Non Wins Itami Juzo Award: Agency President’s Leadership Fuels Kouhaku Hopes for STARTO Talents
Actress and singer NON (31) received the 16th Juzo Itami Award at a presentation ceremony held on September 6,
What was important for me when I became Non was to believe in myself. I wanted to make sure that what I had would not die.
I couldn’t make any compromises, and I am here today because of the accumulation of expressions that I wanted to make.”
I couldn’t make any compromises, and I am here now because of the accumulation of expression that I wanted to do,” he said. Nobuko Miyamoto, 79, who played the grandmother in the NHK TV series “Amachan,” appeared at the ceremony via video message.
She said, “They worked hard and endured a long and difficult time and path. Using it as a springboard, I grew up strong and big.”
She thought about the hardships she endured during the days when she had to stay away from the entertainment industry for a long time as a result of a dispute with her former agency, and congratulated her for her hard work.
Fukuda-ism” proved by NON
In fact, when she had a dispute with her former agency, actresses who worked with her on “Amachan,” including Kyoko Koizumi (58), Eri Watanabe (69), and Nobuko Miyamoto, continued to support her. It is not difficult to imagine how pleased they were to receive this award, but perhaps the person who was most elated was Jun Fukuda, 59, president of her agency “Speedy.
The fact that he was able to revive Non, who at the time had been completely dried out of the industry, is something to be commended. Her words at the presentation ceremony are a true symbol of “Fukuda-ism. However, she has yet to appear in a terrestrial TV drama, and both she and Mr. Fukuda are still in the middle of their careers.
(Sports newspaper desk) However, Mr. Fukuda is also in a position where he cannot concentrate only on NON. He is currently the president of “STARTO ENTERTAINMENT” (hereinafter referred to as “STARTO”). Although it has been only half a year since the company started, there has been a rush of marriages and reports of passionate love affairs among the talents belonging to the company.
Some fans seem to be stressed by this. Some people say that the succession of marriage reports and passionate scoops is a result of the free and open corporate culture of the company being taken advantage of by the talent who belong to it,” says a sports newspaper reporter formerly in charge of Johnny’s. “Although Fukuda has taken over as president of STARTO Inc.
Fukuda took on the talent as president of STARTO, but some fans argue that he has yet to make any significant achievements.
What are Snow Man’s chances of appearing in Kohaku?
He is thinking hard about all the talents with the same passion as Nonon. However, it is difficult for him alone to be attentive and attentive. I have heard that he is working to achieve his goals without being in a hurry, for example, by increasing the number of staff.
A music industry insider who has known Mr. Fukuda for many years said, “He is working hard to revive Nonn to this level.
It took him this long to revive Nonno to this level,” said a music industry insider who has known Fukuda for many years. Compared to that, STARTO has many groups and talents. Naturally, it takes a lot of manpower and time. If we take a longer view, the results will surely follow.
However, it is also true that fans want to see the results of the idols they support as soon as possible. So, what is of interest is the possibility of their participation in the “NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen”.
Last year, NHK decided to exclude all of the former Johnny’s talents. It remains to be seen what kind of decision NHK will make this year. The question is whether or not Snow Man, the only STARTO company with triple-digit CD sales, will return to Kohaku. If they do, there is a good chance that their activities will be activated at once.
When we asked STARTO about the aforementioned fans’ opinions and future activities, we received the following response.
The company NON belongs to, Speedy, and STARTO ENTERTAINMENT are two completely different companies, so I will refrain from commenting on their activities. Both are working hard as professionals in their own right, and we hope you will continue to support us.
From this point on, all eyes will be on Mr. Fukuda’s skills…
PHOTO: Shu Nishihara