Is being a female TV announcer really that bad? Former Fuji Announcer Ako Nagao’s Comments: “Was that what you were aiming for? Harsh opinions from the old guard

Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers has changed from a happy mood after the incident with Ippei Mizuhara, an interpreter. However, the weekly magazines are still full of articles about his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, a former basketball player.

The most popular articles are about her good personality and her cooking skills. Many fans say they are glad that Otani, who lost his support after Ippei lost his interpreter, got married to Mamiko before that happened.

(Sports newspaper reporter) Regarding Otani’s marriage, there were some comments on social networking sites that said, “I’m glad he is not a female announcer or an idol.

In 2005, Shukan Bunshun (December 14 issue) reported that Otani’s parents had told him that they would not let him marry a female TV announcer or actress. In fact, several female announcers were actively targeting Otani, and among them, there were female announcers at a broadcasting station in the Tokai region who were posting smelling posts related to Otani.

In the midst of all this, former Fuji Television announcer and current freelance narrator/announcer Nagao Ako posted on X (formerly Twitter) on March 18,

I won’t say what the topic is, but lately I often see posts such as, “Not going to a female announcer is great” and “If the partner is a female announcer, I won’t be blessed”…Is a female announcer really that evil, I cry…

The posts are talking about the following.

Nagao joined Fuji Television in ’16. She had a reputation for her announcing skills, having won fourth place in the national broadcasting club when she was a high school student in her hometown of Nagasaki Prefecture.

Her peers include Yui Suzuki and Reimi Tsutsumi, all three of whom are rather quiet. Among them, Nagao stood out among fans because of her “natural character” and “not like a female announcer.

In 2006, a unit of 18 female Fuji Television announcers, “Odaiba Wangan Musume ’18,” was formed, and Nagao was entrusted with the main vocal duties thanks to her natural singing ability. On Halloween, she appeared on her social networking site wearing special makeup of the popular “Dragon Ball” character “Krillin” in his real mode, which was highly praised on the Internet and popular for its cute look and relaxed atmosphere.

She was not at all the flamboyant or flirtatious “female TV announcer” that people imagine her to be. She was considerate of both the staff and the performers, and did not change her attitude depending on the person. (former station staff member)

Although she seemed to be developing her career as an announcer smoothly, on July 1, 2010, she was transferred from the Announcement Office to the Public Relations Department. The September 2010 issue of Shukan Shincho reported that the reason for her transfer was that “she was not good at mornings and was often late for Mezamashi TV, where she regularly appeared as a reporter. Only six months later, on October 1, she left Fuji Television.

It is a standard practice nowadays for female TV announcers to go freelance when they are transferred to other departments. There is Moemi Kushiro, who also left and joined Yoshimoto Kogyo after her transfer, and Akiko Kuji, who married NBA player Yuta Watanabe. However, Nagao’s reported reason for leaving was so negative that she received few job offers after going freelance and did not seem to be able to make a noticeable impact.

A Fuji Television executive commented on Nagao’s comments,

A Fuji Television executive said, “The basic premise is that female announcers do not like the term ‘joshi’ana’ (female TV announcer). Therefore, I felt quite uncomfortable with Nagao’s defensive comments about the word “joshi” (female announcer). It is true that in the past, female announcers tended to marry athletes.

However, today’s TV announcers are not that popular. I think things have changed considerably from the “female announcer” of the past. I thought Nagao was not the type of “female announcer,” so I was surprised that she went to the trouble of responding to such words on social networking sites.

I was also surprised that she went out of her way to respond to such social networking words.

She added, “If I had been more like what people think of me, I wouldn’t be so surprised,

If she was confident that she was in line with the public’s image of a “female announcer,” she would not have had to speak out. The fact that she dared to speak out suggests that she was, after all, aiming to be the “female announcer” that the public had in mind when she was an announcer.

The comments were quite scathing.

Nagao responded to the series of disturbances,

I’m sorry. I didn’t want him to defend me, I just wanted to say “Congratulations” to anyone who loves each other.

He explained, “For better or worse, it was unexpected. For better or for worse, Nagao has become a conspicuous figure in an unexpected way. What form will Nagao take next time? It will be interesting to see.