Takahiko Fujii Set to Become Independent After Hinting at Financial Gain, Maintains Popularity as Face of NTV’s Nighttime

On a mid-February afternoon when the first spring winds blew through the Kanto region, Takahiko Fujii (52), the main newscaster for “news every.” on Nippon Television, descended from a location bus parked in front of the company. He walked into Nippon Television (Shiodome, Tokyo) dressed smartly in a refreshing jacket.

It was on January 22nd that Fujii announced his departure from the network, effective March 31st. Regarding the reason for leaving, an interview posted on the station’s website stated,

“Only six years until I reach my father’s age. Moving to zero would reduce the opportunities for dinner at home and the frequency of drinking with friends. Calculating the time left in my life, I felt the need to cherish and enrich my own time more than ever before.”

He confesses that the presence of his father, who passed away at the age of 58, was the background to his decision.

Fujii, who topped the Favorite Male Announcer Ranking announced by Oricon in December of last year for the second time since 2021, mentioned his new role as the main newscaster for “news zero,” starting in April, during his appearance on “The Consultation Room That Creates a Line” on March 18th:

“In fact, they asked me if I would transfer to news zero. However, since zero is responsible for nights from Monday to Thursday, reducing the number of days I eat dinner at home and go out drinking with friends to four days a week, I thought it would change my life. So, I suggested, ‘Would you also consider going freelance?’ and returned the offer to the company. In other words, I left the option of going freelance as well.”

He also confessed about his retirement package.

“I’ve been with the company for 30 years, so I’ll be receiving a certain amount of money.”

It can be inferred that Fujii’s departure was a win-win decision for both him and Nippon Television.

“What supports Fujii’s popularity is his ability to express such honest feelings in his own words. It’s not just his precise announcing skills, but also the way he speaks about each piece of news with his own emotions and heartfelt words that resonates with viewers’ hearts and earns their support. His reason for leaving the company is very much in line with Fujii’s style.” (Television magazine writer)

Though his appearances will be in the late-night time slots from April onwards, one wonders how Fujii will soothe the fatigue of viewers with his words at the end of each day.

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