Koji Higashino Faces Cancellations but Sees Opportunities After April

It’s pitiful for Higashino-san.

In March, two of Higashino Koji’s shows, Wide na Show (Fuji TV) and Gyoretsu no Dekiru Soudanjo (NTV), will end consecutively. Higashino, who served as the MC for both programs, is now facing these changes.

While Wide na Show is strongly associated with Matsumoto Hitoshi from Downtown (61), Higashino was actually the original MC, with Matsumoto positioned as the lead commentator. After Matsumoto began appearing bi-weekly and eventually left, Higashino continued to manage the program alongside Imada Koji (58) and Tamura Atsushi (51) from London Boots Ichi-go Ni-go. However, Matsumoto’s absence had a significant impact, and ratings began to drop. The show’s official end was announced during the closing narration of the January 12th episode, with the program set to finish in March.

On the other hand, Gyoretsu no Dekiru Soudanjo began with Higashino as the weekly MC, after the retirement of Shimada Shinsuke (68). Alongside former Rainy Day’s Hiroyuki Miyasako (54) and Football Hour’s Goto Teru (50), Higashino continued to manage the show, even appearing in skits and playing roles in reenactment dramas. Meanwhile, there have been rumors about the potential cancellation of THE MC 3 (TBS), a show that started just last October, in which he co-hosted with Nakai Masahiro (52) and Hiromi (59).

“After Nakai’s ‘9000 million yen women trouble’ was exposed, the future of the show is uncertain. The possibility of it being canceled is high. With three shows where other MCs have faced controversies, Higashino’s tireless work to keep them going has led to voices of sympathy, with some saying, ‘It’s really pitiful for Higashino-san,'” said a TV writer.

However, aside from these three shows, Higashino also serves as the MC for other popular programs, including Celebrities’ Real Thoughts! Hidden Camera GP (Fuji TV), Sekai wa Ima, Kimi wo Shinjiruyo (NTV), Osiete! News Live Seigi no Mikata (Asahi Broadcasting), and others, bringing his total MC appearances to eight, including special programs and local Kansai shows. The question remains, why is Higashino in such high demand as a host?