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Daughter of Japanese idol and former SMAP star Takuya Kimura makes her modeling debut in Japan

May 30 (Japan Today) - As Japan’s most popular showbiz personality, Takuya Kimura, 45, more commonly known as Kimutaku, has been in the public eye since 1988, when he was chosen to be one of six boys to form the new boy band SMAP, which became a Japanese phenomenon beloved by all ages.

After a record 28 years together, SMAP eventually disbanded in 2016, but their popularity as individuals was already cemented with the public, as Kimutaku and his fellow band members had starred in TV dramas, movies, and countless ads over the years, which were all immensely successful.

Above everyone else, though, Kimutaku’s appeal was always off the charts, as everything he starred in became a massive hit, and his Midas touch appears to extend to his progeny as well, with his 15-year-old daughter now making headlines in Japan following her modeling debut.

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The Japanese government on April 21 revised the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and related guidelines, in principle allowing the export of weapons with lethal capabilities. The move marks a major turning point in Japan's postwar security policy.

Footage released by the Nagano Prefectural Police mountain rescue unit captured the moment an earthquake struck during an operation to save two climbers who had fallen on a steep slope of Mount Shirouma in the Northern Alps.

Japan's weather agency and the Cabinet Office issued a 'Hokkaido-Sanriku Offshore Subsequent Earthquake Advisory' after an earthquake measuring upper 5 on Japan's seismic intensity scale struck off Sanriku.

JR East has launched a preview version of its new online Shinkansen booking platform, JRE GO, promising reservations in as little as one minute and easier handling of sudden schedule changes.

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A bear that had remained in a residential area in central Sendai since early Sunday morning was euthanized last night in an emergency cull. No injuries were reported.

The family of a man granted a retrial over a robbery-murder case in Shiga Prefecture has called for revisions to Japan's retrial system, saying he was wrongfully arrested despite having an alibi.

A former elementary school teacher who managed an online group of educators involved in covert filming and image sharing has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison, in a case that has also raised concerns at universities training future teachers.