TV Asahi’s Rin Urabayashi, TBS’s Rina Shinohara…gems await their chance! The “God’s Eleven 2026” for the new era of female TV announcers

The rush of popular female announcers leaving the company continues unabated. Fuji Television’s ace announcers Yumi Nagashima (34) and Marino Fujimoto (30) and TBS’s Risa Unai (34) all left last year, and even NTV’s Erina Iwata (30), who was expected to become “post-Mizuto Mami,” will reportedly leave in March of this year.

Who are the candidates for the future stars of the new era at each station?　Are the youngsters being nurtured?　Here we introduce the “God’s Eleven,” the industry’s hottest hopefuls, selected by people familiar with female TV announcers.

Click here for Part 1] This year’s breakthrough is guaranteed! The “God’s Eleven 2026” who will lead the new era of female announcers

Outstanding popularity within the company

Even those who did not make it to the top of the “God’s Eleven” list are all gems with the potential for breakthroughs. Take, for example, TV Asahi’s first-year announcer Urabayashi Rin ( 23). A TV Asahi official said, “Of the three female announcers who joined the company in 2013, Urabayashi is the most highly rated within the company.

She is an athletic type who was a member of the Wonder Vogel club during her college days. She is also very friendly. Last summer, at an event hosted by TV Asahi, I was assigned to do a segment introducing the beer at the event, and Urabayashi stood at the booth for more than two hours after the live broadcast was over, greeting and chatting with the visitors. The staff was impressed by her stamina and service spirit. Yoko Oshita Wide” while she was in charge of “Scramble! Scramble,” for which she has been in charge since January of this year, she has been assigned as the main anchor of ABEMA Morning.

TV TOKYO’s Maimi Nakane, 25, is a soccer fanatic who has acquired a D-level coaching license from the Japan Football Association.

Six months after joining the company, she became the main anchor of “Saturday Night J,” a soccer program. He was overjoyed with his new position, saying, “This is my true calling. During interviews, he moves around with heavy equipment himself and reads almost all the news related to soccer. He is building a solid position as a sportscaster.

While the younger members of the various TV networks are fighting hard, Fuji, which once built an empire of idol TV announcers, is struggling.

I have high hopes for Aoi Harada, 25, a former member of Sakurazaka 46. When she first joined Fuji, a string of mispronunciations were called into question, but recently she has been entrusted with anchoring and facilitating such flagship programs as “Mezamashi TV” and “Poka Poka. Perhaps because she became accustomed to the scene during her idol days, she is not intimidated by big-name actors who come on the show for their turn. She is a former idol, and her mere appearance on the screen is enough to make the show more glamorous. I hope she will break the dominance of Kiyoka Inoue (30),” said Tamami Hiyama, a TV columnist.

Mid-career players betting on another breakthrough

It is not only the younger generation that is expected to take off. Among mid-career announcers who are waiting for a chance to make a big leap forward while building their careers, there are some fierce competitors with explosive power. Two of the best examples are TBS announcers Rina Shinohara (29) and Yuko Wakabayashi (29).

Shinohara, a graduate of the University of Tokyo, became popular for her early-morning broadcasts on “The Time. She became popular for the way she ate standing buckwheat noodles and bread with gusto. Although her “gluttony” character has taken precedence, she is essentially a versatile person who can also do serious news and news reporting. Perhaps her skills have been recognized, but recently her work as a newscaster and reporter has been increasing.

In the past, Wakabayashi served as an assistant on the information program “Good Luck! ‘, an information program. Although her exposure was decreasing after the program ended in 2009, she became an assistant for “Sunday Japon” in October of last year. She can handle any genre, including news, information, variety, and sports, so ‘San Japo’ is her chance for another breakthrough,” said Hiyama.

At Nippon TV, which has been rocked by reports of Iwata’s departure, some are calling for Rena Ichiki, 30, to be the ace. According to Gochinobu Okada, a professor at the Faculty of Sociology at Yamato University, “She is a former member of the Nogizaka46 group.

She is a former member of Nogizaka46 and has worked mainly in variety shows, such as “Matrix no terukeru houhou shoushousho” (Lawyers’ Counseling Center). However, she has been overshadowed by her colleague Iwata Anna. This is not well known, but she is also involved in many news programs such as “news zero” and “news every. Since it is difficult for her to go the talent-analog route, Nippon TV would like to develop her into the “face of news reporting” by making the most of her experience in news programs. She has the name recognition and character to do so.

The day is near when a new generation of star announcers will emerge from among the “God Eleven” introduced here!

From the March 6, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY