Will Tunnels be back? After six months of divorce, Takaaki Ishibashi and a beautiful woman in a strange age

After “Tunnels no minasan no okagedeshita” (Fuji TV) finished airing in March 2018

‘I was suffering from burnout.’

Tunnels almost died.”

Takaaki Ishibashi (61) confessed that he had “almost died. In the two years since then, his YouTube channel has gained 1.65 million subscribers, and his private firm’s annual sales have reached approximately 900 million yen. In his private life, he divorced Honami Suzuki (56) in July 2009, but about six months later he was caught on a date with an “oddly aged beauty. Let us look back at the details of that time based on the article we distributed on January 28 (ages and titles in the article are current at the time of publication).

The two of you were seated in the back of the restaurant. Mr. Ishibashi was wearing a down coat and was having tea with the woman in a friendly manner.

The woman was an oddly aged beauty who looked like former Fuji Television’s Shima Chino. After 7:00 p.m., they came out of the restaurant side by side. Ishibashi looked ahead and sometimes balked, while the woman gazed in Ishibashi’s direction as they talked. They walked slowly for about five minutes, and when they crossed an intersection, they gave each other a small wave and parted ways.

Ishibashi announced his divorce from wife Honami Suzuki (55) last July, ending their more than 20-year marriage.

It is said that the divorce was strongly motivated by Honami’s wishes. Originally, they had been on the verge of divorce several times due to Mr. Ishibashi’s uncooperative attitude toward child rearing, but in the past few years, there has been a further gap in their marriage. While Ms. Honami’s appearances in dramas increased, Mr. Ishibashi’s work only decreased, and their relationship became more strained. It seems that they had been in divorce talks since last spring, when their three daughters graduated from high school,” said a source at a major entertainment agency.

However, six months have passed since the divorce, and Ishibashi is now on the upswing. The number of subscribers to his YouTube channel “Kichannelzu,” which is currently his main battleground, has reached approximately 1.65 million. According to a private credit research agency, the private firm Ishibashi represents has annual sales of about 900 million yen.

For a private firm with only a few talents, it would be fair to say that its performance is solid. In addition, the year-end special program “The Fine and Dirty Monomania” (Fuji Television) broadcast last December had a household viewership rating of 9.1%, pushing other stations out of the top spot for the first time in a long time in the same slot. There is talk that Fuji is offering Ishibashi a chance to appear in a new regular program, so there is a tailwind blowing.

If his work is going well, it is natural that he would want to do his private life at …… next. We spoke to Ishibashi’s personal office about his “date” with a strange woman, but received no response by the deadline.

In 2010, Ishibashi may regain his luster.

Will Tunnels be back in the spotlight in 2010?

In June, Koichi Minato (70) became the new president of Fuji Television Network. Mr. Minato is known as a famous producer of many popular variety shows, including “Tunnels no minasan no okagedeshita” and “Tunnels no minasan no okagedeshita,” which made Tunnels a star. On May 21, Akashiya Sanma (67) said on MBS radio’s “Young Town Saturday”, “But, well, I don’t want to be Tonnerzu.

But, well, it’s going to be Tonneruzu, isn’t it?

The news report gave a boost to their new show. However, so far, they have no plans for a new regular show.

The annual comedy special at the end of the year, “The Fine and Too Minute Monomania” (Fuji Television), which aired on December 17, is as solid as ever. Even though it is an annual event, on January 2, “Yume Showdown 2023 Tonneruzu no Sports Ou wa Ore da! 5-hour special” (TV Asahi), featuring two members of “Tunnels. There is no guarantee that these shows will become regulars after seeing the response from viewers,” said a person involved in the production of commercial variety shows.

The possibility of a new regular program for Tonneruzu is increasing this year.