http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstCategory/index.php?cmenuid=79 Kyodo News on the Web: Daily international, Japan news, Japan News, national and local news coverage from the newspaper, breaking news updates, technology news, sports, reviews, listings. Kyodo News (C) All Rights Reserved http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstCategory/index.php?cmenuid=79 en http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=490028 Prizewinning Japanese film director Yoji Yamada pledged Thursday to continue to convey a message of hope through his works while encouraging other artists to develop originality and creativity so Japanese creations will be more competitive in the world. ''We have a bleak future...but it is important to wish to want to have hope and if we make films keeping the feeling, we can share that with viewers,'' said Yamada who was given the Berlinale Camera award at the Berlin film festival last month for his latest film ''Otouto'' (About Her Brother). http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=489735 A vocational film school in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, is set to become Japan's first accredited university specializing in filmmaking from April next year, with the goal of becoming an academy of motion picture arts drawing students not only from Japan but other Asian countries, the school said. ''We hope to make the university a major movie hub, gathering young Asians,'' said Tadao Sato, head of the Japan Academy of Moving Images. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=488492 British actor Hugh Grant found the Japanese broad-minded about cheating on their spouse during his recent trip to the country to promote the upcoming release of a U.S. film on a man two-timing his wife. ''That's very interesting,'' Grant said after being asked to comment on a remark by Japanese actor Junichi Ishida that cheating is part of Japanese culture during an event in Tokyo for the film ''Did You Hear About the Morgans?'' http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=487902 Dante Carver, an American actor in Japan, felt pleased when pop idol Shiori Kutsuna praised him for performing her signature dance to promote Pocky confectionery during a recent event. ''His dance has a punch. I wish I had an elder brother like him,'' Kutsuna, 17, said after seeing the 33-year-old Carver dance. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=487755 (EDS: FIXING TYPO IN HEADLINE) Veteran actress Mitsuko Mori, 89, has decided to cancel her performance in the lead role in the long-running play ''Horoki'' when it resumes in May and June at a central Tokyo theater, citing health reasons, major filmmaker and theater producer Toho Co. said Friday. Mori's doctor warned of health risks if she appears every day in the four-hour-long play, according to Toho. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=486710 Japanese actress Shinobu Terajima won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday. She played the role of a woman named Shigeko in director Koji Wakamatsu's ''Caterpillar,'' a film based on the 1929 short story with the same title by mystery literary icon Rampo Edogawa. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=486685 Actor Hiroyuki Sanada recently recounted the excitement of acting in the final season of the American TV drama ''Lost,'' saying he was really into the shooting as he could trust the crew. ''The producers had an understanding of Japan and respect for it. That made me trust them and take the plunge (for shooting),'' said Sanada who plays the temple master Dogen in the drama depicting the struggles of survivors of a plane crash. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=486400 Influential musician and producer Tetsuya Komuro made a comeback Thursday when he gave a concert in western Japan, marking his first solo gig since being given a suspended jail term over a copyright fraud case. ''I made folks worried about me and caused trouble. I hope you'll watch me on the day of reset and restart, and have a good time,'' the 51-year-old said to applause from some 800 fans in Kumamoto city. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=480661 Actress Hikaru Asami and actor Eisaku Yoshida promoted on Friday the upcoming opening of the Japanese play ''Roman Holiday,'' based on the popular 1953 U.S. film that launched Audrey Hepburn on the road to stardom. Asami, a former top star of the renowned Takarazuka Revue who plays Princess Ann, said, ''Audrey is an actress I have adored since my childhood,'' while Yoshida, who plays news reporter Joe Bradley, said, ''I'm excited. I cannot wait to start rehearsals.'' http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=480259 Comedian Kampei Hazama, now on a run-and-sail trip around the world, has prostate cancer, organizers for the trip said Thursday. But the 60-year-old comedian will continue his Earth Marathon, covering 20,000 kilometers on land and 16,000 km at sea, while undergoing treatment, the organizers said.