<figure id="attachment_458608" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-458608" style="width: 1527px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="7168fab4"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/7776cf86b0b6ff405d92875de0b65927.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-458608" class="wp-caption-text">URABAYASHI Rin (23) TV Asahi Graduated from Waseda University, Faculty of Human Sciences. When she feels happy, she says, &#8220;The moment I sip a cup of ramen at the top of a mountain.</figcaption></figure>
<p> The rush of popular female announcers leaving the company continues unabated. Fuji Television&#8217;s ace announcers Yumi Nagashima (34) and Marino Fujimoto (30) and TBS&#8217;s Risa Unai (34) all left last year, and even NTV&#8217;s Erina Iwata (30), who was expected to become &#8220;post-Mizuto Mami,&#8221; will reportedly leave in March of this year.</p>
<p> Who are the candidates for the future stars of the new era at each station?　Are the youngsters being nurtured?　Here we introduce the &#8220;God&#8217;s Eleven,&#8221; the industry&#8217;s hottest hopefuls, selected by people familiar with female TV announcers.</p>
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<p> Click here for Part 1] <a href="https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/article/458602">This year&#8217;s breakthrough is guaranteed! The &#8220;God&#8217;s Eleven 2026&#8221; who will lead the new era of female announcers</a></p>
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<h2> Outstanding popularity within the company</h2>
<p> Even those who did not make it to the top of the &#8220;God&#8217;s Eleven&#8221; list are all gems with the potential for breakthroughs. Take, for example, TV Asahi&#8217;s first-year <span class="strongInContent">announcer Urabayashi Rin (</span> 23). A TV Asahi official said, &#8220;Of the three female announcers who joined the company in 2013, Urabayashi is the most highly rated within the company.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> 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&#8221; while she was in charge of &#8220;Scramble! Scramble,&#8221; for which she has been in charge since January of this year, she has been assigned as the main anchor of ABEMA Morning.</span></p>
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<p> TV TOKYO&#8217;s <span class="strongInContent">Maimi Nakane</span>, 25, is a soccer fanatic who has acquired a D-level coaching license from the Japan Football Association.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Six months after joining the company, she became the main anchor of &#8220;Saturday Night J,&#8221; a soccer program. He was overjoyed with his new position, saying, &#8220;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.</span></p>
<p> While the younger members of the various TV networks are fighting hard, Fuji, which once built an empire of idol TV announcers, is struggling.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> 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 &#8220;Mezamashi TV&#8221; and &#8220;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),&#8221; said Tamami Hiyama, a TV columnist.</span></p>
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<figure id="attachment_458609" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-458609" style="width: 1658px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="9579a608"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/ee9a75fe4ed92ecd6ed223964929be38.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-458609" class="wp-caption-text"> Maimi Nakane (25), TV Tokyo, graduated from the University of the Sacred Heart, Faculty of Modern Liberal Arts, and was the manager of the men&#8217;s soccer club in high school. She is also a big fan of Nagoya Grampus Eight.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_458610" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-458610" style="width: 1649px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a4590467"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/afcd528e5b89c0e7b0475687a8eeca52.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-458610" class="wp-caption-text"> Aoi Harada (25), Fuji Television Network, Hosei University, Faculty of Sociology, Breakout potential ★★★★ She has been called the &#8220;ace of the future&#8221; since she joined the company. Will she be the savior of Fuji Television, which is concerned about a shortage of female announcer talent?</figcaption></figure>
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<h2>Mid-career players betting on another breakthrough</h2>
<p> 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 <span class="strongInContent">TBS announcers Rina Shinohara</span> (29) and <span class="strongInContent">Yuko Wakabayashi</span> (29).</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Shinohara, a graduate of the University of Tokyo, became popular for her early-morning broadcasts on &#8220;The Time. She became popular for the way she ate standing buckwheat noodles and bread with gusto. Although her &#8220;gluttony&#8221; 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.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In the past, Wakabayashi served as an assistant on the information program &#8220;Good Luck! &#8216;, an information program. Although her exposure was decreasing after the program ended in 2009, she became an assistant for &#8220;Sunday Japon&#8221; in October of last year. She can handle any genre, including news, information, variety, and sports, so &#8216;San Japo&#8217; is her chance for another breakthrough,&#8221; said Hiyama.</span></p>
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<p> At Nippon TV, which has been rocked by reports of Iwata&#8217;s departure, some are calling for <span class="strongInContent">Rena Ichiki</span>, 30, to be the ace. According to Gochinobu Okada, a professor at the Faculty of Sociology at Yamato University, &#8220;She is a former member of the Nogizaka46 group.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> She is a former member of Nogizaka46 and has worked mainly in variety shows, such as &#8220;Matrix no terukeru houhou shoushousho&#8221; (Lawyers&#8217; 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 &#8220;news zero&#8221; and &#8220;news every. Since it is difficult for her to go the talent-analog route, Nippon TV would like to develop her into the &#8220;face of news reporting&#8221; by making the most of her experience in news programs. She has the name recognition and character to do so.</span></p>
<p> The day is near when a new generation of star announcers will emerge from among the &#8220;God Eleven&#8221; introduced here!</p>
<figure id="attachment_458611" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-458611" style="width: 1879px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="4add1890"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/8040272b5cf77d754dfadc57bda329f9.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-458611" class="wp-caption-text"> Rina Shinohara (29) TBS, University of Tokyo, law degree, breakout potential ★★★ Ehime has been a weathercaster for &#8220;Mezamashi Saturday&#8221; since she was a student at the University of Tokyo. She is expected to break out of her colorful character and make a big leap forward.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_458612" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-458612" style="width: 2017px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="676151f2"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/edcffd270f1f9d46d522ff1fbf6cb766.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-458612" class="wp-caption-text"> Yuko Wakabayashi (29) TBS, Osaka City University, Bachelor of Commerce, Breakout Potential★★★ She has covered a wide range of topics from news to variety. She spent her childhood in New York and is fluent in English.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_458613" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-458613" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="31678c6b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/8b3695c2b13e5a01f1e5bcff71644c14.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-458613" class="wp-caption-text"> Reina Ichirai (30), NTV, graduated from the School of Letters at Waseda University, and is a breakout star ★★★ She worked as an idol and actress before becoming an announcer. She is in charge of &#8220;Buzz Rhythm 02&#8221; and the show biz anchor of &#8220;ZIP!</figcaption></figure>
<p> From the March 6, 2026 issue of &#8220;FRIDAY</p>
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 The "God's Eleven," the industry's hottest hopefuls for the new era of female announcers... Although they did not make it to the top, there are many gems that have the potential for breakthrough. There are not only young announcers but also mid-career announcers who have explosive potential, so please keep your eyes on them.

 Special Report (Part 2): The industry's hottest young hopefuls and talented mid-career announcers are selected from each station! Star candidates following Mami Mizuto and Ayaka Hironaka!

TV Asahi&#8217;s Rin Urabayashi, TBS&#8217;s Rina Shinohara&#8230;gems await their chance! The &#8220;God&#8217;s Eleven 2026&#8221; for the new era of female TV announcers

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

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