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

“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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