MOVIES/TV A TV news program for the hearing-impaired that features a stripping anchorwoman has triggered a barrage of complaints from critics and forced the government to amend TV subsidy guidelines. [ASAHI]

MOVIES/TV “Ai no Yokan” (The Rebirth), directed by Japanese filmmaker Masahiro Kobayashi, won the Golden Leopard at the 60th Locarno International Film Festival on Saturday. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

MOVIES/TV Former Takarazuka top star Saki Asaji, also known by the nickname “Mariko” (her real name is Mariko Ishii), will take on the lead female role in Takashi Miike’s stage production of “Zatoichi.“ [TOKYOGRAPH]

MOVIES/TV The Japan Times reviews Nobuo Onishi’s documentary “Mizu ni Natta Mura” (The Village that Became Water), which premiered Friday. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

MOVIES/TV Sanma Akashiya, popularly known as “Sanma-san” will star in a TBS TV-series together with 20-year-old Masami Nagasawa, Sanma-san revealed Sunday on the Fuji TV show “27 jikan no terebi,” although TBS are yet to officially announce the drama. Sanma-san laughed, “TBS will probably get mad at me for revealing this.” (1)

MOVIES/TV The Japan Times reviews the Teruo Ishii-directed anime “Kappa no coo to natsuyasumi” (Summer Days with Coo), which premiered Friday in Japan. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

MOVIES/TV Takashi Miike’s upcoming film “Sukiyaki Western Django” will be competing at this years Venice Film Festival, it was revealed on Thursday.

MOVIES/TV Popular TV actor Yutaka Takenouchi, well known for leading roles in “Long Vacation,” “Beach Boys,” “Shotgun Wedding,” etc. will do the narration for the Takashi Koizumi-directed “Ashita e no Yuigon” (”Best Wishes for Tomorrow”), set to premiere in March 2008. (1)

MOVIES/TV NHK Enterprises Inc., a subsidiary of public broadcaster NHK, has created a stir by having the name “Atsuhime,” the title of a drama it plans to broadcast next year, registered in several trademarks. [MSN MAINICHI]

MOVIES/TV NHK plans to offer previously aired television programs on the Internet possibly from fiscal 2008, becoming the first Japanese TV company to do so, sources said Wednesday.r [KYODO]

MOVIES/TV Jackie Chan has signed on for what Chinese media described as a drama portraying the lives of Chinese immigrants in Tokyo’s bustling Shinjuku district scheduled to start shooting in November, Chan’s spokesman said Tuesday. [MSN MAINICHI]

MOVIES/TV An ominous milestone for the Japanese TV industry was marked last month: For the first time in recent memory, not a single drama or variety program claimed a viewer rating of more than 20 percent. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

MOVIES/TV A burglar stole a number of trinkets from an open set in Kurihara, Miyagi Prefecture used in the hit movie Tokyo Tower: Okan to Boku to Tokidoki Oton, police said. [MAINICHI MSN]

MOVIES/TV Hikari Ota is doing what he does best on his weekly “news” show: taking aim at Japan’s aging lawmakers. [AP]

MOVIES/TV The 1980’s top pop singer Iyo Matsumoto will make one of the odder comebacks this year, performing the new song Boku no Hana in the Masato Harado-directed horror flick Densen Uta.

MOVIES/TV The blog Bokutachi to Chuzai-san no 700 Nichi Senso (”Our 700 day war with the policeman”) will be adapted into a movie, starring popular young actor Hayato Ichihara and Kuranosuke Sasaki. The theatrical release has been scheduled for April 5, 2008, and filming will commence this month.

MOVIES/TV Studio Ghibli’s Goro Miyazaki-directed Tales from Earthsea was released on DVD July 4 and sold approximately 146,000 copies during its first week, making it the most sold DVD that week, and the most sold animated feature film the entire year.

MOVIES/TV The official website for Wataru Hayakawa’s new horror flick The Wall Man (Kabe Otoko) has gone online with a teaser trailer of the movie, it was learnt Monday. The movie has been scheduled for a September 15 theatrical release in Japan.

MOVIES/TV A woman who participated in a segment filmed for the TV Tokyo variety show “TV Champion 2″ in March this year received major damages during the recording that took 2 months to heal completely, it was learned Monday. (2)

BASEBALL Central League baseball team Tokyo Yakult Swallows has begun a summer collaboration with film studio Toho, whose new animated film Pokémon Diamond & Pearl – Dialgo VS Palkia VS Darkrai opens on July 14. By combining professional baseball and Pokémon, the two are hoping to make this summer holiday at Jingu Stadium the best one for Japanese children yet.