So we’re not entirely fluent in Japanese over here at OK!, but we don’t really need a translator to enjoy Brad Pitt’s new commercial for Softbank cell phones, airing in Japan.
Brad filmed the commercial in NYC back in April, and was seen carrying an umbrella for a professional sumo wrestler. In the version online now, Brad helps his sumo boss out by answering his cell phone, and when the big guy’s sandal breaks, Angelina Jolie’s main man is right there to help.
Through TV editing magic (and the help of suspension wires), Brad lifts his large boss up into his arms as gracefully as only Brad can, and ostensibly whisks him off to his destination. A message then appears on the screen in Japanese.
As if a #1 album isn’t enough, Britney Spears is having a blast promoting it all across the globe: first the comeback queen spent some time in Germany and England before her birthday, and now the Britster has taken on Japan!
After posting a video of a performance of hers on Japanse TV show Hey! Hey! Hey! on her official web site, Brit is also speaking out about her newfound admiration for the island country.
"I love Japan! I think all the tiny cars are so cute!" she says on her site. "We just visited the oldest Buddhist temple. It was so beautiful!"
The around-the-world comeback parade continues for Britney Spears!
After pre-birthday trips to Germany and England earlier this month — not to mention her hugely successful birthday performance in NYC for Good Morning America — the pop superstar landed in Japan late last week, where she spent the weekend performing for Japanese TV and enjoying herself in the Asian island nation.
The resurgent Britney performed some tunes for Japanese variety TV program Hey! Hey! Hey! and in a video posted on her official site, BritneySpears.com, the 27-year-old, along with members of her entourage, including some family members and manager Larry Rudolph, partake in some authentic Japanes cuisine.
As Alicia Keys‘ first album in four years, As I Am, continues to heat up both the singles and album charts, here in the States, the singer chose to fly around the world to Tokyo, Japan, to help kick off the holiday season.
"My new name is Alicia Trees," the 26-year-old hit maker joked as she posed before a giant Christmas tree in a Tokyo office building.
As for her universal appeal — As I Am is also the top-selling album in Japan right now — Alicia told the Associated Press, "I want to reach all kinds of listeners. It means a lot to me that people from all places can appreciate the music." And though Alicia, who says she plans on spending Christmas with her family at home, doesn’t have locked-in dates for a tour of Asia, she did say she "can’t wait" to come back to perform for her fans.
Devoted animal lover Hayden Panettiere joined a group of activists protesting a dolphin hunt in Japan yesterday — and got in a shouting and shoving match with Japanese fishermen.
The Heroes hottie, along with six activists from the anti-whaling animal rights group Sea Shepherd, attempted to interfere with a dolphin hunt off the coast of Taiji in southwestern Japan. Fishermen approached the boat carrying Panettiere and shoved some of the activists with long poles and shouted in the face of the protesters.
Panettiere was visibly upset over the experience. “This baby [dolphin] stuck its head out and kind of looked at us, and the thought that the baby is no longer with us is very difficult,” she said.
According to Hideki Moronuki, chief of the whaling section at the Japanese Fisheries Agencies, “Whales and dolphins are traditionally being used (as resources) in Japan. In this light, we cannot accept an argument simply based on emotional causes.”
Around 14,000 dolphins are killed in Japan each year.
Twilight: In OK!’s official New Moon collector’s edition, check out everything from a timeline of Robert and Kristen’s romance – including photos of the two meeting each other’s parents and holding hands in Paris – to OK”s Ultimate Twi-hard Quiz.
Taylor Swift: Country’s new golden girl scoops up four CMA Awards and becomes the youngest artist ever to win Entertainer of the Year. Read Taylor’s response, and commentary from country icons.
Britney Spears: The singer takes a yacht trip with her two sons, Sean and Jayden, and her boyfriend/manager, Jason Trawick. See OK!’s photos of the developing happy family.
Lindsay Lohan: After her wild week of partying and disheveled appearance out shopping in L.A., friends say Lindsay may be in danger of self-destructing.
The around-the-world comeback parade continues for 
As Alicia Keys‘ first album in four years, As I Am, continues to heat up both the singles and album charts, here in the States, the singer chose to fly around the world to Tokyo, Japan, to help kick off the holiday season. 
Devoted animal lover 
