X JAPAN’s ToshI will hold charity concert tour

ToshI, the vocalist of rock band X JAPAN, has announced an upcoming charity concert tour to benefit disaster victims.

The tour will kick off on April 9th. In order to raise support for energy conservation, he will be accompanied by a live orchestra instead of recorded music. He also plans to unveil a new song dedicated to those affected by the disaster, called “Haru no Negai“, as well as auction off some personal items to raise money. Discouraged from performing in affected areas like Northeastern Japan and the Tokyo area due to power outages and safety issues, he nevertheless declared, “We’ll take a look at the situation, but I definitely want to perform in Tokyo and the most affected areas as well.”

The rock vocalist, in a rare gesture, stood up for the victims of the earthquake: “I pray for Japan to recover as soon as possible!”

Four shows covering Western Japan were quickly schedule for the tour. Beginning on April 9 with a performance in Gifu, and then Kanazawa, Osaka, and Fukuoka, the tour will cover 8 shows in four cities. The stages are not part of the area called to cut back on energy consumption to help Tokyo and Northeastern Japan, but in order to support the conservation measure, the singer will use the least energy as possible, singing with a live orchestra instead of recorded music.

In addition, X JAPAN bassist HEATH and LUNA SEA drummer Shinya have agreed to support ToshI’s efforts by participating in the concerts.

Since the earthquake and tsunami hit on the 11th, ToshI has been shocked by the TV news coverage of the wide-spread damage. He was particularly struck by the terrible images of Northeastern Japan’s damage, because he had visited the area in the past for solo concerts. He scrupulously prepared the tour, finding locations, hiring staff, advertising, and gathering volunteers all by himself. He explained, “If there is anything I can do to help, I want to start right away.”

During the show, ToshI will accompany himself on the piano to perform new solo songs, and will also have a jam session with HEATH and Shinya to play some of X JAPAN’s famous hits. Jewelry-designer/Songwriter Shita Akie, who is a mutual friend of ToshI and X JAPAN leader YOSHIKI, wrote the song “Haru no Negai” that ToshI will introduce for the first time. There will also be an auction of X JAPAN and other celebrities’ personal items. All proceeds will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross to benefit the earthquake and tsunami victims.

Sadly, due to power outages and safety issues, ToshI was forced to abandon plans to perform in Northeastern Japan and in the Tokyo area. However, he voiced his support for these areas, saying, “In such a crucial moment, I think it’s wrong for parts of Japan to be separated like this. We’ll take a look at the situation, but I definitely want to perform in Tokyo and the most affected areas as well.” Next he made an appeal to the public: “I applaud everyone’s strength during these hard times. Please help in any way you can.”

source: tokyohive

Read more »

Watanabe Entertainment’s 200 talents band together to aid quake victims

Major entertainment agency Watanabe Entertainment, whose 130 groups comprise of 200 talents, including Nakayama Hideyuki (43), Honjamaka, and Nakagawa Shoko (25), announced on March 15th the “WAE Charity Project ‘~To our circle~ Now is the time to band together!’”

This project is aimed at donating 100,000,000 yen (about $1.2 million USD) to relief efforts for the victims of the earthquake disaster.

In addition to the company’s 100,000,000 yen, all of the agency’s members will be participating in charity auctions online beginning the afternoon of the 18th, and will be offering signed personal items as needed.


They will be also be soliciting donations from fans, and the fees for D*DATE’s ringtones will be donated, as well as the fees for sets of phone standby images from Nakagawa and Shirota Yu (25).

According to Nakayama, their reason for teaming up was, “Because it’s a time like this, I think everyone was thinking about what they each could do for the disaster victims.”

Details about the project can be found at the official site.


source: tokyohive

Read more »

AKB48 donates $6.2 million USD for disaster relief

Yesterday it was announced that AKB48 has set up two bank accounts in collaboration with the Japan Red Cross Society in order to give their fans an easy and secure way to donate money for the disaster relief efforts.

It was already known that the members of AKB48 and its sister groups have already contributed to the accounts, but the exact amount hasn’t been revealed until today. According to Sanspo, Akimoto Yasushi, all the members of AKB48, SKE48, NMB48, SDN48, as well as their management AKS and the staff of Akimoto’s office have donated a total of 500 million Yen ($6.2 million USD).


The girls commented that it was natural for them to contribute to the disaster relief, but at the same time they are trying to think of more ways to support all the people affected by the calamity. We can probably look forward to various more charity events from the idol groups.

You can find more details about the bank accounts in the Sanspo link below or at AKB48’s official blog here.

source: tokyohive

Read more »

Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda creates T-shirts for disaster relief

Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda has recently created two charity T-shirts, the proceeds of which will be donated to the victims of the Tohoku Pacific Ocean earthquake.

On March 11th, Mike asked his followers on Twitter about which of the two T-shirts they would want to see being used for the tsunami/earthquake survivors. Both shirts were received well, so Mike is now going to sell both of them. The first one is a butterfly made from origami, and the second one says “Not Alone” with the Japanese flag as layered over it.


Furthermore, Mike and the other Linkin Park members will be leading fundraising through their charity organization, “Music for Relief”.

According to Mike’s blog, you can purchase the T-shirts at the Linkin Park store. They wrote, “All proceeds will be donated to Music for Relief to help survivors of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan and subsequent tsunami.”

You can also text ‘MFR’ to 85944 to donate $10 USD to ‘Tsunami Relief’, or you can donate online

source: tokyohive

Read more »

KARA to donate all income from “Jet Coaster Love” towards disaster relief

In light of the recent tragedies in Japan, KARA will be donating all their income from their new single “Jet Coaster Love” towards disaster relief efforts.

A representative from DSP Media stated, “…for the victims of the earthquakes and tsunamis, all of the proceeds from KARA’s new single will be donated.”


They added,“The KARA members are very hurt for the Japanese people and fans who have showed them so much love. They’re constantly looking for updates on the internet and television… They were looking for a way to help victims, and decided on donating the money from their new single.”

source: tokyohive

Read more »

GLAY contributes $240,000 USD to disaster relief

On March 14th, J-rock band GLAY donated 20 million yen (~$240,000 USD) to aid with the disaster relief through the Asahi Shimbun Social Welfare Organization.

Members TAKURO, HISASHI, JIRO, and TERU expressed, “In midst of the continuing aftershocks, we hope we can be of even a little help to the people who are suffering in the disaster … We will continue praying that the damages don’t escalate further.”


GLAY has actively done charity work in the past, keeping in mind the following message: “Is there something we can do for society, other than singing?“. Last year, they donated 93 uniforms (valued at ~$12,000 USD) to students at a middle school in the bankrupt city of Yubari, with TAKURO and TERU handing them out personally. When Miyazaki prefecture had a problem with foot-and-mouth disease, they donated 1 million yen (~$12,000 USD) through a local news agency.

source: tokyohive

Read more »