Unusual Career Shift in the Industry Former Chimon Member Tetsuya Shirai Becomes a New Broadcast Writer at 44 and Shares His Ambitions

The comedy duo Chimon Chōchū, known for their high-pitched voices and surreal manzai that thrilled theater audiences, stood on the finals stage of THE MANZAI. Formed by high school classmates Kousuke Kikuchi (44) and Tetsuya Shirai (44), they had been active on the front lines of comedy for 25 years. Then, in December ’25, they suddenly announced their disbandment. The next path chosen by Shirai, the boke (funny man) of the duo, was unexpectedly behind the scenes: becoming a TV writer.

TV writing is a demanding field, with irregular work schedules tailored to the programs or events handled, making it physically and mentally tough. Very few people switch to this career in their 40s. Recently, in March ’24, Osamu Suzuki retired from TV writing at age 51, citing that he could no longer maintain the passion to give his all to his work.

Into this challenging industry, a man in his mid-40s jumped in as a newcomer, and now Shirai opens up about the truth behind the duo’s breakup and his ambitions for a new start.

A goal since high school

“Actually, when I was in high school, if I hadn’t gone into comedy, I wanted to become either a TV writer or a game creator. But when I went to a game school’s info session, they said, ‘If you enroll today, we’ll give you a small computer.’ It was too creepy, so I quit. Free stuff like that is just too suspicious (laughs).”

This led Shirai to pursue comedy, but after 25 years, he returned to his original aspiration. When announcing the disbandment, people around him asked, “What will you do next?” but he was completely optimistic:

“Up until now, I only wanted to become popular myself, but next, I wanted to contribute to others with what I’ve learned. Looking back, at Yoshimoto Kogyo, I did countless live shows with no preparation. When I ran out of material, I filled the gaps with my own game segments—but that actually became experience in production. I thought I could put that to use as a TV writer.”

The reactions of veteran comedians

The reactions from respected senior comedians were also striking.

“When I contacted Cookie (50) from Yasei Bakudan, who’s usually so cheerful, I think he might have been crying. He said, ‘I see let’s go eat,’ in that voice. Daigo (46) from Chidori also sounded a little emotional. I even called Yuji Ayabe (48) from Peace in the U.S., ignoring the time difference, and he yelled, ‘Do you know what time it is right now!?’ (laughs). But everyone—Naomi Watanabe (38), Yuriyan Retriever (35), Takashi Yoshimura (45) from Heisei Nobushi Kobushi, and all my senior and junior colleagues—said, ‘We’ll give you all our support.’ I’m really grateful.”

Currently, Shirai is busy with life as a rookie writer. He’s been approached for a special program on the streaming service Abema, for TV promotional work on Nippon TV, and even for managing the SNS accounts of an American pharmaceutical company. The range of work is surprisingly wide. Yet for a 44-year-old newcomer, the barrier of IT skills is proving a challenge.

“The tough part is I really can’t use PowerPoint (laughs). My junior writers tease me, asking, ‘Can you even touch-type?’ I’m barely keeping up. I have to look for the ‘X’ key on the keyboard as I type (laughs). I’m good at talking in meetings, but I didn’t even know I’d have to take my own minutes it’s been one surprise after another.”

Shirai’s mentor is Taiki Momino, who also switched from comedy to writing. Momino told him, “At 44, this is incredibly late—you need to hurry,” giving him a push. TV is a world with clients; it’s not the same as comedians just enjoying themselves. Shirai is learning this lesson on the job.

The first job: a “Toyota project”

On the other hand, Shirai is beginning to feel a sense of achievement as a writer. One of his most high-profile projects was a web video released in January, a collaboration between the 2025 M-1 Grand Prix champions Takurou and Toyota. Shirai served as the CM planner, handling the video’s overall structure, script, and even the shot breakdown. Once uploaded to YouTube, the video exceeded 1.3 million views.

“In the first M-1 sketch, Takurou shouted, ‘Tooooyota~~ car~~!’ and just 30 minutes later, Toyota’s official SNS responded. Around the same time as the duo’s December disbandment, I received an offer through an acquaintance to come on board as a planner. From there, in about a month—a remarkably fast pace—we released the video.

Toyota asked me to base the sketch on Takurou’s M-1 routine and incorporate three-letter automotive terms. Using the system from their ‘Ring Announcer’ sketch, I created entirely new content, adding car terms like RAV4 and the latest PCS technology. I wrote the new sketch from scratch.”

Remarkably, the project even included a request from Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda (69) himself.

“Once Chairman Akio reviewed it internally, they added a further request. I struggled but managed to submit a second draft—and it was approved. That was really exciting.”

Being a former comedian himself, Shirai was careful to respect the performers’ material:

“If you use a comedian’s existing routine in a commercial as-is, the joke gets consumed and they can’t use it elsewhere. So I borrowed the system but rewrote everything. On the day of filming, I went to the set without telling Takurou, but the manager found out (laughs). When Yutaka Akagi (34) posted on X, ‘Shirai-san wrote the sketch,’ I felt like I’d contributed a bit.”

When asked about his ambitions, Shirai said he wants to conquer all TV stations.

“I want to be involved with every TV station. I want to be someone that junior comedians groan about seeing in the meeting room, but that the staff say, ‘I’m glad you’re here.’ Back when I was performing, my ideas were extreme—like making comedians play musical chairs for 30 minutes straight without stopping, to the point they’d get angry. If I’m on set as a writer, everyone will probably be thrown off (laughs).”

Armed with 25 years of experience as a comedian, Shirai’s challenge at 44 has only just begun.