Koshi Inaba x Danshun Tatekawa Special Conversation
Koshi Inaba News 
Given his recent interest in Rakugo, Koshi Inaba sat down with famous Rakugoka Danshun Tatekawa to talk about the art of Rakugo. Danshun Tatekawa is also known for his recent role in the TBS hit drama 「Shitamachi Rocket」, for those that are not familiar with Rakugo. The video is available directly on YouTube and has also been posted on Koshi Inaba’s website as part of his series of conversation videos.
[Retrospective] 2006 — Rebooting the LIVE-GYM, “Shoudou”, “Yuruginai Mono Hitotsu”, “SPLASH!” and MONSTER
Feature All sample videos contained in this article are publicly sourced and are reproduced here only for accessibility.
With the dawn of the new year came word that B’z The Best “Pleasure II” had already sold over one million copies since its release at the end of November 2005. The band would soon begin a new chapter in its live shows, with the addition of several new staff members behind the scenes in order to push the band into a new era with as fresh a perspective as possible.
On January 25, the band would release its fortieth single, “Shoudou“. Shortly before it made its way to shelves, the title song began serving as the opening theme to the Detective Conan anime series. B’z would make a great deal of television appearances in the year 2006, beginning with a performance of their then most recent single on MUSIC FIGHTER five days prior to its release. A couple of weeks later, the B-side “Kesshou” would be performed on Utawara HOT Hit 10. Aside from this appearance, the song has never been played live. Upon release, the single ranked at number one and became the band’s thirty-sixth consecutive to do so.
The year would prove to be one in which B’z were frequently requested to utilize their prowess for the benefit of younger artists. In March, the single “Real Face” by Japanese pop group KAT-TUN, for which Tak Matsumoto wrote the music, was released. The single would go on to sell over one million copies the year of its release and would be the highest seller of the year. An album titled Best of KAT-TUN released the same month featured a rock-centric reversion of the song titled “Real Face #1”, for which the arrangement was also credited to Tak and longtime B’z support member Akihito Tokunaga.
“Hane” Release Message
Koshi Inaba News Koshi Inaba has as usual released a message for his fans to commemorate the release of his new single 「Hane」. Check it out!
Koshi Inaba Hosting All Night Nippon GOLD Radio Show 1/15
Koshi Inaba News 
Koshi Inaba has announced that he will make an appearance as a radio personality on the weekly 「All Night Nippon GOLD」 radio show. He will moderate the show on January 15th and will talk about his new single 「Hane」 as well as his solo projects in general. Musicians who call themselves “Koshi fans” will make comments on the show! In addition, they have a special “entertainment project” planned, that hasn’t been done before. The show is expected to run a full two hours.
Koshi Inaba on SMAP x SMAP For The First Time
Koshi Inaba News News just broke on Fuji TV’s morning news program 「Mezamashi TV」 that Koshi Inaba will for the first time be guest on 「SMAP x SMAP」. Koshi will make an appearance during the 「SMAP x SMAP」 special scheduled to air next week Monday January 11th, 2016. Koshi will be interviewed and also perform his new single 「Hane」 live on stage together with the members of SMAP. This also marks the first time Koshi Inaba perfoming solo with another artist on stage.
Check out the news clip below.
Japanese Magazine PLAYER “2015 Readers’ Poll”
News Japanese music magazine PLAYER has published its annual readers’ poll in the latest issue. Check out the ratings below.
Category “Best Artist”: B’z ranked 2nd
Category “Best New Album”: EPIC DAY ranked 2nd
Category “Best Live Performance”: B’z ranked 2nd
Catagory “Best Vocalist”: Koshi Inaba ranked 1st
Category “Best Guitarist”: Tak Matsumoto ranked 1st
Category “Best Drummer”: Shane Gaalaas ranked 6th
Category “Best Bassist”: Barry Sparks ranked 12th
