I was talking with my wife the other day and she pointed out that my ranking of Japanese actresses is sadly out of date. Yuko Takeuchi has been married long enough to have had a kid, which means she is obviously ineligible to keep her Number 2 spot. So, for the record, he is the Top 5 as of December 2, 2006:

1) Takako Tokiwa (常盤貴子) - Still going strong, though from what I can tell she hasn't appeared in a TV drama in years. Here, she makes canned coffee look delicious <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE5iVNHAyXk>

2) Manami Konishi (小西真奈美) - A potential future Number 1. Here she is selling "beer" made from soybeans (which is just wrong, but don't get me started) <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x55reW_bv_A>

3) Ryoko Kuninaka (国仲涼子) - See my previous post. Here's a song she sings <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A380fr4PqZ0>

4) Eri Fukatsu (深津絵里) - Here's a change in the rankings. To tell you the truth, she reminds me of a friend of mine. Apparently, she sells IP Telephone service as well <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVnc4kzktGg>

5) Mao Kobayashi (小林麻央) - This one will probably drive my wife nuts. Originally, I wasn't such a big Mao fan, but she has grown on me. I suspect she isn't as dumb as she sounds. Here she is (in Blue) talking to Sanma Akashiya
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwUTZ7S3JD8>

So, there you have it.