<figure id="attachment_222430" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1024px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-222430"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6cdcfdcb"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2021/12/2021122109936.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-222430" class="wp-caption-text">Seiko Matsuda and Masateru Kanda appeared in front of the media amidst the grief of losing their daughter.</figcaption></figure>
On December 21, the day Sayaka Kanda was cremated, Masateru Kanda and Seiko Matsuda appeared together in front of the press at a funeral home in Sapporo. This &#8220;press conference&#8221; caused a lot of controversy.
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It is a common practice for mourners to address the attendees at a wake or a farewell ceremony, but depending on the situation, it is not always possible. The grief of a parent who suddenly loses a beloved daughter cannot be expressed in words.
If you know how they feel, you can&#8217;t ask them for words. Even the media has a certain amount of common sense.
 No one on the media side wanted to ask either of you to say anything. The media didn&#8217;t want either of you to talk about anything, because they knew you weren&#8217;t in a position to do so. However, Kanda-san wanted to say a few words, and that&#8217;s how it turned out.
About the two of them standing in front of the media, there were many comments on the Internet.
 &#8220;Is there really a need for a press conference at a time like this? 
 《Think about their feelings. The media is disgusting.
The media is disgusting.&#8221; A number of people criticized the &#8220;press conference. As the aforementioned sports journalist said, no one would blame them for not saying anything. But why did they stand in front of the media?
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 It&#8217;s because they are two of the biggest stars of the Showa era. Nowadays, everything is announced via fax or social media, whether it&#8217;s a marriage or divorce, but in the past, they would hold a press conference and stand in front of entertainment reporters and talk about it. There was a certain atmosphere in the entertainment industry that this was the way it was supposed to be. I guess you could say it&#8217;s a remnant of that,&#8221; said a well-established entertainment industry manager.
It&#8217;s not a nice thing to say, but there was a time when the entertainment industry and the media maintained a &#8220;holding hands&#8221; relationship, and not only good things but also bad things and sad things made the news. There was a time when not only good things but also bad and sad things were reported in the news.
The &#8220;stars&#8221; understood the work of the mass media and knew how to deal with and handle them. That was the case with Ms. Kanda and Ms. Seiko.
This was when I was a reporter for a weekly magazine. Sayaka had just been born and was about to celebrate her first birthday. The editor-in-chief at the time ordered me to take three shots of the father and daughter, and as I was waiting in front of their house, the three of them came back by car around 8 pm. When I tried to take a picture with the photographer, Mr. Kanda said
 Mr. Kanda stopped the cameraman and said, &#8220;My child is asleep, can you please stop taking pictures?
The area was dark and there was no time to take pictures. It was dark and he had to use a flash to take a picture. It was dark and I had to use the flash to take a picture because it would wake up the child. I thought, &#8220;I&#8217;ll just have to come back again.
 I said, &#8220;All right.
As I was about to leave, Mr. Kanda said, &#8220;I understand.
 When I was about to leave, Mr. Kanda said, &#8220;I know you were told by the editor-in-chief to take pictures, so you will be scolded if you leave empty-handed. Since you did what I asked, I will definitely pay you back. Please come back tomorrow morning.&#8221;
Not only did she understand the work of a reporter very well. He not only understood the work of a reporter, but also knew how to handle the situation. I was grateful to Mr. Kanda for his arrangement, and it has become an unforgettable memory of my time as a reporter. I believe the same is true this time.
 If they don&#8217;t say anything, some media might continue to follow them to hear what they have to say. By holding a press conference and asking them not to be interviewed in the future, we were able to protect ourselves while also understanding the feelings of the media.
 But I think this is because Kanda-san is the one who did it. I think this kind of &#8216;win-win&#8217; relationship between celebrities and the media will disappear soon.
They don&#8217;t run from the media at any time, and they don&#8217;t avoid it. In a sense, this is the pride of a star.

 Born in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Sasaki became a reporter for FRIDAY at the age of 31, reporting on numerous scoops during his time at FRIDAY, and has been active in weekly magazines ever since. He is currently appearing on TV and radio as a commentator.

 Hiroyuki Sasaki (Entertainment Journalist)

 Kyodo News

 Sayaka Kanda passed away suddenly on December 18. Her father, Masateru Kanda, and mother, Seiko Matsuda, stoutly appeared in front of the media after the funeral. Both sides of the argument were raised there, but the reason they still stood in front of the press was...

Background of Masateru Kanda & Seiko Matsuda’s “Press Conference in Sorrow

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