Will Mariya Nishiuchi’s Terrestrial Broadcasting Comeback Capitalize on the Trend of Disappearing Discovery?

Mariya Nishiuchi (30) has been on a Cinderella road, starring in “Tsuki 9” as an actress and winning the Best Newcomer Award at the Japan Record Awards as a singer. Her return to terrestrial variety shows after a long absence has become a secret topic of conversation in the entertainment industry.

The background to this move includes the reported trouble with the talent agency that was supposed to have strongly supported her, and since becoming independent in the spring of 2018, she has almost disappeared from the television world. As a result, some speculate that the backdrop to this move involves the trend of “disappearance of discovery.”

“Nishiuchi appeared as a guest on the TV Tokyo late-night program ‘Paper and the Brothers’ on January 24th. When we say appeared, it’s worth noting that in this program, guests respond to pre-prepared survey questions in writing, which the MCs, Sama~zu, then use as a basis for their talk. Nishiuchi herself did not physically appear in the studio.

Nevertheless, Nishiuchi demonstrated a strong spirit of service, providing recent photos showcasing her admired toned back when asked about her favorite muscles and even responding to a request for the sound of a helicopter’s propeller with the onomatopoeic expression ‘pururururu.’ Despite the subtle nature of her appearance, limited to text, sound, and images, it left an impression that she was taking a step towards her comeback to terrestrial television.” (Sports Newspaper Desk)

In recent years, Nishiuchi, who had rarely appeared on terrestrial television programs, entered the entertainment industry after being scouted by a major talent agency that also represents talents such as Arisa Mizuki and Da Pump. She gained prominence as a model for the fashion magazine Seventeen.

With her exceptional body, standing at 170 cm tall, honed from her days as a badminton player, and outstanding looks, she became popular, and the agency heavily promoted her. She made her singer debut in August 2014 and won the Best New Artist Award at the 56th Japan Record Awards that same year. As an actress, she made her film debut in October 2016 with “CUTIE HONEY TEARS” and achieved her first starring role in a Fuji TV drama series “Getsuyou Drama” (Monday 9 PM Drama) with “Suddenly, Tomorrow Comes” in January 2017, quickly rising to stardom.

“However, in November 2017, Shukan Bunshun reported on troubles between Nishiuchi and her talent agency, alleging that Nishiuchi slapped a certain executive. Following this, Nishiuchi left the agency in March 2018. Subsequently, her opportunities to appear on television and major media outlets drastically declined.

Regarding her mindset at the time of independence, in an interview with ‘Yahoo! News Original Special Feature’ in August 2021, she mentioned that she didn’t understand herself as a person and wanted to reexamine herself. While causality cannot be definitively established, it appears that after the reported troubles with the influential agency and her departure, there continued to be an atmosphere in the television industry where it was difficult to utilize Nishiuchi. With her sudden decrease in opportunities to appear in the public eye, there were even voices in the entertainment industry suggesting that she might have been ostracized.” (Entertainment industry insider)

After becoming independent, Nishiuchi continued her activities at her own pace, including modeling work overseas. Then, in June 2021, she made a comeback as an actress in the Netflix series “The Naked Director 2,” marking her return to acting after about four years. In January of last year, she made her stage debut as the lead in the musical “Rosa: The Life of Me” and has been steadily walking the path of comeback.

 

However, her exposure on terrestrial television remained absent. In this context, last year, the sexual misconduct allegations against Johnny Kitagawa, the former head of Johnny & Associates (now SMILE-UP.), escalated rapidly. The television industry faced criticism for years of allegedly showing consideration to Johnny & Associates and excluding talents from other agencies from certain programs. In response, each broadcasting station has been strengthening its movement to abolish the Johnny’s consideration. Therefore, Nishiuchi’s appearance on the “TV Tokyo late-night program” may have been a move in line with this trend.

“In response to the sexual misconduct issue, voices advocating for ‘ending consideration toward major agencies and hiring talents on a more equal basis’ have grown stronger among television stations. Former members of major agencies like Johnny’s used to see a significant decrease in their television appearances, but recently, ‘quitting Johnny’ talents have been appearing one after another on terrestrial television.

Nishiuchi’s appearance on the relatively obscure TV Tokyo late-night program ‘Kami to Samāzu’ might have been a way for her to test the waters. This could lead to opportunities for Nishiuchi to appear on other networks as well. Similarly, other celebrities like Non, who have been independent due to reported troubles with their agencies and have been staying away from terrestrial television, might also find a tailwind to make a comeback.” (Entertainment journalist)

Nishiuchi boasts around 1.11 million followers on X (formerly Twitter) and approximately 720,000 followers on Instagram, garnering widespread support for her stunning beauty and remarkable physique showcased in her daily posts. Will the day come when she takes on the lead role in another “Tsuki 9” drama?

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