Local Stars Emerge—But the Sumimasu Geinin Are More Divided Than Ever

Changes Emerging After 14 Years

The “You Live in This Town Project,” launched 14 years ago at the command of then–Yoshimoto Kogyo president Hiroshi Ōsaki (72), has yielded major results. Kaji Festival 2025, produced by Kaji Tsuyoshi (44), who was assigned to Kagawa Prefecture, was held on September 20 and drew 15,000 visitors, a major success.

A Yoshimoto insider explains:

“At the start, people mocked the idea, saying things like ‘Sending unknown comedians to 47 prefectures won’t make them famous’ or ‘They’ll just end up living there doing nothing.’ But the Local Resident Comedians have become a business that greatly contributes to Yoshimoto’s revenue. Some, like Kaji, have become top talents in their prefecture, while others have built strong ties with local governments and contributed to the company.”

According to an advertising agency official, the background behind Ōsaki’s focus on relationships with local governments traces back to Okinawa’s casino development concept that surfaced in the late 2000s.

“Ōsaki started the Okinawa International Movie Festival in 2009, which was said to be a strategy to enter the casino-related business. Even though it incurred huge annual deficits, it continued for that reason. After the casino plan for Okinawa was scrapped, his attention shifted to the Osaka–Kansai Expo.”

He appointed Downtown as Expo ambassadors, heavily utilized popular comedians for promotion, and opened the pavilion Yoshimoto Waraii Myraii-kan. Ōsaki himself also served as co-chair of the Expo Event Review Council.

“The Expo Karaoke event featuring popular comedians was a huge success. Weekly Bunshun reported that the Japan Innovation Party has a close relationship with Yoshimoto, and that Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City awarded 4.1 billion yen worth of projects to Yoshimoto.” (TV production director)

While Yoshimoto’s involvement in national-level projects has grown, the Local Resident Comedians, who initially strengthened the company’s ties with local governments, are now experiencing shifts.

A local broadcaster says:

“Originally, each prefecture’s comedians had their own manager, and each region had an area manager. But the number of managers has decreased over time, and now it seems only area managers remain. It may be that Yoshimoto believes these comedians can operate independently.”

A TV writer adds that BS Yoshimoto airs programs featuring these comedians, but:“There’s a clear divide between the winners and losers. Some have many regular shows in their region, but others have a lot of free time. Those in the latter group film and edit their own videos when introducing local attractions. Without managers, they must pitch themselves to TV stations. The gap will only widen—and Yoshimoto will naturally focus on profitable regions.”

On the other hand, the winning group of Local Resident Comedians—those capable of securing their own work—are increasingly interested in independence.

“The first Aomori comedian, Eizō Sakikawa (42), became independent in 2021. He’s now so active—serving as a JA Kyosai ambassador—that there’s no one in Aomori who doesn’t know him.”

Going forward, the trend of the successful group leaving the Local Resident Comedian system may accelerate.

From the November 14/21, 2025 combined issue