Special Talk Part 1] Aika Kanda and Kayoko Okubo: “Inappropriate” Early Years and How to Deal with Today’s Youth

This is not the pitiful generation, but the gutsy generation!

Freelance announcer Aika Kanda (44) and TV personality Kayoko Okubo (53) have often worked together in variety shows and on the radio. They have also deepened their relationship in private, as Okubo has been invited to the Kanda family’s home parties. To commemorate the second anniversary of their serial “Me, Pink, and Sometimes New York,” the two close friends had a special talk this time. We asked them to candidly discuss their changing values and views on life as they age, as well as their concerns and way of life unique to the “Los Generation Generation.

Kanda We, the “Lost Generation,” who entered society right after the collapse of the bubble economy, are sometimes seen as a “pitiful generation” that experienced the “ice age” of employment, but I think we are a generation with guts. Don’t you feel the same way, Mr. Okubo?

Okubo: I understand. It was the generation that said, “If you work hard, you can do it,” or “If you don’t sleep, you don’t sleep, and that’s cool. In 2000, when I was 29 years old, I was a regular on “Mecha x 2 Iketeru! (Fuji Television Network) on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Even though we finished filming on Tuesdays at 3:00 a.m., we would sometimes meet at 8:00 a.m. the next day. I would go home, take a shower, sleep for just two hours, and go back to recording. …… I don’t think I slept more on “Ninety-Nine,” which was my main show. I think we were recording with really bleary eyes. Those were the days.

Kanda The waiting time was also unusually long, wasn’t it?

Okubo Yes, it was quite long. Sometimes we had to wait eight hours in the dressing room. We were not allowed to leave even though we did not know if we would be called or not. I thought to myself, “What is this role?” But I convinced myself that I was getting paid for it.

Kanda Creating something enjoyable must be such a hardship.

Okubo I thought so too. I used to think that I had to spend money, time, and effort in order to make it resonate with the audience. But now I am not so sure. You know, something that was shot in a flash can get millions of views on YouTube and become a buzz. I suddenly wonder how much of our hard work was necessary.

Kanda When I think about that, it makes me sad.

Okubo But I still get people in their late 30s telling me, “I’m from the ‘Mecha-ike’ generation, so I’m glad to see you,” and “I really loved it. I try to think, “I must have been involved in a great show.

Kanda I also watched “OL Okubo-san” on “Mecha-ike. It was so intense that I still remember it.

Okubo It’s amazing that it left an impression on me. Aika, your imitation of Antonio Inoki in skin-colored full-body tights also left an impression on me.

Kanda Thank you (laughs). When did you do it in front of Mr. Okubo?

Okubo I did not see it live. I saw it in a special program “Matchannel” (Fuji TV) in 2009, called “Joshi Mental”. I thought it was amazing.

Kanda How do you see women who are not comedians going for laughs like that?

Okubo I watch them from an angle, wondering to what extent they can expose themselves. Aika-san’s inoki is like, “Oh, she’s pretty good. I don’t laugh at all, though.

Kanda Haha. I am sure that is true. Because they are on a different level.

Okubo No, that’s not true. It’s just that I can’t look at them in a flat way, and I can tell that they must have been under tremendous pressure. But there are times when the actors are just being natural and a miraculous turn of events makes you laugh, right?　It’s the things like that that I can’t make that make me laugh the most.

I keep my distance from young people.”

Kanda With compliance becoming stricter compared to your generation, do you sometimes find it difficult to deal with the younger generation?

Okubo That’s fine because I can take the auntie position on the show, but I usually keep a certain distance (laughs).

Kanda In what way?

Okubo I don’t step in. Even if I think, “That’s not right,” I don’t point it out unless I have to.

Kanda How do you put up with it when you have to point something out because of work?

Okubo I say what I have to say, but I think about how to convey it, such as whether it would be better to say it with a goofy smile. It might be minimal communication.

Kanda There was once an incident where a manager left a costume in a cab. How do you take precautions against situations like that?

Okubo I think it was when I left my shoes for a recording session in the cab.　I got angry when the manager kept screwing around a few times. I told him, “You can’t make me do anything. I said to him, “What can you do? But he immediately came to his senses and said, “Oh my God, but I think she can do it. But I think you’re a capable person,” and I followed up (laughs). (Laughs.) When you get emotional, it’s easy for power harassment to occur. So I try to be careful about that kind of thing. At that time, I calmed myself down by writing down the events and lessons learned on a memo on my phone. Can you say something harsh, Aika-san?

Kanda When I was a new NHK announcer, I was once called by my seniors by an adage that would not be broadcast nowadays. But since I was new to the workforce, I didn’t realize how terrible it was. I would unconsciously have the same feeling, and in the end I couldn’t say anything to my juniors and it wouldn’t be good for …… either of us. I want to trust them and I want them to trust me. Because my generation was like that. I want to work with them in a two-car relationship.

Okubo: Nowadays, you have to first sense whether this girl is okay to bully. I also thought it was a form of communication when someone said something bad to me and I would respond with, “Why? I thought it was a form of communication to reply, “Why? I thought it was normal for them to call me “ugly” and make fun of my appearance, and I was happy about it. That kind of communication was possible because we had a relationship of trust.

Special Talk Part 2] Aika Kanda and Kayoko Okubo: “Should Okubo get married?” and “Life without children!

Aika Kanda
Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1980. She joined NHK as an announcer in 2003 and retired in 2012. Since then, she has worked mainly in information programs and variety shows, and is currently a regular on “Poka Poka” (Fuji).

Kayoko Okubo
Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1971. In 1992, she formed the comedy duo “Oashizu” with Yasuko Mitsuura. Currently appears regularly on “Gogosuma ~GO GO! (Fuji) and many other regular appearances.

His first book, ” Where do you go on the road called Royal Road? (TBS), “Nonstop!

From “FRIDAY” April 4 and 11, 2025