<figure id="attachment_462297" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-462297" style="width: 8192px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5dbcc067"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/35a8c4851df335dded098ebb7eedd198.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-462297" class="wp-caption-text">Shirai made the &#8220;transition&#8221; to a broadcaster this year. He responded to our interview with a radiant expression on his face.</figcaption></figure>
<p> The comedy duo &#8220;Cheamon Choo Choo&#8221; once made the finals of &#8220;THE MANZAI&#8221; and thrilled the audience with their unique high-tone voice and surrealistic manzai. Formed with high school classmate Kosuke Kikuchi (44), they had been active at the forefront for 25 years, but at the end of December 2013, they suddenly announced their dissolution. Tetsuya Shirai (44), who was in charge of the &#8220;blabbermouth,&#8221; unexpectedly chose the behind-the-scenes world of a broadcaster as his next career path.</p>
<p> Broadcasting writers have an irregular work environment that is tailored to the programs and events they are in charge of, which is physically and mentally demanding, and few people in their 40s change careers. Recently, it is still fresh in the memory that Osamu Suzuki, who was 51 years old at the time, retired from being a broadcaster in March 2012, saying that he could no longer maintain his passion to always give his all in his work.</p>
<p> The man who jumped into such an industry as a &#8220;newcomer&#8221; in his mid-40s revealed the truth behind the breakup and his ambitions for a comeback, which he can only talk about now.</p>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent"> I was aware of it since high school.</span></h3>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> When I was in high school, if I wasn&#8217;t in comedy, I wanted to be a broadcaster or a game creator. But when I went to a game school for an information session, I was told, &#8216;If you enter today, I will give you a small computer. I was too scared and quit. I thought it was too suspicious to be given away for free (laughs).</span></p>
<p> That is how Shirai chose to become a comedian, but after a 25-year career, he has returned to his roots. When he decided to dissolve the group, people around him worried about what he was going to do. When he decided to disband, people around him were concerned about what he would do, but he was completely positive about it.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I used to be so focused on my own success, but now I want to contribute to others with what I&#8217;ve learned so far,&#8221; he says. Looking back, I was forced to perform live shows at Yoshimoto Kogyo to the point of death. Whenever I ran out of material for a talk, I would muddle my way through a game corner of my own making, but that was actually an experience in directing. I thought I could make use of that experience as a broadcaster.</span></p>
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<p> The honest faces of the senior comedians when they announced the dissolution of the group were also impressive.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> When I contacted Kukki, 50, of &#8220;Wild Bombs&#8221; fame, he always responded, &#8220;I&#8217;m not a comedian! (50), who is always cheerful, said to me in a voice that sounded as if he might have been crying, &#8220;I see, let&#8217;s go out to eat. Daigo (46) of &#8220;Chidori&#8221; also seemed to be crying a little. &#8230;&#8230;</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> When I called Yuji Ayabe (48) of &#8220;Peace&#8221; who is in the U.S., ignoring the time difference, he got mad at me saying, &#8220;What time is it? He got mad at me (laughs). But my older brothers and younger colleagues, including Naomi Watanabe (38), Yuriyan Retriever (35), and Takashi Yoshimura (45) of Heisei Nobushi Kobushi, all told me that they would do their best to help me. I am truly grateful.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_462299" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-462299" style="width: 8192px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="cd6bb794"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/85210f4ccd64fb3ddb38a99d6e594e6b.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-462299" class="wp-caption-text"> When asked to strike a writerly pose, he posed with a notebook and pen. I&#8217;m embarrassed to be photographed like this, as if I were a young comedian again,&#8221; he said.</figcaption></figure>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" My biggest problem is that I can&#39;t do the blind touch!"></div>
<figure id="attachment_462301" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-462301" style="width: 8192px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0124ad8c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/765bfa697545309736d16cd5d7c97bb2.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-462301" class="wp-caption-text">Once talking about work, Shirai shows a serious expression on his face. He will start his career this year, but he has already received various offers.</figcaption></figure>
<p> Shirai is currently busy as a new writer. He has been asked to do a special for the distribution service &#8220;Abema,&#8221; promote a program for Nippon TV, and even manage a social networking service for a U.S. pharmaceutical company, giving him a surprisingly wide range of work. However, the 44-year-old rookie faces an IT skills barrier.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He says, &#8220;The hard part is, actually, I really can&#8217;t use PowerPoint. &#8230;&#8230; My junior writers lick me, saying, &#8216;Can you do blind touch?&#8217; I&#8217;m on the edge. I&#8217;m on the edge. I type while looking for the &#8220;X&#8221; on the keyboard &#8230;&#8230; (laughs). I&#8217;m good at speaking at meetings, but I didn&#8217;t know that I had to take the minutes of the meeting, so I&#8217;m always &#8230;&#8230; surprised.</span></p>
<p> He looks up to Momino Taiki, another comedian-turned-author, as his mentor, who at the age of 44 told him to hurry up and make the transition, saying, &#8220;You&#8217;re incredibly late. Television is a world where there are clients. It is different from comedians who are just trying to be funny on their own. He says he is in the process of being drilled into this mindset.</p>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent"> His first job was a &#8220;Toyota project.</span></h3>
<p> On the other hand, he is beginning to feel a positive response as a writer. The Web video that drew a lot of attention was a collaboration between Takuro, the M-1 Grand Prix 2025 champion, and Toyota Motor Corporation, which was released in January of this year. As a commercial planner, Shirai was in charge of the video&#8217;s entire structure, script, and even the cut. After the video was released on YouTube, it has been viewed more than 1.3 million times.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Takuro did a routine where he shouted &#8220;Toyota~Automobile~~&#8221; in the first episode of M-1, and Toyota responded to it on their official social networking site 30 minutes later. Toyota told me, &#8220;You&#8217;ve taken up the project.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Toyota asked me to come up with a story based on Takuro&#8217;s M-1 story that was featured in the film and incorporate a three-letter alphabet term related to cars, so I hurriedly came up with a plan. I took advantage of their &#8220;ring-analog&#8221; story system and wrote a new story that included car terms with three letters of the alphabet, such as RAV4 and PCS, the latest technology.</span></p>
<p> This project was requested by Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda (69) himself.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Akio Toyoda, 69, chairman of Toyota Motor Corp. I managed to come up with a second draft and sent it to him, and he gave us the OK. That made me very happy.</span></p>
<p> He also talks about the joys of being a creator. Shirai, who understands the feelings of comedians, was also very considerate.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> If you use a comedian&#8217;s material as is in a commercial, the material is consumed and can no longer be used elsewhere,&#8221; he said. So, I borrowed only the system and wrote all new content. On the day of shooting, I went to the site without telling Takuro, but the manager found out (laughs). When Akagi (Yutaka Akagi, 34) posted an X message saying, &#8220;Mr. Shirai made the material,&#8221; I felt like I had made a small contribution.</span></p>
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<p> When asked about his future goals, he mentioned &#8220;conquering all TV stations.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I want to be involved in all TV stations. I want to be involved in all TV stations, and the junior comedians don&#8217;t like it when I say, &#8216;Mr. Shirai is in the conference room! I want to be the one that the junior comedians say, &#8220;Mr. Shirai is in the conference room! The projects I used to do during my live shows were so demanding that the comedians would get angry, such as a game of musical chairs in which the music would not stop for 30 minutes without letting the comedians blabber on and on.</span></p>
<p> Armed with a 25-year career as a comedian, the 44-year-old&#8217;s challenge has only just begun.</p>
<figure id="attachment_462303" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-462303" style="width: 8192px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="c4340b1e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/bfd206583bfdfd454e8760767877c3d2.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-462303" class="wp-caption-text"> He was all smiles until the very end. His position may have changed, but his pursuit of &#8220;fun&#8221; will remain unchanged.</figcaption></figure>


 Kazuhiko Nakamura

 A "newcomer" in his 40s has been born, which is "unprecedented" in the broadcast writer industry. He is Tetsuya Shirai, who until the end of last year was in charge of making up stories and making up comedy acts in the comedy duo "Cheamon Choo Choo". We asked the popular comedian about his aspirations as he ventures into a new world.

An unprecedented change of career in the industry in his 40s! Former &#8220;Cheamon&#8221; Tetsuya Shirai, who became a &#8220;rookie broadcaster&#8221; at the age of 44, talks about his ambitions.

An unprecedented change of career in the industry in his 40s! Former “Cheamon” Tetsuya Shirai, who became a “rookie broadcaster” at the age of 44, talks about his ambitions.

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