<figure id="attachment_230458" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3216px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-230458"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="54e65080"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/c90c02f18e2a6fc261ea3428822b12e5.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-230458" class="wp-caption-text">The stage play &#8220;Piaf&#8221; was last performed in 2018. Takuji Kawakubo gave a passionate performance along with the lead actor Shinobu Otake (Photo courtesy of Toho)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Actor Takuji Kawakubo left Stardust Promotion last June and went independent. Kawakubo, who started his career in the entertainment industry after being scouted at the age of 17, has a full schedule for the next few months, including an appearance in the stage play &#8221; <a href="https://www.tohostage.com/piaf2022/index.html">Piaf</a> &#8221; starring Shinobu Otake, which starts on February 24, even though he is independent from the agency.</p>
<p>While he has been busy as a seasoned actor, he has started his own business as a financial planner (FP) while continuing his activities as an actor as before. With the title of &#8220;asset management actor,&#8221; which is probably the only one in Japan, what is his goal?</p>
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<p>I asked him how he studied while he was busy raising his two boys (2 and 5 years old) and acting for &#8230;&#8230;. I asked him how he studied while he was so busy, and he told me that he studied at McDonald&#8217;s &#8220;Morning Mac,&#8221; where he once appeared in a commercial.</p>
<p><strong> I woke up at four in the morning and studied at McDonald&#8217;s from five. My goal in life is to build a warm family. These early morning hours are very precious to me, and since the FP Level 1 exam is a difficult one with a 10% pass rate, I worked very hard. All that remained was the practical exam.</strong></p>
<p>The content of the FP Level 1 exam is much more difficult than the Level 2 exam. In order to qualify for the exam, you need to have at least one year of work experience or other training. While it is generally considered quite difficult to obtain FP Level 1 while working at another job, Kawakubo passed the written exam with flying colors. He is already attracting attention as a FP, and at the &#8220;Asset Management Expo&#8221; held in January, more than 200 people applied to attend the seminar room for 100 people.</p>
<h3>A Setback Before Becoming an Actor</h3>
<p>Kawakubo&#8217;s career goal as a child was to be a soccer player. Aiming to become a professional, he joined the Teikyo High School soccer team. However, as soon as he joined the club, he was overwhelmed by the level of the people around him and had to leave the club. Kawakubo says that this was the first setback in his life. Considering his family&#8217;s financial situation at the time, he transferred to a metropolitan high school. Still, he continued to play soccer and even took the professional test, but the result was unsuccessful.</p>
<p>When he gave up on being a soccer player, he remembered an entertainment agency that had scouted him while he was still in high school, and went to lessons, which opened the door to becoming an actor. He was sought after by the glamorous world and passed the Rikkyo University Faculty of Economics, which he had applied to, but a shadow always flickered in his mind. Her father, who passed away at the age of 64 and had a poor sense of money, became her role model. This is one of the reasons why he became interested in becoming a financial planner.</p>
<p><strong> When I got married and had children, I knew we were in trouble. My family wasn&#8217;t very wealthy when I was growing up, so I felt I had to do something other than acting so that my family wouldn&#8217;t have to worry. From the moment I was no longer alone, I started to think about what I really wanted to accomplish in life.</strong></p>
<p><strong> When I was still in school, my mother almost bought a futon from a hypnotist. When she heard that they were giving away free knee supporters, she went to the event for her grandmother&#8217;s sake, but was surrounded by a group of strong men who refused to let her leave unless she bought a futon worth one million yen. I couldn&#8217;t help but think &#8230;&#8230; for a supporter that I could buy for about 1,000 yen. I wondered if this was what it would be like to be without money. That experience is still burned in my mind.</strong></p>
<p>Kawakubo, who was still a student at the time, was not able to earn enough money on his own to cover his family&#8217;s living expenses, and he spent his time feeling frustrated because he could not say, &#8220;Don&#8217;t worry, I&#8217;ll take care of it. It was this experience that shaped her fundamental belief that simply not having to worry about money would lead her in the direction of happiness.</p>
<p><strong> I started FP (Financial Planning) largely because of the influence of nine people who were my classmates in college and were good friends. We were all in the same English class in the economics department. Listening to them talk about their work, I developed a yearning for business. They were all from different industries. Listening to their stories made me realize that there are many different jobs and many ways to make people happy. During my 20 years as an actor, there was the Great East Japan Earthquake, Corona &#8230;&#8230;, and every time I did that, I wondered if entertainment was really necessary in the world. There were times when I wondered if entertainment was really necessary in the world.</strong></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Why did you decide to become an FP?"></div>
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<figure id="attachment_230457" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-230457"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="9bece7a8"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/R5W_9288.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-230457" class="wp-caption-text">Kawakubo reminisces about those difficult times (Photo: Tomohisa Watanabe)</figcaption></figure>
<p>However, when Kawakubo was in his 20s, he actually had the same mindset about money as his father. After studying about money and making improvements after the birth of her child, she felt a sense of mission in her work as a FP.</p>
<p><strong> She said, &#8220;In the shadow of successful people who are focused on as beautiful stories in the entertainment industry, there are a lot of people who had dreams and quit because they were wrecked by debts. I want to deny that completely. It&#8217;s not a choice between success and falling apart. I would like to suggest that there are many options in between. I wanted to be one of them.</strong></p>
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<h3>Hearing&#8221; is important for both families and clients</h3>
<p>Kawakubo says that he passed the FP3 and FP2 levels in no time. Kawakubo says that she passed FP3 and FP2 very quickly.</p>
<p><strong> The FP exam has about five subjects, and I had already studied insurance, inheritance, taxation, and real estate. The FP exam has about five subjects, among which insurance, heritage, taxation, and real estate are the subjects I had already studied, so I was able to pass the third level quickly. Rather than reading the textbook, I read it as if I were reading a weekly comic magazine, &#8220;Interesting! I just read it like I was reading a weekly comic magazine and put together the knowledge that was scattered around. From there, I dug a little deeper into the second level. Then, I started studying for the first level.</strong></p>
<p><strong> I am now 40 years old, and my father passed away when I was 64. If I were to think about &#8230;&#8230; at a similar age, it would be the second half of my life. I decided that if I wanted to do something, I would do it right then and there, instead of waiting for the next opportunity. I decided to do it right then and there!</strong></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Can I spend time with my family...?"></div>
<p>How will you be able to spend time with your family now that you have two jobs?</p>
<p><strong> I take them to and from kindergarten and their lessons as much as I can. What I try to do most is, even when I come home tired, before I open the door, I say, &#8220;Okay! It&#8217;s a different world from here! I try to change my mind and play with my children as much as possible. If I can make it in time, I bathe them, feed them, and play with them.</strong></p>
<p><strong>　We used to fight a lot when our second child was born. It&#8217;s hard to know without hearing that it&#8217;s easier for a wife to concentrate on housework when she is away from the children. Just like in FP work, I don&#8217;t force my ideas on people, but rather ask them, &#8220;What kind of life do you want to lead? That&#8217;s what I try to do.</strong></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Actors and FPs are the same in the sense of &quot;making people happy.&quot;"></div>
<figure id="attachment_230461" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1108px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-230461"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="9f3d54e0"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/e32ab9b5ad3508a7f2174612f72978ad.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-230461" class="wp-caption-text">Time with his family is irreplaceable, and even though he is working two jobs, he does his best to face his two children (courtesy: Takuji Kawakubo)</figcaption></figure>
<p>I was curious to know how his wife reacted when he told her he was going to quit Stardust and start his own business.</p>
<p><strong> I wondered how his wife reacted when he told her he was leaving Stardust to start his own business. Let&#8217;s do it, let&#8217;s do it! (laughs). (laughs). I felt reassured that she believed in me, but I also felt pressure that if I broke down, we would both fall. They never asked me what I would do if I failed. They never asked me what I would do if I failed.</strong></p>
<p>Some people looked at him suspiciously and even gave him unkind words such as, &#8220;You won&#8217;t blossom as an actor because you are wandering around. This may have been due to the low level of financial literacy among Japanese people.</p>
<p><strong> During the period of rapid economic growth, simply saving money in the bank earned interest rates that would be unthinkable today. However, some people bought stocks on the recommendation of the stockbrokers of the time and experienced a huge crash, which led them to tell the next generation that &#8220;investing is something that bad people do. I think this has led to the stagnation of the Japanese economy.</strong></p>
<p>Parallel careers are becoming commonplace, but there are still naysayers. How does Kawakubo herself view her two jobs?</p>
<p><strong> I feel a synergy that encourages me to work in different genres. Since I started the business, I have been able to devote 100% of my time to acting, and my motivation has increased. Being prepared for criticism and starting something new &#8230;&#8230; is not a one-sided job for an actor! At first glance, the vectors may seem opposite, but they are the same in the sense of making people happy, aren&#8217;t they?</strong></p>
<p>What do I need to review in order to make myself more comfortable? The only &#8220;asset management actor&#8221; in Japan is sure to give you some concrete ideas.</p>
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<p>Online Salon EAGAKUBA<br>
<a href="https://egakuba.jp/salon/17/introduction#owner_profile">Takuji Kawakubo: &#8220;Let&#8217;s be friends already</a> &#8221;</p>
<p>The seminar was held at the &#8220;Asset Management Expo&#8221; in Tokyo.<br>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxCNnRendNJkPMPUOoB4iw/featured"> Online Salon EAGAKUBA] Takuji Kawakubo &#8220;Let&#8217;s be friends already</a></p>
<p>Appearance Information<br>
Stage &#8221; <a href="https://www.tohostage.com/piaf2022/">Piaf</a><br>
Created by Pam Gems<br>
Director: Tamiya Kuriyama<br>
Cast：Shinobu Otake, Masayo Umezawa, Nao Saiki, Masaki Nakakochi, Rio Uehara, Masato Takeuchi, Hiroki Yamazaki, Takuji Kawakubo, Issei Maeda, Taka Takao, etc.<br>
No admission for preschool children</p>
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<figure id="attachment_230600" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 994px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-230600"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d00dc0e9"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/M_NS_P_H40.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-230600" class="wp-caption-text">He played the role of Kazuki Komon, the main character of &#8220;Ultraman Nexus,&#8221; which aired for about eight months from 2004 (© Tsuburaya Productions).</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_230463" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-230463"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6db198e0"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/R5W_9431.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-230463" class="wp-caption-text">At the &#8220;Asset Management Expo&#8221; held in Tokyo in January, more than 200 people applied to participate in a seminar room for 100 people (Photo: Tomohisa Watanabe)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_230464" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2800px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-230464"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6bbef384"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/R5T_9064.co_.02.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-230464" class="wp-caption-text">Photo: Tomohisa Watanabe</figcaption></figure>
<p><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ac49ed2f"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/02/R5T_8966.DxO_.jpg" alt=""></a></p>
<p>Photo: Tomohisa Watanabe</p>


 （Natsuka Uegami is a writer and beauty planner. She is a mommy writer with a unique background, having performed as an actress in Yoshimoto Shingeki at Lumine the Yoshimoto. She writes about beauty, travel, interviews, etc. for many magazines and websites. She is also involved in the development of cosmetics and other products, and appears on live TV shopping programs. <br /> Her hobbies include watching Taiwanese dramas.<br />
Her hobby is watching Taiwanese dramas, and her special skill is Chinese (HSK level 5). She dreams of living a dual life in Taiwan.

 Kamigami Natsukami

 Tomohisa Watanabe

 The handsome actor, who will co-star in "Piaf" starring Shinobu Otake, which starts on February 24, has also started working as a financial planner (FP) in earnest. Why did he start a job in a completely different industry when he can make a living as an actor?

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