Original Article from here.

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Hamasaki Ayumi Unregistered in Japan, Responsible by Law to Report
19 January 2012.

Early morning on 17 Jan, Hamasaki Ayumi (33) announced her divorce on her Official fanclub site. Her marriage to Austrian actor husband Manuel Schwarz or Mannie (31) was just in January last year…..

Las Vegas in the US is known as the “Marriage Capital of the World”. As long as a passport and a marriage registration is made at the public office, even applications from foreigners can easily be approved and a marriage certificate issued. There are also drive-thru wedding ceremonies, and churches are open 24-7.

On the evening of New Year’s Day last year, ayu and Mannie registered for marriage at a public office in Las Vegas. Then, they made their way to a small chapel along Main Street. It was a place called the Little White Chapel, where Britney Spears, Bruce Willis and Michael Jordan once held their wedding ceremonies.

For the ceremony, ayu ditched the gorgeous jewellry and traditional wedding dress, opting for a casual look with a rock T-shirt and mini-skirt instead.

After registering for marriage in Las Vegas, the two came back to Japan for a short while before flying off to the Maldives for their honeymoon. Photos from that time show ayu clinging tightly onto 180-cm tall Mannie’s arm the entire time. Everyone could see the happiness between the couple, but even then, they were not truly husband and wife.

“They may have registered their marriage with the Las Vegas public office, but if the correct procedure is not followed here in Japan, we will not recognize it as a legitimate marriage. For some reason, ayu did not do it.” (Entertainment Authority)

The procedure which ayu would have needed to do was to submit her section of the family register, the original and translated copy of the Las Vegas marriage certificate, and the original and translated copy of Mannie’s birth certificate and passport to the Japan public office within 90 days of the wedding ceremony.

Tanaka Atsushi from the Narashino Ministry of Justice Office explains.

“By law, the marriage is legitimate at the place where the ceremony is held, but if Japan receives no report, the marriage partner will not be entered into the family register. That causes one’s status to remain as unmarried. While the marriage is recognized, since the family register lists one as unmarried, one can technically still marry a third party in Japan. However, if this happens, one can be charged with bigamy since the marriage is still valid. It is one’s reponsibility by law to report such registrations; infringement can be sentenced to a fine of up to 50,000yen.

Original Article from here.

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Reason for Ayu’s Divorce? Ex-Husband’s Steamy “Surprise” Photobook
18 January 2012.

A current hot topic is the photobook of Hamasaki Ayumi’s (33) ex-husband, Austrian-born model Manuel Schwarz (31), released without Hamasaki’s knowledge. The contents emphasized strongly on the male body in a sexual way, and it has been said that this photobook was the trigger for the divorce.

To summarize all the details, Hamasaki announced her marriage to Schwarz on 1 Jan 2011, after acting together in a PV shoot, and the two held their wedding ceremony in the US on the same day. However, just a year later, on 16 Jan 2012, she announced their divorce. On the 17th, Hamasaki filed for divorce with the US courthouse through a lawyer, and the application was accepted.

Publishing a Nude Photobook Without Permission

Hamasaki personally explained on her website that the reason for divorce was the Tohoku Earthquake Disaster. The disaster made her develop a strong “reluctance to leave Japan”, and “since I cannot see a future in the US with my husband”, she decided to divorce.

On the other hand, some reports claimed that another reason for the divorce was the fact that Schwarz released a photobook of himself without Hamasaki’s knowledge. In November 2011, 1,000 limited copies of the book, titled “SUPER MANUEL”, were released.

The contents of the book soon leaked onto the Internet. On the cover, Schwarz posed half-naked, with a look of yearning on his face as he looked at the camera. There were also shots of him in the sea, the water making his pants wet and emphasizing his groin area, as well as some naked shots, with bubbles covering his groin. Full of male sex appeal, it was an intense book.

Asking Price of 9,000yen on Yahoo! Auctions

This book was dedicated to “my beautiful wife”, to which Hamasaki replied “My heart was gonna almost STOP! LOL” on Twitter. However, reports claimed that Hamasaki was actually upset. Although the truth remains unknown, it is surely not unreasonable to get angry should someone you love “surprise” you by publishing a nude photobook.

This book has become a hot topic online, and there were comments such as “Is hubby gay?” circulating around on 2ch and Twitter.

Leslie Kee, who shot the photobook, is a famous Singaporean photographer, and had worked on CD jacket covers for artists like Hamasaki and Koda Kumi. On his official website, most of his works deal with men as his subject, and are often as extreme as what he had done for Schwarz. This is Kee’s photography style.

By the way, one copy of “SUPER MANUEL” is being auctioned on Yahoo!Auctions currently. Instead of the original price of 6,300yen, this signed copy is going for 9,000yen.

It is now 18 Jan 2012, one night after the divorce application had been accepted. Fans have been tweeting Hamasaki with messages such as “There will be many complications until the divorce procedure is complete, but please continue to progress and be ayu-chan”.

Original Article from here.

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Ayu’s Divorce! However, without entry into the family register, she is not a divorcee in Japan!
18 January 2012.

Singer Hamasaki Ayumi (33), who got married on New Year’s Day last year to Austrian-born actor Manuel Schwarz (31), has successfully filed for divorce through a lawyer at Nevada’s courthouse on the 17th. She is expected to be granted divorce soon. As the two did not register their marriage at the Japan public office, Hamasaki still maintains her status as unmarried. Hamasaki has left Japan for the Middle East on the 16th for work, and is expected to return at the end of this month.

The divorce application was submitted this afternoon (16th night, Japan Time) through a lawyer, and has been accepted.

The two held a wedding ceremony in a church in Las Vegas, Nevada, on New Year’s Day last year, and obtained a wedding certificate. However, this was never submitted to the Japan public office. Regarding this, Hamasaki’s company avex commented that “All wedding proceedings were conducted in Nevada, in accordance to their system”. As such, Hamasaki’s status remained as unmarried in the local family register.

Before her marriage, Hamasaki spent long periods of time in the US, and her plan was to spend her married life together with Schwarz in Los Angeles. However, the Tohoku Earthquake Disaster in March last year swayed Hamasaki’s heart and decisions. On the 16th, she left a message on her fanclub site, stating that “a strong feeling of reluctance to leave Japan grew inside me, and I could not imagine myself living in the US. In the end, my husband was left by himself as the days went by”.

Before the wedding, Schwarz frequently came to Japan to meet with Hamasaki, and continued to do so several times after the disaster. However, the gap between them gradually widened. Last November, Schwarz released a shocking nude photobook, which invited much distrust. As of now, he has made no claim for settlement money. On the other hand, rumors started that Hamasaki had found a new boyfriend, though avex insisted that “this is not the case”. They claimed that there is no third party involved.

The two met while filming the PV for “Virgin Road”, Hamasaki’s single which was released on 8 October, and started dating. On New Year’s Eve of the same year, they announced their lightning marriage, and held their wedding ceremony at Las Vegas on New Year’s Day, attended by 10 or so close friends and staff.

Right after the marriage, the two often exchanged tweets, but during the second half of last year, tweets about her husband decreased drastically. Hamasaki has now dropped Schwarz off her follow list, but Hamasaki is still currently on Schwarz’s list.

Before her divorce announcement on the night of the 16th, Hamasaki flew to the Middle East to shoot a PV for a new song. She has planned to return at the end of the month, and everyone is looking forward to hearing her comments on this issue.

◆The procedure to get married in Las Vegas, Nevada, known as the “Marriage Capital of the World” is fairly simple. About 100,000 marriage applications are received per year. Two people can just head to the public office and apply for a marriage license. All that is needed are identification papers (such as passport), and a $60 handling fee. After agreeing to the marriage terms and signing on the papers, one can obtain a marriage license. After that, as long as a wedding ceremony is held in Nevada within a year, the couple will be officially married. The procedure is the same for both citizens and foreigners.

As for the ceremony, an exchange of vows is to be done before a priest, and that will earn the priest’s signature on the marriage license. After submission of the signed license to the public office, one can make copies of the marriage certificate. After application for marriage registration at the Japan public office, one is required to submit this copy of the certificate together with a translated copy within 3 months of the ceremony. Hamasaki did not follow through on this last step, and is thus not registered as married in Japan. She has no record of ever being married in the family register.

Original article from here.

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Kawasaki Mayo: “I don’t know the truth about ayu’s divorce, but international marriages are tough”
18 January 2012.

Talent Kawasaki Mayo mentioned Hamasaki Ayumi’s divorce in a blog entry on 18 January.

Kawasaki’s wife Caiya is an American, while Hamasaki’s ex-husband is an Austrian. Being in an international marriage, the Kawasakis might have overcome the language barrier, but still faced many cultural and religious problems.

“Although I don’t know the truth about ayu’s divorce, I think the cultural and habitual differences would really put stress on the couple when they first move in together.”

“What is important is that marriage is different from a relationship!! When you are in a relationship, you can just gaze at each other, but marriage is not just about that. It’s more about taking each other’s hand and searching for the right path for the two of you!! Along the way, there will be walls, swamps, and bumpy roads, but marriage is all about helping each other along.”

“In other words, international marraiges are tough!!”

Original article here.

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44,000 Tweets about Hamasaki Ayumi’s Divorce = Instant News Spreading Through Chinese Twitter
18 January 2012.

On 17 January 2012, singer Hamasaki Ayumi announced her decision to divorce actor Manuel Schwarz, who is currently residing in the US. This shocking news about the famous, influential pop princess spread almost instantaneously through all Chinese media networks.

Along with the announcement, Japan news publicized the official reason for the divorce, as given by Hamasaki, but Taiwanese media were quick to retaliate, “Hamasaki Ayumi’s divorce is really because of dissatisfaction at her husband releasing a nude photobook”. The messaging platform commonly known as “Chinese Twitter” also listed “Hamasaki Ayumi Divorce” as one of their Top 10 keyword searches until 1pm this afternoon. Tweets related to this keyword amounted to about 44,000, highlighting the relevance of this news to the populace.

There were many comments from users of “Chinese Twitter”, such as “She went through that real quick” and “Oh, she was married?” There were also negative opinions regarding the reason for divorce, such as “This reason is really stretching it” and “If this is the truth, it would be more believable if she announced it much earlier”.

Other general comments include:

“Celebrity divorces and breakdowns are just to generate publicity…? If they told the truth, the attention will be gone almost immediately”
“She is such a rich woman, so why did she marry that unattractive foreigner? I don’t get it”
“A Japanese man will still be a better choice, foreigners rush into marriages and divorces too much?”

Original Japanese article here.

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Hinting at a Breakdown? Ayu: “My Heart was Bursting with Feelings of Apology”
17 January 2012.

Singer Hamasaki Ayumi (33) has announced her decision to divorce Austrian actor husband Manuel Schwarz (31) on the 16th, after their marriage in January last year. She will be filing for divorce in the US on the 17th (16th in US Time).

Since New Year’s Day last year, Hamasaki’s private life has been a hot topic. In August, she expressed antagonism towards staff members, regarding her appearance on a Live Event. The trouble continued when she did a last-minute cancellation of her appearance on TV Asahi’s “Music Station” 25th Anniversary Show in September.

On New Year’s Eve, Hamasaki made her 13th appearance on the Kouhaku Utagassen Show, as top batter for the 4th consecutive year. After that, she held a Countdown Live concert at the National Yoyogi Gymnasium. On 3 Jan (4th in Japan Time), she visited Hawaii for work purposes. During that time, she received congratulatory messages from fans, commemorating her marriage’s 1st Anniversary. To this, Hamasaki commented that “In addition to lots of gratitude, my heart was bursting with feelings of apology,” hinting that her mind has been in turmoil since New Year’s Day.

Original Japanese article here.

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Hamasaki Ayumi’s Speedy Divorce, “Unable to See a Future” with Manuel Schwarz, Triggered by a Photobook
17 January 2012.

After just one year of marriage, Hamasaki Ayumi has announced her decision to divorce. The singer, who filmed a PV together with Manuel Schwarz (Austria), got married to the man on New Year’s Day of 2011, after just 4 months of dating. This was not the only surprise; rumors of an unhappy marriage surfaced quickly after the marriage announcement, causing worry amongst fans.

As for the reason behind the divorce, Hamasaki commented.

“I alone was the cause for this. When we got married, we decided together that we were going to stay in the US, but when the Tohoku Earthquake Disaster happened 2 months later, a strong feeling of reluctance to leave Japan grew inside me, and I could not imagine myself living in the US. In the end, my husband was left by himself as the days went by. We often talked to each other and compromised, but as I cannot see a future in the US with my husband, we have come to this decision.”

After her marriage, Hamasaki promised her husband that they would live together in the US. However, her job required her to be based in Tokyo most of the time, so she and Schwarz, who lives in Los Angeles, entered into a long-distance marriage.

Nonetheless, there were quite a few unhappy fans who felt that she was using the disaster as an excuse to divorce, commenting that “Don’t use the disaster to cover up your domestic problems”.

According to sources, one of the reasons for the divorce was the fact that Schwarz released a photobook featuring nude shots without Hamasaki’s permission or knowledge.

Schwarz dedicated the photobook to “My beautiful wife, your Christmas present”. After viewing the photobook, which included suggestive shots of Schwarz’s nether regions, Hamasaki posted a comment on Twitter, “My heart was gonna almost STOP! LOL”. However, it was reported that she was privately unhappy with the idea.

Hamasaki will be filing for a divorce in the US today, 17 January.

Original Japanese article here.

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Hamasaki Ayumi: Mutual tweets of “I miss you”
17 January 2012.

On the 16th, artiste Hamasaki Ayumi annouced her decision to divorce Austrian actor Manuel Schwarz on her fanclub site “TeamAyu”.

Schwarz released a solo photobook titled “SUPER MANUEL” on 25 November 2011. In the days leading up to and following this release, hints of the two’s wavering feelings could be discerned from their tweets.

This photobook was shot by photographer Leslie Kee, who had undertaken many of Hamasaki’s projects, such as CD jacket photos and calendar photoshoots.

◆ “WE LOVE AYU”

On 23 November 2011, Kee tweeted about “SUPER MANUEL”, attaching a 「dedicate to Ayumi Hamasaki」 message to the tweet. He also added that this was “our LOVE & surprise to you” and “WE LOVE AYU”, indicating that he had done a private photoshoot with Schwarz.

Seeing this photo, Hamasaki exclaimed “My heart was gonna almost STOP! LOL” in English, expressing total shock.

◆ “I miss you” Tweets

On 27 November 2011, Hamasaki updated her own Twitter with the message “That’s a wrap on 1 of our videos!!! But it was very sad story…my hubby was on my mind all day..Miss my hubby;(((“.

To this, Schwarz tweeted the reply, “I miss you”.

From this, we can tell that in November, even though they were apart, their feelings for each other were still strong.

◆ “Preparing for my journey”

However, on the 14th of this month, Hamasaki tweeted that she was “preparing for my journey. I’m on my way to future…”, and that “How much we are apart is how far away we are, how much we are together is how close we are… Right?” These comments worried fans, who suspected that she might be hinting at a divorce.

The two met in August 2010 during the filming of “Virgin Road” PV (directed by Komuro Tetsuya) at Los Angeles. Hamasaki got to know Schwarz, who was acting as the husband, and the two started to deepen their relationship. They announced their marriage on New Year’s Day in 2011. Although the initial plan was for Hamasaki to migrate to the US, she felt a strong reluctance to leave Japan after the Tohoku Earthquake Disaster, and the marriage became a long-distance relationship. On 17 January 2012, Hamasaki announced her decision to divorce.

Original Japanese article here.

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Hamasaki Ayumi Lightning Divorce 1 Year After Marriage, Disaster an Excuse for Reluctance to Leave Japan
17 January 2012.

Late at night on the 16th, singer Hamasaki Ayumi (33) announced her decision to divorce Austrian-born actor Manuel Shwarz (31) on her fanclub site. The two of them registered their marriage in Las Vegas, America, on New Year’s Day last year. The divorce came just one year after their marriage.

According to comments on her site, Hamasaki’s first step will be to file for divorce on the 16th (17th in Japan Time). “I alone was the cause for this. When we got married, we decided together that we were going to stay in the US, but when the Tohoku Earthquake Disaster happened 2 months later, a strong feeling of reluctance to leave Japan grew inside me, and I could not imagine myself living in the US. In the end, my husband was left by himself as the days went by,” she explained.

On top of that, she also added, “We often talked to each other and compromised, thinking we could just breach the physical distance by travelling to see each other, but before we knew it, the emotional distance had grown too large. When I think of the future now, I can’t return to the person I used to be, the one who decided to migrate to the US. My future is to do something for Japan, and since I cannot see a future in the US with my husband, we have come to this decision.”

During August of 2010, the two met at Los Angeles, when they starred together in the PV for “Virgin Road” from “Love songs” album, and immediately hit it off. They announced their marriage on New Year’s Day last year. At that time, Hamasaki happily announced, “We are truly at the closest place to forever right now. Mannie, who acted as my hubby in Virgin Road, is going to become my real-life hubby!!!!!”