Shizuka Kudo and Her Ex-Boyfriend YOSHIKI are in the News for Co-Starring in Kohaku

NHK’s “Kohaku Uta Gassen” continues to be a hot topic even after the broadcast is over. The “Kohaku Uta Gassen” attracts attention every time it is held, but this time it was Shizuka Kudo who many in the industry felt was the center of the show.

Shizuka, who married Takuya Kimura in 2000, had kept out of the limelight since her marriage, but after the dissolution of SMAP and the debut of her second daughter, Koki, in the entertainment world, she has gradually increased her exposure.

This is the first time in 14 years that Shizuka has appeared in Kohaku White to commemorate the 35th anniversary of her show business career. And since her eldest daughter Cocomi will also perform with her on the flute, it is indeed a highlight. However, Shizuka alone was not enough to make it a highlight, according to a reporter for a women’s magazine.

“But the addition of YOSHIKI made it more of a highlight,” said a reporter for a women’s magazine. It was 30 years ago, but they were lovers.

I think that not many people in their 40s and older, let alone viewers in their 30s, know about them. In a sense, their participation was a project that pleased the older generation. But when their participation was announced, veteran journalists and industry insiders who knew what happened 30 years ago were a bit worried.

Their relationship was reported by “FRIDAY” in April 1994, but it was discovered when YOSHIKI was arrested for driving drunk in Los Angeles, where he was living at the time. Shizuka was riding in the passenger seat of the Ferrari driven by YOSHIKI at the time.

YOSHIKI declared their relationship, and Shizuka remained silent, but they broke up two years later. At that time, Shizuka also declared their breakup, saying, “We don’t see each other anymore,” but from ’00 to ’02, she belonged to a record company sponsored by YOSHIKI. She married Takuya Kimura in 2000.

In the entertainment industry, which seems to be a large and small world, it would be difficult to be an entertainer if one had to worry about the “history” of who was dating whom. However, even if they do not care, the people around them, especially the TV program staffs, are very sensitive about it.

TV stations have their own “NG lists,” which include couples who have been together in the past, divorced couples, and sometimes couples who are still in a relationship. Even if there is no list, it is usually passed down from staff member to staff member by tacit agreement. They also try to avoid having wives and ex-boyfriends or husbands and ex-girlfriends bumping into each other, and even if they do happen to co-star, they are unlikely to be in the same frame.

Especially if they are both married and the other is a big shot or very popular, the TV station staff will pay close attention to casting and Shizuka’s husband is Kim Tak.

When it was announced that Shizuka would be appearing in this year’s Kohaku, some people at NHK wondered if it would be all right. I don’t think NHK expected it to become such a hot topic after the show had finished airing.

(TV station insider) When their participation in Kohaku was announced, news about their past relationship appeared on the Internet, but not much attention was paid to it, and Kohaku was supposed to end peacefully and quietly, bringing the year 2022 to a quiet close.

But then YOSHIKI suddenly started talking about Shizuka in a live New Year’s Eve broadcast on his video channel. HYDE rushed to stop him, but this became news and spread, and people who did not know about their past became aware of it.

Then, Shukan Bunshun (Weekly Bunshun) directly interviewed YOSHIKI. The Internet is full of positive comments about the two, who have gone from a romantic relationship to that of friends over the past 30 years.

Still, the fact that it has become such a hot topic means that Shizuka and YOSHIKI were the center of the event.