2005 MTV Video Music Awards Japan

Top performers from around the world gathered in Tokyo this week for the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2005. Some of the biggest music names hit Tokyo Bay NK Hall including Mariah Carey, Ashanti, Orange Range, Namie Amuro and Ken Hirai. The VMAJ Awards Ceremony, which airs on June 4th, will also be broadcasted on MTV Europe and MTV Asia expecting to reach an audience of some 150 million.

The event will be hosted by popular idol Megumi and Takashi Fujii; best known here for his role interviewing Bill Murray in Lost in Translation on his over-the-top and non-fictional show Matthews Best Hit. The MTV Music awards would be nothing without its performers and this year’s set list is nothing short of amazing. Popular Western artists including Ashanti, Hoobastank and Mariah Carey will be joined on stage by their Japanese counterparts in Namie Amuro, Ken Hirai, Crystal Kay, Orange Range, and popular Korean singer RAIN.

Awards were decided by the over 250,000 MTV Viewers, and they came in force to make Orange Range the nights biggest winner, picking up three awards including the Best Video for “Hana,” Best Buzz Asia for “Locolotion,” and Best Album of the Year for “MusiQ.” Namie Amuro brought home the Best R&B Award for “Girl Talk” and snagged an honorary award for being the most impressive performing artist in Asia.

Other winners include Ken Hirai who won Best Male Video for “Hitomi wo Tojite” beating out Usher’s “Yeah.” Best Female Video went to Mika Nakashima for “Sakura Maukoro” beating out fan favorites Ayumi Hamasaki for “INSPIRE” and International star Utada’s “Easy Breezy” which debuted in America late 2004. Best New Artist Video went to Sanbomaster for “Utsukushiki Ningen no Hibi.” Best Pop Rock video went to Ketsumeishi for “Kimi ni Bump” beating out strong names such as EXILE and Gwen Stefani.

Artist RAIN beats out pop princess Jang Nara to collect the Best Buzz Korea award for his single “It’s Raining.” Stephanie Sun's latest single “Running” pulverizes the competition consisting of S.H.E. and Jolin Tsai as she picked up Best Buzz Taiwan award. Special awards were also given to Ashanti for Style, Mariah Carey for International Video Icon, and GAGLE for Best Special Effects in a Video.