TV Station Reveals Reasons for Ending 13-Year MC Role of Shigeru Joshima

In the spring reshuffle, where news and live wide na show hosts on various channels are renewed, one of the most significant changes occurred at TV Asahi. Among them, one notable change was the discontinuation of Shigeru Joshima’s (53) Weekly News Reader, which had been airing on Saturday mornings for nine years.

“Although it wasn’t much of a topic in society due to its low ratings, there was a sigh of relief within TV Asahi’s news department with this reshuffle,” says a production company director.

Joshima’s program had been running for nine years. It started as “Shigeru Joshima’s Weekend Navigation: Here and There!” in October 2011, then shifted to the news-focused “Morning Navigation” in April of the following year. Subsequently, it became “Everyone’s Question: News, Why Taro?” and finally, in April 2015, it became “Weekly News Reader.” In other words, he had been the face of this time slot for about 13 years. There were quite a few twists and turns along the way.

“‘Weekly News Reader’ managed to survive somewhat thanks to the popularity of Ryojun Ishihara, who is a certified meteorologist. However, the other three programs all ended prematurely. The reason lies in Joshima’s hosting style. He struggled considerably as an MC in the studio and wasn’t the type to clearly express his own comments or opinions. The program struggled to fit him in, and the impression was that the staff continued to grapple with this issue.

As a result, he began to excel in field reporting, particularly in primary industries like those featured in programs such as ‘The! Tetsuwan! DASH!!’ on Nippon TV’s ‘DASH Village.’ However, this led to increased production costs, making it even more challenging to continue as it was. Frankly, there were voices from the staff asking him to have a better grasp of current affairs and societal trends,” adds the director.

Despite this, there were reasons why TV Asahi couldn’t let go of Joshima, according to a former TV Asahi employee.

“From 1999 to March 2008, the cooking variety show ‘Ai no Apron’ had been popular, with high ratings. Joshima’s MC skills were well-received as he adeptly handled the male guests tasting and critiquing dishes prepared by female celebrities who were not skilled in cooking. In other words, he was considered a contributor to TV Asahi’s success, and thus, ‘Shigeru Joshima’s Weekend Navigation’ was launched in the same time slot. Consequently, his responsibilities were shifted from the news department to the production department.”

Since October 2017, when Noriyuki Higashiyama (57) started hosting “Sunday LIVE!!,” a “Johnny’s Relay” continued from Joshima to Higashiyama in the weekend mornings. Over the past few years, with many younger talents leaving the agency and the need to address Johnny Kitagawa’s sexual misconduct allegations on the same program, attention was drawn to both Joshima and Higashiyama.

“However, Joshima’s comments don’t stand out in memory. In fact, he often avoided discussing such topics. Of course, considering the ‘requests’ from Johnny’s agency, Joshima might have been unable to comment… Due to the priority given to Higashiyama, the ‘eldest son’s’ comments, the situation led to discussions, reminiscent of when Sho Sakurai of Arashi maintained silence for several weeks on ‘news zero’ (NTV). Similarly, Joshima’s silent stance didn’t allow him to exert his presence, gradually fading from the viewers’ memory,” says a wide na show staff member.

 

Another reason for the program’s end could be attributed to the significant influence of Higashiyama’s retirement from the entertainment industry at the end of last year and his resignation as MC of Sunday LIVE!! concurrently with his appointment as the agency’s president.

“TV Asahi may have considered the weekend morning ‘Johnny’s programs’ as a set. With the significant event of Higashiyama’s departure, it might have been easier for both Joshima and the agency to agree to the end of the program,” says the former TV Asahi employee.

Replacing Weekly News Leader, the Saturday edition of Good! Morning starting from April is hosted by Naoyuki Hiraishi (49), who has been with the company for 28 years.

“He also doubles as the host of ‘Sunday LIVE!!’ and has appeared on debate programs like ‘ABEMA Prime,’ where he was trained by pundits. The quality of the program has clearly improved, and the expenses have reduced. As for announcers, no matter how much you use them, they don’t require a fee. From the production side, there’s a sense of joy that with the end of ‘Weekly News Leader,’ finally, a proper news program can be made,” adds the former TV Asahi employee.

 

Watching this, one might wonder what Japan’s NTV, which still heavily relies on Sho Sakurai (42) and KAT-TUN’s Kamenashi Kazuya (38) as casters, is thinking. There might be similar changes in this fall’s lineup.

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