The company she manages is on the verge of bankruptcy? Kou Shibasaki is on a “rocky road” to achieve her ideal of “SDGs realization.

I like the sound of life. I like the sounds of life, and if possible, I like to listen to the chirping of birds. I can do that in Hokkaido. There are so many great sounds. The sound of leaves rustling and other noisy sounds. It’s a luxury.

Actress Kou Shibasaki (42) spoke about the charms of living in Hokkaido, where she lives from two locations, in a segment of “Bokura no Jidai” (Fuji TV) broadcast on September 10. On that day, Shibasaki was appearing with Masaki Suda (30), Kohei Matsushita (36), and other co-stars from the movie “Mystery, Not to Mention”.

In addition to “Of Course I Tell You Mystery,” which opens in theaters on March 15, Shibasaki is as busy as ever: she also did voice acting in Studio Ghibli’s “How Do You Live” released in July, held a birthday live concert at Billboard Live Tokyo in August, released an album in November, and is scheduled to tour six cities in December. In November, she will release an album, and in December, she will embark on her first tour in four and a half years, touring six cities throughout Japan. Last year also saw the release of five movies in which she appeared, and she also appeared in the drama “Invisible” (TBS). There is a “common theory” as to why Shibasaki, who had been active at her own pace for a while, has been busy since she became independent from her former agency in March 2008.

The reason is that “Retrois Grasse,” which Shibasaki established in 2004, has not been performing well. The company has been in the red since its establishment, with a loss of approximately 160 million yen in 2009. The financial results for 2010 have not been announced. If there is a further deficit this fiscal year, we will certainly be short of funds unless we borrow from financial institutions. There is a possibility that they are practically bankrupt, the “Daily Shincho” reported. Shibasaki has been appearing in pachinko commercials since April of this year, and the management crisis has been a topic of discussion when many people voiced their discomfort with an actress of her caliber appearing in a gambling commercial,” said an entertainment writer.

Retrograde claims to be engaged in the planning and development of products related to food, clothing, and housing that are in harmony with the natural environment, as well as in the entertainment business, with the aim of “realizing a sustainable and harmonious society. The entertainment division includes Shibasaki himself. As for the impetus for starting the business, Shibasaki once said that when she lost her mother to cancer when she was 19 years old, she thought about what went wrong and what was the cause, and what she arrived at was “clothing, food, and shelter.

It is said that Ms. Shibasaki’s transfer from her previous firm in ’20 was also to support the company herself. At the same time as her transfer, she launched a YouTube channel and has been sending out her own messages on the themes of “environment,” “food, clothing, and shelter,” and “things that move my heart. She also uploaded videos of her time in Hokkaido, where she began living in two locations in the COVID-19 crisis, and of planting rice in the terraced rice paddies of Hamamatsu, with which she had a connection in “Onnajoshu Naotora” (The Lord of the Castle Naotora).

Even if the company’s business was really in crisis, an actress of Ms. Shibasaki’s caliber would never be able to repay a debt of around 100 million yen. In July, the company announced that it would start the “Sustaina Beauty Project” in which it would collaborate with various companies in the future, and as the first step, it announced a collaboration with a company that handles fashion rentals. If the company is in bankruptcy, there will be no companies to collaborate with,” said a women’s magazine reporter.

It is reported that the cause of Retrograde’s losses so far is the sluggish apparel division, and as for the entertainment business, it seems to be doing well thanks to Shibasaki’s earnings. Will Shibasaki’s busy days continue until the entire company gets back on track?