Japanese Actor Kento Yamazaki to Star in the Highly-Anticipated Drama Series “Kiss that Kills”

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Exclusive Contest Offers Subscribers the Chance to Meet Kento in Hong Kong

The Japanese king of romantic films, Kento Yamazaki, will star in the highly-anticipated drama series, “Kiss that Kills”, which premieres same time as Japan on January 7, 2018 at 9:00pm (8:00pm JKT/BKK).

Kento Yamazaki plays the role of Otaro, the most sought-after host at a nightclub whose only passion is fearless pursuit of money and power. When Otaro is kissed by a mysterious woman, he dies but quickly comes back to life. What is the true identity of this mysterious woman? Can Otaro unravel the mystery behind the deadly kiss and the time loop?

“GEM has established its foothold as the top regional destination for extraordinary North Asian entertainment. “Kiss that Kills” is a testament to our ongoing commitment to consistently bring fans premium quality and highly creative content that captures their imaginations. Fans of Kento Yamazaki can expect his most breathtaking performance yet, and it’s one that is rich in mystery, drama and intrigue,” said Virginia Lim, Senior Vice President and Head of Content, Production and Marketing, Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia.

To celebrate the premiere of “Kiss that Kills”, GEM fans from around the region will have the unprecedented opportunity to win an all-expenses paid trip to Hong Kong to meet Kento Yamazaki. In this up-close and personal closed-door session, Kento will share his thoughts about the drama, interact with fans and autograph exclusive drama merchandise. The meet-and-greet session will take place on January 21, 2018 and will be streamed live on Facebook on www.facebook.com/gemtvasia. 

“The GEM experience is all about bringing content beyond the screen and into the real world to create “money-can’t-buy” experiences for our fans. This exclusive event featuring Kento will mark the first time in Asia that GEM subscribers will have the opportunity to spend time with their favorite actor – it will be a dream fulfilled for many!” said Virginia.

Commenting on the drama and his upcoming visit to Hong Kong, Kento Yamazaki said, “I have never been to Hong Kong before, so I am extremely excited to visit to promote this drama. The interesting part of the drama is its recurring time loop and as I have always enjoyed watching dramas like this, I am very excited to be involved in one. There are also parallel worlds, so I really feel like it is a story that is going to appeal to people in all sorts of ways. Please look forward to it!”

Kento Yamazaki made his debut in 2010 and rose to stardom with his role as L in the massive hit TV drama adaptation of “DEATH NOTE”. Since his debut, Kento Yamazaki’s versatility as an actor has made him a rising star in Japanese entertainment.

Fans can get their “Kento-fix” on GEM this December with the premiere of “Baseball Brainiacs” on December 13, every Wednesday and Thursday at 9:00pm (8:00pm JKT/BKK), and “Sea Side Blue”, premiering December 30, Saturday at 7:30pm (6:30pm JKT/BKK).

“Kiss that Kills” premieres on GEM same time as Japan on January 7, Sunday at 9:00pm (8:00pm JKT/BKK), subsequent episodes will air on Sunday at 9:30pm (8:30pm JKT/BKK). GEM is available in the Philippines through SKYCable Ch 116 in Metro Manila and Ch 222 in Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, Iloilo, and Baguio, as well as other cable operators nationwide. 

For more information on GEM channel and the latest telecast details, visit http://www.gemtvasia.com/ or follow our conversations on social media (@GEMtvasia).

India Emerges as a Potentially Huge New Market for ONE Championship

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Part of ONE Championship’s mission in Asia is to bring its unique vision of authentic martial arts to all corners of the region, from its far reaches to even the wonderful nation of India. ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong is in the country to speak at the prestigious 2017 Global Entrepreneur Summit (GES) and had the opportunity to take part in a private audience with His Excellency Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India.

In a meeting which took place on Tuesday, 28 November 2017, Sityodtong got the chance to present a few topics of discussion, including how India could emerge as a potentially huge new market for ONE Championship, as it expands aggressively across Asia and the rest of the world. In addition, Sityodtong also presented Prime Minister Modi with a plaque of appreciation and a set of framed authentic ONE Championship gloves.


Modi is the 14th and current Prime Minister of India who took office in May of 2014 and is well-loved in his nation, receiving consistently high approval ratings with nearly the entire population rating him very favorably, approving of his government.

Among the topics presented to Prime Minister Modi include talks about traditional Asian culture, the power of martial arts, the rich martial arts history of India, and the possibility of a live event on Indian shores.

Prime Minister Modi is a well-known advocate of Yoga, which is deeply rooted in martial arts culture and history. It is also a wildly popular practice all over the world that provides incredible health and wellness benefits while promoting healthy living.

Sityodtong himself shares similarities to Modi, as he is tasked to lead ONE Championship into a billion-dollar sports media property in the coming years. Established in 2011, ONE Championship was a dream turned reality for Sityodtong, who aimed to build a global sports media property and unite over 4.4-billion people under a single sport.

Now, more than six years later, ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history with a reach of over one billion viewers on any given night, broadcast to 128 countries worldwide.

ONE Championship’s aggressive expansion and growth across Asia, dominating both social media and television viewership metrics since its inception, has been well documented. In the past three years alone, ONE has come to a peak TV ratings share of 1-2% to a staggering 11-36% projected by the end of 2017. That is up to 36x the amount of growth. In comparison, TV ratings in Asia for global sports media properties such as the EPL, F1, and the NBA only sit at 1-6%. This includes an increase in annual TV broadcast per core country, coming from 12-18 hours to a phenomenal 100-2800 hours, a more than 230x spike.

With the promotion planning a record 24 live events throughout the entirety of 2018, a move into India makes sense in the very near future. India’s rich cultural history presents massive potential for the promotion in tapping into that diverse background of martial arts. Featuring a population of over 1.2 billion people, the second-most populous in the world, the untapped potential is virtually limitless for ONE Championship.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

Moving Forward: Maintenance, Rehabilitation, and Operations of MRT-3

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The 3rd aspect of DOTr’s Four-Point Strategy for MRT-3 is contracting a qualified and experienced maintenance and rehabilitation service provider with an indicative term of 3 years.


Scope of Work

The service provider is intended to do not just maintenance, they are also intended to rehabilitate and restore the system to its original performance condition. Due to underinvestment in preventive maintenance and renewal works in recent years, the condition of MRT-3 has degraded to a state where maintenance works alone are no longer sufficient. The indicative term of 3 years is needed for the service provider’s rehabilitation and restoration works.


Who Will Do the Work

Part of DOTr’s preparations for the termination of BURI and takeover of MRT-3 is pursuing options for the system’s replacement maintenance service provider. In the last few months, the DOTr has been discussing options with development partners (e.g., Japan, Singapore, France).

Pursuant to the Philippines-Japan infrastructure development cooperation framework, discussions with the Government of Japan (GOJ) has progressed and an agreement is already scheduled to be signed before year-end. After the Government-to-Government (G2G) agreement for an Official Development Assistance (ODA) is signed, the maintenance and rehabilitation service contractor will be contracted pursuant to GOJ and JICA rules.

The joint venture of Sumitomo Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is being closely considered due to their background and experience with the MRT-3 – they designed and built the system from 1998 to 2000, and maintained the system from 2000 to 2012.


Link with O&M Provider

The 4th aspect of DOTr’s Four-Point Strategy for MRT-3 is getting a long-term (30 yrs.), single-point-of-responsibility, O&M provider for MRT-3.

DOTr has already granted original proponent status to the proponent of an unsolicited proposal, which will soon be endorsed to NEDA for approval.

The maintenance and rehabilitation service provider will be contracted ahead of the O&M provider to allow for the NEDA approval and Swiss Challenge process. When the O&M provider assumes the operation of MRT-3, they will also take in the maintenance and rehabilitation service provider that will be contracted earlier by DOTr.