Yasuko’s Efforts Were the Only Reliance for 24-Hour Television Despite Marathon Fundraising Exceeding 400 Million Yen

The finale of ‘24-Hour Television 47’ (NTV) took place on September 1st, and comedian Yasuko (26), who took on the charity marathon amid Typhoon No. 10, successfully completed the run within the broadcast time.

At the end, YOSHIKI of “X JAPAN” (age undisclosed) performed “Kurenai” at the main venue, Ryogoku Kokugikan (Sumida, Tokyo). In the heavy rain, the sight of Yasuko running with one foot dragging and tears streaming down her face brought an emotional conclusion to the event.

 

Yasuko Raised 438,014,800 Yen in Donations Alone

“This time, in addition to the usual charity donations, a ‘Marathon Children’s Welfare Facility Fund’ was set up due to Yasuko’s upbringing in a children’s welfare facility until she was 18. Thanks to her hard work, the total amount raised was 438,014,800 yen, which exceeds 50% of the total fundraising amount for 2023 (848,050,000 yen). Given that Yasuko raised such a large amount, her marathon challenge can be considered a great success,” said a TV magazine writer.

Former NTV announcer and current freelancer Shinichi Hatori (53), who served as the main MC, explained:

“The donations we have received will be used entirely for children’s welfare facilities. According to the survey results on what is needed at the 610 children’s welfare facilities nationwide, we plan to deliver the items from the end of the year to April next year.”

However, on social media, there were still many critical comments such as, “Will some of it be used for staff’s slot machine expenses?” and “Isn’t proper feedback needed on where and how the money was used?” Even though a large amount of donations was collected, it seems that the lingering discomfort viewers felt about the overall program could not be completely erased.

“Regarding ’24-Hour Television,’ it was revealed in November of last year that a man from Nihonkai Television Broadcasting (Tottori City), a NTV affiliate, had embezzled a total of 11.18 million yen in donations since 2014. This included donations from the program. The man was dismissed and a report was filed with the Tottori Police Station.

Viewers naturally expected an explanation and apology about this issue within the program. However, while the hosts, including Shinichi Hatori and Shinya Ueda from ‘Cream Stew,’ as well as NTV announcer Mami Mizuto, appeared smiling at the beginning of the show, there was no explanation regarding the embezzlement issue. It seems the perception was that everything was resolved when Mizuto apologized on the morning news program ‘ZIP!’ in June of this year,” said an NTV insider.