The World Music Awards is set to take place in Monte Carlo on May 18, and will feature a large list of American artists such as 50 Cent, Will.I.Am., Kelly Rowland, Akon and many more. Michelle Rodriguez, star of the movie ‘Avatar,’ will host the award show, and will be joined by many other American celebrity on-stage presenters, such as Hayden Panettiere and Kim Kardashian.

But this is the World Music Awards, right? What about Japan? Fans of Japanese music will recognize attendee Namie Amuro in the procession. The JPOP star is one of the select group of attendees that were the best-selling artists of their home country last year. Each country is supposed to be represented by at least one artist at the show, says Hitmaker.

It makes sense that Japan sends Namie Amuro. She had a fantastic 2009 with the release of her album ‘Past < Future,' which went triple platinum. [Source]

Hayden Panettiere, along with her boxer boyfriend Wladimir Klitschko, joined the activists in the Japanese town, Taiji, where a mass killing of whales takes place every year, to demand an audience with the mayor and representatives of the local fisheries union.

However, Panettiere was denied entry into Taiji’s town hall by two officials and had to leave disappointed without her request being fulfilled. She is the spokeswoman for the Save the Whales Again! campaign.

She stated that they wanted to peacefully come up with better ideas on how to generate income and utilize the natural resources there. She expresses that they had come to Taiji before and it was a beautiful place that was rich in wildlife. She reveals that they only wanted to have a peaceful conversation with the officials.

This is not the first time that the actress is in Japan to protest against their ocean hunts. In 2007, the local authorities issued an arrest warrant against her as she joined protestors in the area. [source]

Hayden Panettiere descended on the Japanese village of Taiji yesterday to call for an end to its annual dolphin hunt. Hayden even has a solution for any economic losses if the hunt is nixed.

“I’d love to be a spokesperson” for the village and “help generate tourism,” said the Heroes star, who was accompanied by her world-champ boxer bf, Wladimir Klitschko. [SOURCE]

Heroes star Hayden Panettiere was definitely a child star — with the taste for alcohol to match!

“I was raised Italian and we always had diluted glasses of red wine at dinner time from about the age of 8,” she said. “That’s just what kids do in Italy. It wasn’t ever something bad.”

Hayden, now 20, says she doesn’t mind the odd tipple, but is hardly headed to rehab. [SOURCE]

“Heroes” star Hayden Panettiere has been a whale and dolphin activist since she was 15.

She even appears in the amazing Oscar-nominated doc, “The Cove,” about a Japanese dolphin mass slaughter where thousands of dolphins are trapped and brutally killed. She was filmed paddling out in the water and being chased away by angry, violent Japanese fisherman.

The Dish Rag caught up with her at the “Cove” premiere at HAVEN 360  Wednesday (Mar. 3) in Hollywood. The “Heroes” star talked with us about the recent death of a SeaWorld trainer caused by Tilikum, a male Orca who has been in captivity for almost three decades .

“Honestly, it¹s horrible what happened,” she says. “Three deaths by the same whale, by an animal that should be not be in captivity in the first place.

“Have you ever seen a parrot pullout it¹s feathers?  It¹s from depression.
How do you put an interactive, social animal, one of the smartest
animals in the world… and you’re going to stick them in a tub and make
them do tricks?  How do you do that? Because they make money?  It’s
disgusting and Sea World is absolutely wrong.  This is a big wake up call.
How many more people are going to have to be killed?  When are we going to
realize that these animals are not supposed to be there?”

Producer/manager Keith Addis, chairman of the board of Oceana, an
international conservation agency, added,  “There is something wildly
inappropriate about having these majestic, powerful, gorgeous
creatures being made prisoners and taught to be doing stupid pet tricks.
This practice needs to be stopped completely and immediately.”

Hayden is also working hard to make changes in US whale and dolphin policy.

“I’ve lobbied in Washington, ” she tells us. “I’ve talked to President Obama about it and have met with Senator Barbara Boxer and Senator John Kerry. I¹ve held protests, we¹ve done aerial whales on the lawn of the capital. I’ve even had a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Japan and the Minister of Fisheries at the Japanese Embassy in Japan when there was a warrant for my arrest. I could have easily been  arrested or detained.”

Keep up the good work, Hayden. You’re a real hero. If you want to be a hero and help Hayden save the whales, go to whaleman.org. [source]