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.