A Look Back at Prominent Female Broadcasters Who Left Their Stations in 2025
Risa Unai, a current talent and game streamer who left TBS this March (photo from January 2017)Is the female announcers retire at 30 theory still deeply rooted!?
“I decided to leave the company after stepping down from all of my programs, including this one, Mimikin, once the remaining broadcasts this year are finished.”
On December 5, TBS announcer Ami Yohara (30) appeared live on the station’s radio program Imada Koji no Omimi Haishaku! Friday, where she serves as an assistant, and announced that she would be leaving the network. As for her reasons, she said:
“I turned 30 this year, and it felt like a turning point,”
“I wanted to take a hard look at my career,”
and regarding her future plans, she added vaguely,
“I’d like to take on a different challenge, and I’ll announce the details in due course.”
On December 1, Fuji TV announcer Marino Fujimoto (30) updated her social media, announcing that she would step down from her regular appearances on Mezamashi TV and Sanma no Owarai Kōjō Iinkai by the end of the year, and that she would leave the network on December 31.
“At Fuji TV alone, this year has already seen the departures of announcers Yumi Nagashima (34), Keiko Tsubakihara (40), and Risa Kishimoto (26). Including Fujimoto, that makes six announcers in total. In the wake of a series of issues at Fuji TV sparked by Masahiro Nakai’s (53) troubles involving women, some media outlets have reported speculation such as, ‘Did this accelerate the decisions of female announcers who were already considering leaving?’” said a source at a commercial television network.
NHK announcer Anna Nakagawa (32) went freelance this April, while TBS announcer Risa Unai (34) also left the company in March. In an exclusive interview with FRIDAY magazine in May (May 30, 2025 issue), Unai revealed, “I started thinking about leaving around the age of 30,” and went on to say:
“I devoted 99 percent of my life to work. It was rewarding, but I was struggling with whether it was okay to continue living a life centered entirely around work. The one who pushed me forward was my husband (whom I married in 2023). He knew I was pushing myself too hard and told me, ‘You should just quit already.’”
Currently, Unai is said to be streaming game commentary and other content almost daily on the streaming service Twitch, which she started after leaving the company, fitting it in between work and household chores.
Considering that most of these women have left their positions around the age of 30, the oft-cited female announcers retire at 30 theory may indeed still be deeply rooted. While it is truly regrettable that we will no longer be able to casually see them on terrestrial television as we once did, we wish them success in their future endeavors—and would like to take another look back at their days as announcers through photos.
PHOTO： Takehiko Kohiyama (1st, 9th, 14th), Akira Kido (6th, 13th), Junsei Todoroki (7th), Yuri Adachi (8th), Kazuhiko Nakamura (10th)