Famous Comedian: The Guardian Angel of Kansai Announcers

The Female Announcer Entertaining Situation at Kansai Regional Networks

The article reports on the controversy surrounding former TV personality Masahiro Nakai’s (52) involvement in women’s troubles, after a weekly magazine, Shukan Bunshun, revealed an alleged female announcer tribute culture within the Fuji TV network.

“At our company, the announcer’s office is located beneath the programming department. A former senior executive from the programming department, who was close to Nakai, likely had the power to bring female announcers into meetings with prominent talent at drinking parties. As a result, even female announcers who weren’t officially invited to the events were suspected of being involved,” said a Fuji TV insider.

The report about A’s involvement in recruiting announcers from other networks for such gatherings has led to wider implications beyond Fuji TV, though there appear to be significant differences between major and regional networks.

Yurie Toyosaki (36), who is currently a freelancer and was previously affiliated with TBS’s MBS, appeared on the information program Shunkan LIVE Toretette! on January 24. During the discussion about the announcer entertaining issue, she shared a story where her former superior at MBS, Katsuhiro Kato, instructed her not to attend such events, saying, “Announcers don’t go to entertaining events” and “If it’s hard to refuse, just say, ‘Sorry, Kato will get mad at me if I go.'”

However, it seems there are still occasions where female announcers from regional stations participate in such drinking gatherings, as confirmed by a staff member of a television program based in the Kansai region.

The reason why High Heel’s Momoko is trusted by female announcers 

In Kansai television stations, the person often referred to as the female talent boss is Momoko (60) from the comedy duo “High Heel.” There is a group LINE chat with TV industry people led by Momoko, where she posts invitations like, “I’m having a dinner meeting with the president of a company today. Who can join?”

The slots for participation are usually limited to one or two, and one female announcer mentioned, “I tried my best to attend whenever possible.” The dinner meetings are often held in Osaka, Kyoto, or Kobe, and once someone decides to attend, they receive detailed instructions from Momoko, such as, “Take this train at this time and get off at this station.”

While this may sound like Momoko is calling female announcers to attend drinking parties for entertainment purposes, the reality is different. Momoko is seen as a guardian angel by the female announcers.

In the same program, announcer Toyosaki shared that Momoko often invites female announcers to meals and explained, 

“If someone asks for your phone number at a drinking party, she tells you to say ‘Go through Momoko.’ She was always considerate, and thanks to her, I feel I could live peacefully.”

“Being a face figure, Momoko was accepted by the announcer departments of various Kansai stations. Unlike Fuji’s A-san, who tried to use female announcers for his own purposes, Momoko genuinely helped expand people’s networks, which is why she’s called a guardian angel,” said an entertainment reporter.

Many announcers from Kansai stations, like Toyosaki, are grateful to Momoko, a significant difference from being treated like mere entertainment assets.

(Note: This information comes from “FRIDAY Digital,” where tips and reports are welcome.)

Information form: https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/tips
Official X: https://x.com/FRIDAY_twit