Actress Masami Nagasawa snared a prominent spot on the Mainichi's raking of entertainment articles during the week between Nov. 3 and 9, as she picked up the award for "best smile of the year."
The 20-year-old actress was joined in the list of popular Japanese-language articles by 31-year-old Haruka Igawa and 35-year-old Shosuke Tanihara, who both picked up prizes for best formal dressers of the year.
The Best Smile of the Year award is given to male and female celebrities who make a strong impression during the year with their smiles. Nagasawa was handed the award on Nov. 8, along with singer-actor Naohito Fujiki.
"I try to pass each day with a smile," Nagasawa said as she was presented with the title.
The same day, the awards for best formal dresser were announced. Award-winner Shosuke Tanihara used the ceremony to announce the birth of his baby daughter. Looking at the formal dress of sexy fellow prizewinner Haruka Igawa, the doting daddy shamelessly schmoozed, "I hope (my daughter) becomes beautiful like Igawa-san."
Also making a bold appearance in the week's entertainment collection was an article on the Defense Ministry's Advanced Personal Armament System, paraded at a presentation called "Toward the realization of Gundam," referring to the popular Gundam series of anime, causing military buffs and anime otaku alike to start drooling.
Anime fervor also boosted the ranking of an article on Yamazaki Baking Co.'s sale of Chinese-style steamed buns, which were marketed with characters from the anime "Kinnikuman," which achieved huge popularity during the 1980s.
Also in the news was 14-year-old actress Shiori Kutsuna, who was chosen as the 16th mascot girl for the firm Unitika. During the presentation event posters showing former mascot girls including Ryoko Yonekura, who took the same title in 1996, were unveiled at the event, gaining attention.
*credits to:
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/entertainment/news/20071110p2a00m0et009000c.html