Akasaka Prince Hotel's Crystal Palace Room was filled with billowing arcs and floating columns of peach, rose and violet balloons Nov. 9 to help celebrate the opening of the stage play "Friendship (Yujo)" and the release of "The Paradise of Angels (Tenshi no Paradaisu)," a five-volume set of children's books, published by the LDH (Life, Dreams, Hope) Club, one of the sponsors of "Friendship."

Written in Japanese and French, with English translations by Greg Irwin ("Japan's Best Loved Songs of the Season") and Disneyesque drawings by French illustrator Michael Norton ("Never Ending Story"), "The Paradise of Angels" features the adventures of Lifey, Dreamiko, and Hopey, three birdlike "angels" who come to earth to help children with their problems.

Established by Nozomi "Hopi" Yamamoto in 1997, LDH was founded in the hope "that all children will have the opportunity to experience a bright and healthy future." To that end, LDH will donate a percentage of profits to the Japan Bone Marrow Foundation, as will Akasaka's Charity of Love Theater where "Friendship" will make its debut. "Friendship" is a play inspired by a CNN story about how a young leukemia victim and her classmates learned the meaning of friendship.