existing webmaster and currently operating a 5 years old website supporting Morning Musume
2.  Awareness of latest updates on all websites supporting Hello!Project is needed to blog
3. And a life long  dedication to Morning Musume & Hello!Project is mandatory!

What you get out of it?

1. This blog/website is there for you to blog till your hearts content and all hosting services will remain free!
2.  You can link-back blog posts to your other Hello!Project website (one allowed choose wisely)
3. You may be able to customize site and monetize policies, upgrade to a cms,  etc.
4. Tsunku.com is currently number 1 beside Wiki and above Tsunku.net (Official Tsunku site) if you search “Tsunku” in Google US
5. We rank currently on Page 3 in Google US if you search “Morning Musume”, needs improvement there
6. New possibilities for supporting Morning Musume & Hello-Project!
7. Send an email with your portfolio and proposal to above mentioned email address (click on image)

This is a life long opportunity, make the best of it!

Popularity: 27% [?]

I was browsing youtube and just found a Kpop rendition of Love Machine..!

I have no idea if there are similarities in the lyrics but if someone has any information on it then please share.

After School – Dream Girl MV (HD)

Popularity: 65% [?]

The long-awaited brand new PV from Morning Musume is here. It’s their 42nd single, and the first since 2005′s “Iroppoi Jirettai” to be without graduated member Koharu Kusumi.

Morning Musume
Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai
Release Date: February 10, 2010

Limited Edition A
EPCE-5685~6 (CD+DVD)

Limited Edition B
EPCE-5687~8 (CD+DVD)

Limited Edition C
EPCE-5689~90 (CD+DVD)

Regular Edition
EPCE-5691 (CD)

All three limited editions for “Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai” come with a DVD, plus a lottery card for a chance to attend a live Morning Musume event.

Source: H!O

Popularity: 61% [?]

Goto Maki’s mother, Goto Tokiko (55) passed away falling from the third floor of her house in Edogawa, Tokyo.

On behalf of site supporters I wish Goto Maki early recovery from a very tragic death of her mother.  It is unimaginable & unbearable what Goto is going through and we should all support her in these trouble times.

Around 11PM of Saturday 23th Goto Tokiko fell from the third floor of her house in Tokyo, Edogawa.

According to her family she came back home under the influence of alcohol around 10:30PM and then she went upstairs and she fell from the third floor of her house causing her injuries. Her family took her to the local hospital but she passed away because of her severe injuries on the first hours of the 24th. News media also say there is no testament found so far.

There is a concert where she is originally part of: Starz Live 2010, to be held on February 8th.

General information:
23th
18:00-22:30 Tokiko goes to a tavern near her house with a former driver and she drinks 2 bottles of beer, 2 shochu, and she also ate some tidbits.
22:30 Tokiko came back to home
22:55 Tokiko falls from the third floor (height: 7 meters)
22:59 Maki’s elder sister reports this incident to the 119 station

24th
1:13 It was confirmed that Tokiko passed away in the hospital.

Source: http://www.zakzak.co.jp/entertainment/ent-…51157000-n2.htm

Chinese News Clip explains with a digital animation how it happen according to the first information

From Fuji’s TV show Tokudane: updated
Tokudane did a report about this news. A reporter of Fuji TV went to Goto’s house and found marks of blood that weren’t removed by the water when they cleaned the area. He also tried to communicate using the door intercom but he got no answer. Later they had interviews with neighbors who also heard the sound when she fall from the third floor and they spotted Maki outside her house. Another lady said that Tokiko was acting normal and she even had a walk with their dogs a few days before. Then, an old lady who works in a tavern near Goto’s house started saying all these comments from Tokiko: “I want to die” and “I’m sad because I cannot be with my son”. This tavern lady also said Tokiko visited her son three of four times per month. She also said recently Tokiko was saying that “she wanted to die” and suddenly she changed it to “I want to die”, all these conversations happen while she was drinking that day since 6pm with their former driver in the tavern mentioned. The hosts of this show didn’t want to conclude anything, even when the police said there is also an investigation line about suicide, but they make it clear that it could be an accident, too.

Fuji TV’s Tokudane

More information:
According to the latest news, when Tokiko came back home she talked with Maki a few words and she went upstairs. Suddenly Maki heard a strong sound and she ran up stairs just to find the window open and her mom on the street after falling from the third floor causing her a severe injury in her head. They took Tokiko to the hospital but she passed away a hour later.
Source: http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0124/…1001240097.html

Kago Ai comment:
I am very shocked since I heard about it this morning.
I know Gocchin has a very close friendship with her mother.
She must be feeling very sad.
I’ll give my wishes. Love her.
Source: http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20100124-00000001-oric-ent

Former Hello Project’s members reaction:
Nakazawa Yuko, Satoda Mai and Tsuji Nozomi wrote basically the same about feeling very sad about this news and they will stop posting entries for today.

Matsuura Max commented that he will keep supporting her.

Fujimoto Miki’s comment:
It really shocked me. I learned this from a worker of my agency. May she rest in peace. I met her and she is a very kind and gentle mother, even with me.
Image: http://i46.tinypic.com/29lnrt0.jpg
Source: http://mainichi.jp/enta/geinou/news/201001…200016000c.html
http://www.daily.co.jp/newsflash/2010/01/25/0002665444.shtml

Rest in peace, Tokiko.
お母様のご冥福を祈りします

Recent links:
http://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/…124-588764.html
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/entertainment/ne…0/01/24/01.html
http://www.fnn-news.com/news/headlines/art…NN00170528.html

That is the media information so far, we will keep up to date and try to give you all the public and confirmed information about this so sad news.

Now, sorry for taking this as a personal note, but I need to show my current sadness and tears.
This personal photo I added to this news is one of my more precious memories I had in Japan, like many others I had the privilege to meet and talk with this wonderful woman. When I say wonderful woman is in all the extension of the word. People who know her should agree with me.

Tokiko is a person I love with all my heart, and I feel so sad that I can’t go there or not even how to react or to do. Maki’s mom used to talk and be kind with all Maki’s fans, even with foreign fans.

My image of her is a woman who was always smiling and keep in touch with all the people who is fan of Maki.
I remember when I was in a Maki’s concert in Chiba on 2006 and there is a memory that keeps in my mind because it touched my heart. When the concert ended she went to talk to some fans who are handicapped and they were all smiling and happy because Mom came to them, I feel for them it was like meeting Maki herself, and Mom was smiling and helped them to come out from the hall, I was looking at her and she smiled to me and said “It was great one, a really fun concert”.

Source: Hello-Online

Popularity: 54% [?]

Morning Musume’s section of the Hello!Project website was updated today with a special Q&A for each member, alongside some new photos. Read on for the full translation!

Takahashi Ai

☆Leader
Date of birth: September 14, 1986
Blood type: A
Hometown: Fukui Prefecture

Q: What are your skills?
Making sweets.

Q: What are your hobbies?
Watching movies, watching plays.

Q: What are your nicknames?
Ai-chan, Ai-kyun.

Q: What’s something nobody can beat you at?
My love for Takarazuka.

Q: What are your favourite foods?
Sauce katsuon, rice omelette.

Q: What’s your motto?
Dream. (I always want to live with a dream)

Q: What are your favourite words?
Yes, we can.

Q: What are you favourite colours?
Red, pink.

Q: What are you proud of from your hometown?
You can eat mizuyokan in the winter.

Niigaki Risa

☆ Sub leader
Date of birth: October 20, 1988
Blood type: B
Hometown: Kanagawa Prefecture

Q: What are your skills?
Hangul, tidying up (if somebody’s already started!), sending emails with my phone without looking at the buttons, self-styled Disney connoisseur.

Q: What are your hobbies?
Going to Disneyland. I go four times a month ♪ If I have time before working in the evening, I’ll go to the Disney store.

Q: What are your nicknames?
Gaki-san, Mame, Sacchun.

Q: What’s something nobody can beat you at?
My love for Disney. Nobody can beat me at that. Also, eyesight ☆

Q: What are your favourite foods?
Ray [i.e. stingray, mantaray] fillet, Mickey waffles, plain grilled conger eel, parfait.

Q: What’s your motto?
If you open it, close it! Where there’s hills, there’s valleys.

Q: What are your favourite words?
Do what you can to be considerate every day. (lol)

Q: What are you favourite colours?
Yellow-green, white.

Q: What are you proud of from your hometown?
There are so many ways to relax in Yokohama!

Kamei Eri

Date of birth: December 23, 1988
Blood type: AB
Hometown: Tokyo

Q: What are your skills?
Arguing. (lol)

Q: What are your hobbies?
Watching other artists’ concert DVDs.

Q: What are your nicknames?
Kame, Kame-chan, Eriri~n.

Q: What’s something nobody can beat you at?
Comparing vinegar drinks by taste.

Q: What are your favourite foods?
Umeboshi and noodles. 1: Pasta, 2: Udon, 3: Ramen, 4: Soba.

Q: What’s something on your mind lately?
Spicy food that would be the right level for me, since I’m not good with spicy foods. If I could find and eat that, I’d be happy ☆

Q: What’s your motto?
You are yourself! Don’t compare yourself!

Q: What are your favourite words?
Good night.

Q: What are you favourite colours?
Black, pink, white.

Q: What are you proud of from your hometown?
With neighbourhood associations, everyone gets along well ☆

Michishige Sayumi

Date of birth: July 13, 1989
Blood type: A
Hometown: Yamaguchi Prefecture

Q: What are your skills?
Braiding (pretty quickly), Y-shaped balance, grade four math.

Q: What are your hobbies?
Collecting things. (Hair ties, stickers, collectable toys, erasers…) Talking, and I love hearing what people say.

Q: What are your nicknames?
Sayumin, Sayu, Shigesan, Oyakata

Q: What’s something nobody can beat you at?
Cuteness ☆☆☆ Always being positive ☆

Q: What are your favourite foods?
My mother’s homemade mentaiko spaghetti, chocolate ☆

Q: What’s your motto?
Never refuse a gift.

Q: What are your favourite words?
Thank you. Left-right symmetry.

Q: What are you favourite colours?
Pink.

Q: What are you proud of from your hometown?
In my home of Yamaguchi, there’s lots of greenery, and the air is really clean. Everybody goes at their own pace, and I love the relaxing, unrushed atmosphere.

Tanaka Reina

Date of birth: November 11, 1989
Blood type: O
Hometown: Fukuoka Prefecture

Q: What are your skills?
I can play without sleep.

Q: What are your hobbies?
People-watching. I record a lot of TV shows from Monday to Friday, so I watch them in the mornings.

Q: What are your nicknames?
Reina, Reina-chan.

Q: What’s something nobody can beat you at?
My emotions get heated and then I cool down quickly. My large collection of tracksuits.

Q: What are your favourite foods?
Cartilage. Brocolli & enoki mushrooms, chocolate

Q: What’s your motto?
If you’re allowed to be yourself, you won’t do bad things to people!

Q: What are your favourite words?
Otsukareina.

Q: What are you favourite colours?
Pink.

Q: What are you proud of from your hometown?
There are lots of cool guys and girls there! The food is good.

Kusumi Koharu

Date of birth: July 15, 1992
Blood type: A
Hometown: Niigata Prefecture

Q: What are your skills?
Impressions, abacus.

Q: What are your hobbies?
People-watching.

Q: What are your nicknames?
Koharunrun ♪

Q: What’s something nobody can beat you at?
Number of moles on the palm. I have four!

Q: What are your favourite foods?
Thick white chocolate! Plums.

Q: What’s your motto?
Kusumi Koharu (lol)

Q: What are your favourite words?
Miracle.

Q: What are you favourite colours?
Pink.

Q: What are you proud of from your hometown?
The water tastes good!

Mitsui Aika

Date of birth: January 12, 1993
Blood type: O
Hometown: Shiga Prefecture

Q: What are your skills?
Massage (second only to Michishige Sayumi-chan…), keeping my room tidy!

Q: What are your hobbies?
Shopping ☆ Looking through brochures while dreaming of living in a detached house. Talking to myself (in vain…)

Q: What are your nicknames?
Mitsii, Aika

Q: What’s something nobody can beat you at?
I know a lot about dogs! I have lots of lion, tiger, and white tiger goods.

Q: What are your favourite foods?
Plums, strawberries, roast beef, kombu [seaweed], cuttlefish.

Q: What’s your motto?
Hakuna matata! (No worries ☆)

Q: What are your favourite words?
Unbeatable in heaven and earth ☆

Q: What are you favourite colours?
Black, purple (my colour), gold.

Q: What are you proud of from your hometown?
Apart from the trains in rush hour, it’s not crowded at all. Everybody feels like family (they’ll connect with you ☆)

Junjun

Date of birth: February 11, 1988
Blood type: O
Hometown: Hunan, China

Q: What are your skills?
Piano, making people laugh.

Q: What are your hobbies?
Music, dance, shopping.

Q: What are your nicknames?
JunJun.

Q: What’s something nobody can beat you at?
Eating spicy food. I think i’m pretty good at enduring things too…

Q: What are your favourite foods?
Fruit, yakiniku.

Q: What’s your motto?
Even if it’s hard, don’t give up on your chosen path. Keep on walking, and with great effort, you’ll surely create a miracle.

Q: What are your favourite words?
Smile

Q: What are you favourite colours?
White, pink, black, red.

Q: What are you proud of from your hometown?
It’s really famous for spicy food. The seafood is the best! There’s a famous pretty lake called Dongting.

Linlin

Date of birth: March 11, 1991
Blood type: B
Hometown: Hangzhou, China

Q: What are your skills?
Impressions. Touching my nose with my tongue. Piercing my ears with my finger (It’s magic)

Q: What are your hobbies?
Singing, dancing, leading, acting, guitar, piano, swimming.

Q: What are your nicknames?
LinLin, Lin-chan, Linko.

Q: What’s something nobody can beat you at?
Self-confidence.

Q: What are your favourite foods?
Fruit, seafood, crepes.

Q: What’s something on your mind lately?
I’ve been drinking milk every day to try and grow taller, and this is the result.

Q: What’s your motto?
If your heart wishes it, you can do anything.

Q: What are your favourite words?
YEAH

Q: What are you favourite colours?
White, red, black.

Q: What are you proud of from your hometown?
Silk, tea, West Lake, Hangzhou cuisine.

Article

Popularity: 87% [?]

These are the winner videos  of  Morning Musume contest for their fan-made PV!  The winners are selected out of 25 final contenders also if you visit the Youtube link you will be able to get other information on the original video submissions plus you can also view 25 submissions in order.

Congratulations to all winners from Tsunku.com/.org !

Popularity: 52% [?]

Morning Musume’s 40th single is just around the corner, and they’re celebrating with a special commemorative release. We got a glimpse of the PV on this weekend’s episode of Kizuna Restaurant, and now the full version is available. Click through to watch!

Nanchatte Renai

Morning Musume
Nanchatte Renai
Release Date: 2009.08.12

(click on any cover for a larger version)

Regular edition – CD
EPCE-5651

Limited A – CD+DVD
EPCE-5647~8

Limited B – CD+DVD
EPCE-5649~50

40th single commemorative edition – CD
EPCE-5659

Morning Musume’s upcoming single “Nanchatte Renai” is also the 40th single from the group. To celebrate, there will be a special commemorative edition that has a c/w track unique to that version. Aside from that, the Limited editions A & B both come with a DVD, and the first press of all versions comes with a serial numbered card with a chance to attend a live Morning Musume event.

Tracklist (Limited A, B, and Normal edition):
1. Nanchatte Renai
2. Aki Urara
3. Nanchatte Renai (Instrumental)

Tracklist (40th single commemorative edition only):
1. Nanchatte Renai
2. Subete wa Ai no Chikara
3. Nanchatte Renai (Instrumental)

Article

Popularity: 36% [?]

In the newest issue of Gravure Television magazine, the members of Morning Musume are interviewed for their latest single, Nanchatte Renai. Since it’s their 40th single, the questions center around the number 40.

We’ve translated all the questions and answers, and included the scans as well. Enjoy!

The Musume are getting sexier these days, and now they’re showing off a “Sexy Little Devils Shot” in knee-high socks. Their 40th single “Nanchatte Renai” goes on sale August 12 (Wed), so we had them answer “questions about 40″!

“If you had 40 days off, what would you want to do?”

Tanaka: Well, I’d go back to my hometown to hang out for about five days, then take a trip. There’s a farm for bears in Aso that I’ve been to before, and I want to go there again!

Mitsui: I’d go with my sister to Korea and Hawaii, then come back to Saga. I’d spend about 10 days in Korea, and I hear they have cheap cosmetics there, so I’d want to buy some.

Kusumi: I don’t need 40 days. Two weeks would be enough. I’d have too much free time, I’d probably die (lol) And it’s better to be working anyway!

Tanaka: Yeah, it makes you feel like you’re alive. Oh, in that case, I’d like to try a part-time job. I want to work in a fast-food place or a clothing shop.

Mitsui: Once someone working in a shop suggested that to me. She asked, “Are you interested in working in apparel?”

Tanaka: That’s right, when Aika said, “Doesn’t this one look good?”, the lady in the shop said that (lol). Working part-time, I want to see how much it takes to be self sufficient these days.

Kusumi: It’s just the normal wage, isn’t it?

Tanaka: Around 600 yen an hour?

Kusumi: That’s enough for Niigata, or somewhere in the country! It takes more than that in Tokyo!

Tanaka: But I wouldn’t be in Tokyo, if I had 40 days off.

Kusumi: Oh, right. Then instead of a part-time job, I’ll go and learn yoga.

Mitsui: Oh, I want to learn scuba diving and go underwater!

“If the world were ending in 40 days…”

Niigaki: I’d want to go on as usual, spending time with the other members and my family and continuing to work. If I didn’t do that, I think I’d be counting, “How many days left?” (lol)

Kamei: You’d definitely be counting. I’d make sure I spent all my money!

LinLin: Oh, that’s good!

Kamei: I’m 20 now, so I’ve been really concerned with conserving and being eco-friendly. But it would be nice not having to think about things like that.

Niigaki: It really wouldn’t be the time to say things like, “Saving the Earth is something we can do today!” (lol)

Kamei: That’s right. You could just live for yourself in those final days.

LinLin: I’d become somebody who can save the Earth, like Sailor Moon, then I’d save the Earth!

Niigaki: Oh, you’d save it?

LinLin: That’s right. Hero LinLin-man! (lol)

Kamei: That didn’t occur to me. (lol)

Niigaki: In that case, you’d have to be eco-friendly. And you couldn’t spend all your money.

Kamei: I guess so. (lol) But how would you become a hero?

LinLin: Somebody would see me suddenly and say, “You are a warrior who can save the Earth!” And in a flash, I’d transform.

Kamei: That’s just in comics (lol). That couldn’t happen, LinLin (lol)!

Niigaki: LinLin really does get comics and reality mixed up sometimes. (lol)

“Try to imagine yourself at age 40!”

Takahashi: [Choreographer] Natsu Mayumi-sensei said, “A woman’s life begins at 40.” She says your 40s are really fun. If that’s the case, then I want to reach my 40s quickly. I don’t know what I’ll be like then, but I hope I’ll be someone who can express herself.

Michishige: So cool! I don’t want to be like “I’ve gotten older, so I don’t want to be seen.” I always want to be someone who wants to be seen. I definitely don’t want to shut myself out from everyone around me!

JunJun: I can’t wait to see what kind of face I have at age 40. Lately, I’ve been looking at old photos and thinking I looked so cute. I think my face has changed now. So, I think it would be best if my face doesn’t change from how it is now, even when I’m in my 40s. That way I could still be in Morning.

Takahashi: You’d still be doing it? You’d have to do a lot of dancing (lol)

Michishige: I’d definitely collapse.

JunJun: Age doesn’t matter. I think if you’re always up on stage, you’ll look young. I think I’d be able to dance okay.

Takahashi: Yeah, I guess you’d be pretty healthy if you kept on dancing like that.

Michishige: Amazing. For me, it depends on strength. That is, training myself up from where I am now depends on how hard I’m willing to try. (lol)

JunJun: I think it would be fun!

Michishige: But I think I’d rather watch my own kids dancing than be dancing myself. (lol)

Article

Popularity: 51% [?]

Interview clips!

Popularity: 27% [?]

UFA staffs refused personnel from a number of western H!P fansites and blogs, include Hello!Online from interviewing Morning Musume at Anime Expo 2009 Press Junket.

UFA staffs refused personnel from a number of western H!P fansites and blogs, include Hello!Online from interviewing Morning Musume at Anime Expo 2009 Press Junket.

As many of you already know, Morning Musume appearing at Anime Expo 2009 is their premeire stage debut. Hello!Online being one of the major English Hello!Project fan community on the internet, would not miss this for the world.

Being a member of the press at AX (Anime Expo), we attended the Press Junket (A press only event which allow different media outlets to have one on one interviews with the AX Guests of Honors). We were overjoyed to have this once in a life time opportunity open up to us and we prepared a good number of question for Morning Musume that we think fans would be interesting in finding out the answers to. Seeing how important this meant, not only to us, but to all the western fans, we arrived early to ensure an interview with Morning Musume (We ended up being first in line).

After waiting three hours, the Press Junket organizers called our names but pulled us off to the side. To our surprise, they had bad news for us. We were then told that Morning Musume staff had looked over the interviewer sign up list and decided to refuse Hello!Online an interview with Morning Musume. This sudden revelation caught us completely off guard and dumbfounded. We pleaded with the Press Junket organizers to ask Morning Musume’s staff to reconsider their decision.

30 minute pass by and we were denied again. No explainations were ever given as to why Hello!Online was not allowed in. Needless to say, we left the Press Junket empty handed and disappointed.

———————————-

This unfortunate turn of event came as not only a shock, but an insult to Hello!Online and its members, and the western Hello!Project fandom we all embody.

The reason Morning Musume came all the way from Japan to LA is to break into the western world and improve their relationship with western fans. By preventing Hello!Online from the supposingly open opportunity for all press outlets, it is like slapping all western fans in the face and over-riding the efforts our nine beloved girls are giving.

We are not putting blame on anyone. The staff and organizers have been a great help and more than polite in this whole ordeal. And certainly, it was not up to Morning Musume to decide who gets to interview them.

I just can not comprehend why only we were denied without reason, while other western fansites and blogs were granted access.

I fully understand that UFA have all the rights to refuse anyone from interviewing their artist without giving any explaination. Personally, I have lost a great deal of (if not all) respect for UFA as a company.

———————————-

Updates

Paul from Hello!Blog, who also attended the Press Junket has reveiled that UFA refused interviewing opportunities for many fansites and blogs after rejecting Hello!Online.

Read more about it at: http://www.helloblog.co.uk/comment.php?commentID=476

turbos86
Hello!Online

Article

Popularity: 32% [?]