The Tokyo District Court yesterday yesterday ruled against troubled comedienne Nakajima Tomoko (40, photo left), who again failed to show up in court. She was sued last month by a real estate company for damages and almost a year's unpaid rent on an office in central Tokyo. Yesterday's verdict was that Nakajima must pay almost ¥6.5 million and leave the premises. She has until the end of April before being forcibly evicted. On a leave of absence for almost a year due to unspecified health problems, Nakajima has also failed to pay rent on a nearby apartment that she is said to be currently sharing with a female fortune teller and several members of that person's family.
Nakajima renewed the contract on the office last May but never paid the renewal fee or subsequent rent. The real estate company has received a variety of excuses since last September, such as moving company errors and a claim that her apartment had been burgled and police had told her not to move. The owners of the apartment are actor Motoki Masahiro (46) and his wife, actress Uchida Yayako (36). They have also sued for payment but no court date has yet been set.
Outside the premises yesterday, a man was seen selling t-shirts with a somewhat inaccurately translated message for the star, "Get out of the Control," referring to the widespread media assumption that Nakajima has been brainwashed. She also put on a considerable amount of weight even before disappearing from TV screens last year (photo right).
Nakajima's management agency, Shochiku Geino, say they don't plan to fire her but have been unable to contact her for some time. They recently agreed with two of the major TV networks to formally remove her from the lineup of four regular TV shows. "Shittoko!" has been running on TBS since 2003 with the comedy duo Othello - Nakajima and Matsushima Nahoko (40) - as the hosts. But Matsushima has been on maternity leave since late last year and the network said yesterday that regular guests talento Nakao Akira (64) and rakugoka Katsura Zakoba (64) are leaving the show and it will be completely overhauled.
No, that isn't the father of the bride kissing his daughter, that's the groom! Veteran comedian Kato Cha (69) has revealed his bride Ayana for the first time, and no doubt he chose yesterday to do so as it was his 69th birthday, making her exactly one third of his age! The two actually tied the knot last June but waited until yesterday to hold a lavish wedding ceremony and reception for 230 guests at the BelleVie Gaza Hall in Koshigaya, north of Tokyo. Kato wore a pink tuxedo jacket while Ayana (23) wore a wedding dress designed by talento Kanda Uno.
