Former Female Announcers’ Shocking Lookism Retaliation Linked to Female Announcer Entertaining

Nakai’s 90 million yen trouble brings into focus the entertainment of female TV announcers.

The January 15 issue of Shukan Bunshun Digital Edition has stirred up controversy with a new confession from a victim involved in the “900 million yen settlement” with celebrity Masahiro Nakai (52). A Fuji TV staff member who had arranged a drinking party with the victim, who later received the settlement, has claimed that they were also involved in other entertaining activities. The focus of this matter is the ongoing practice at TV networks of involving female announcers and staff in entertaining sponsors and talents at drinking parties.

Hiroshi Hasegawa (49), a former Fuji TV announcer who joined the network in April 1999 and resigned in June 2012, openly revealed the inner workings of the industry in an article published by the news site Pinzuba NEWS on December 27, 2023. He commented that entertaining has been happening regularly for decades, adding that to be honest, many female announcers were happy to attend dinner parties with popular talents. Afterward, they would hold a reporting session among their colleagues, sharing personal anecdotes from his time in the announcer’s department.

Fuji TV President Koichi Minato has scheduled a regular press conference for February 28, but this year, there will also be a media gathering on January 31 for a social event. This has led to a sense of urgency within the company, as some employees believe it would be better to hold the press conference sooner. Questions regarding both Nakai’s situation and the entertainment problem are expected to be raised at this gathering, and attention will be on how Minato handles these difficult topics and attempts to deflect them.

This issue is not limited to Fuji TV. Former female announcers from other stations have also shared their experiences with “entertaining” during their time at their respective networks. Miho Ohashi (46), who joined TV Tokyo in April 2002 and was an ace announcer until her departure in December 2017, spoke about the pressures of attending these events. During a live appearance on Goji ni Muchu! on TOKYO MX in November 2021, she reflected on her experiences: “During my salaryman days, I honestly thought it was tough,” she said, mentioning the challenges of dealing with harassment and power struggles. She also admitted that, at times, she felt like a sacrificial lamb, but tried to endure with the mindset that thanks to the salespeople, I was able to have a meal.

Finally, there were reports about Minami Tanaka (38), who was with TBS from April 2009 to September 2014 and is now active as an actress.

 

Former female announcer who spoke out against big names.

According to reports from some news sites after her resignation, it was said that in order to secure advertising, staff members at our station were setting up late-night drinking parties with Minami to surround Mr. Tanaka, who was popular at the time. On one occasion, a drinking party was arranged for a local CM sponsor, but just before it was about to happen, Mr. Tanaka unexpectedly canceled.

The sponsor, who had come to Tokyo specifically for the drinking party, was reportedly so angry that they withdrew their support. When I asked people involved in this report, they confirmed it was true, which was surprising. One reason Mr. Tanaka may have transitioned to being a freelancer was that he couldn’t endure the late-night entertaining (according to a TBS staff member).

Although compliance has become more stringent in recent years, it’s still a high hurdle to refuse a drinking session ordered by your boss. Many female announcers feel they can’t refuse due to the impact on their current position or future work, and this often leads to them complying. However, there was one woman who stood her ground.

“A former female announcer from a certain network was strong-willed and competitive, and never bent to others’ will. She was invited to a drinking party with a famous celebrity she had worked with on a program. During the conversation, the celebrity made a comment related to ‘lookism,’ which made her snap. She responded with an outrageous comment related to ‘lookism,’ angering the celebrity. Naturally, the people around her were frozen and she was forced to go home.

After that, she struggled to find work and resigned. However, she’s now thriving in a completely different field, so it seems she had no lingering attachment to being an announcer.” (A reporter from a broadcasting department)

If you’re forced to attend a drinking session you don’t want to, and then have to endure outrageous comments, it’s no surprise that resentment builds up. It’s clear that the outdated practices that still linger in the industry should be reformed quickly.

 

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