What about Matsumoto Hitoshi and Huwa-chan’s return to terrestrial broadcasting? What is the X-Day for the reunion of “Arashi”? 2024 Entertainment Industry Anonymous Roundtable Discussion
Downtown’s Hitoshi Matsumoto (61), who boldly stated that he would “focus on the trial” until he suspended his activities, dropped his lawsuit, Jungle Pocket’s Shinji Saito (42) was sent to prosecution and had his contract terminated due to allegations of non-consensual sex on a location bus, and a string of entertainment production companies shut down or went bankrupt. –The year 2012 was full of shocking entertainment news.
FRIDAY invited Mr. A, a major agency executive, Mr. B, a producer at a key station, and Mr. C, a desk clerk at a sports newspaper, to participate in a roundtable discussion. We asked the three people who know the entertainment industry inside and out to candidly discuss the “other side of the news.
The Possibility of Hitoshi Matsumoto’s Return
Mr. A: The biggest news of 2012 was the Matsumoto vs. I was surprised that he withdrew the lawsuit before the witness examination, but I guess he wanted to return to the media as soon as possible. In fact, what are the chances of your return?
Mr. B. Unless Matsumoto himself holds a press conference, it will be difficult. This is because the sponsors of each station think that an explanation from Matsumoto himself is indispensable. In fact, NTV President Akira Ishizawa said at the regular press conference in November, “We would like to take appropriate action while assessing various circumstances,” regarding the appointment of Matsumoto, and Fuji Television President Koichi Minato has also taken a neutral stance, saying, “There is nothing definite regarding his future appearances on programs.
Mr. C. “Wide Nasho” (Fuji TV) and “Dareka to Nakai” (Fuji TV), for which Matsumoto served as MC, were successively terminated in March of 2013, and the number of places to come back itself is decreasing. Especially at Fuji, the producer and director of “Wide Nasho” who were close to Matsumoto have left the program and …….
Mr. A: If Matsumoto were to return, which program would it be?
Mr. B: “Wednesday’s Downtown” (TBS) or “Downtown DX” (NTV). Both of these programs are said to be eagerly awaited. Nippon TV is planning to revive “Downtown no Gaki no Tsukasa ya Aahende! on New Year’s Eve in 2013 in order for Matsumoto to return to terrestrial broadcasting!
Mr. C. That is emo (laughs). However, all of these are just blueprints on the part of the station, and the sponsors’ intentions are the key. It won’t be easy for him to make a shilly-shallying comeback without giving an explanation. Kazutaka Ozawa (51) of Speedwagon, who has been suspended, has received sympathetic comments, but he alone, who was written as an “attendant” by Bunshun, cannot come back to the stage while Matsumoto is not back.
Mr. B.Huwa-chan (31) was forced to suspend his activities after posting rude comments to Yasuko (26), and Yoshimasa Iwahashi (46) of “Plus Minus” had his contract terminated after he ″shouted at talent and production companies″ on SNS. It was a year full of troubles related to comedians.
Mr. C. It is hopeless for Saito, a former member of Janpoke, to come back after the incident and the debt problem. In 2011, he was reported twice by Friday for alleged infidelity, but on those occasions, Hiroyuki Ariyoshi (50) made fun of him on his show and turned it into a laugh. As expected, that is not the case this time.
Mr. B. It is the view of many TV people that Huwa-chan will just fade away. Even before the riot, he had a bad reputation for being rude to both staff and co-stars, and for being late to the show. He originally got his start on YouTube, so he is probably not concerned about terrestrial broadcasting.
The restart of “Arashi” will be ……
Mr. A. ‘In November ’24, “Arashi” celebrated the 25th anniversary of its debut. I had hoped for a restart at this milestone, but it didn’t happen, did it?
Mr. C. Originally, a revival concert was scheduled to be held in ’24, but the leader, Satoshi Ohno (44), did not shake his head. However, the other members seem to have lingering regrets, and I heard that they are working to hold a revival concert by November 2013, the anniversary year of the group.
Mr. B. In the talk show “Since Then We Were” (Nippon TV) broadcast on December 7, Masaki Aiba (41) said, “After all, I want to do something with all the members,” which became a topic of conversation. I, too, think that there will be a scene in which the members get together in some form during 2013.
Mr. A: NHK announced the resumption of the use of talents from the former Johnny’s (now STARTO ENTERTAINMENT), but none of them participated in the “75th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen”.
Mr. C. It is said that STARTO company showed difficulty because the documentary “NHK Special” broadcasted on October 20, right after the announcement of the resumption of the appointment, delved deeply into the issue of sexual assault by the late Mr. Janie Kitagawa. …… In the first place, there is little merit in appearing in “Kohaku”. Rather, it would be much more profitable to do a countdown live performance or stream it live on YouTube.
What will be the first big news of 2013?
In the second part, we will talk about K-pop and entertainment agencies that have replaced the old Janis, as well as the future of “those couples.
From the January 3, 10, and 17, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY
PHOTO： Yasuko Sakaguchi (Matsumoto), Ippei Hara (Saito), Shinji Hasuo (Arashi), Takahiro Kagawa (Hwachan)
