<figure id="attachment_464108" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-464108" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a2a9b96e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/0daa5fffa9d9ecf034895f600c24fc20.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-464108" class="wp-caption-text">Shihori Kanjiya announces that she is leaving her agency of 26 years at the end of March.</figcaption></figure>
<h2><span class="strongInContent"> Her contract ends at the end of the fiscal year on March 31.</span></h2>
<p> A tectonic shift is taking place in the entertainment industry.</p>
<p> Actors, celebrities, and comedians have been leaving their offices one after another before the new fiscal year.</p>
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<p> Those who announced their departure from their agencies on March 31, the end of the fiscal year, were actor Hayami Mokomichi (41) and actress Kanjiya Shihori (40). Hayami is,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I entered the entertainment industry in my late teens, with no experience and no idea of what was right and left, but thanks to the support and help of everyone involved and my fans, I was able to share a wonderful view with them that I would not have been able to experience in my life.</span></p>
<p> Kanjiya also expressed his gratitude. Kanjiya, too,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I was scouted when I was in the second year of junior high school and entered this world. I had never had a dream before, but you gave me a bold dream to stand up in front of people and perform in a play. He has patiently stood by me for 26 years. All of my experiences have made me who I am today.</span></p>
<p> He also wrote, &#8220;I am now a woman of my dreams. In addition, TV personality Ohbayashi (28) terminated his contract with his agency on March 31 and returned to his hometown, Aomori-based Ringo Music.</p>
<p> The comedy world is also in an uproar.</p>
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<p> Kazuhiro Fujiwara (48) of &#8220;License&#8221; and Tenjiku Kawahara (46), formerly of &#8220;Jersey Mouse,&#8221; have left Yoshimoto Kogyo, and R-1 champion Meildo Miura (48) has also graduated, and will switch to a &#8220;sales support contract&#8221; from April, where he will only be asked to broker work for Yoshimoto.</p>
<p> In addition, actress Dan Rei (54) and singer/songwriter miwa (35) also left the agency during March.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Behind-the-scenes of the production companies behind the independence"></div>
<h2><span class="strongInContent">500,000 yen per month salary even for a successful student.</span></h2>
<p> These were reported by some as a &#8220;rush of exits,&#8221; and the trend is expected to continue. According to a source in the entertainment business, &#8220;Compared to 10 years ago, entertainers are making more money.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Compared to 10 years ago, entertainers&#8217; ways of earning money have become more diverse. In the past, you had to go on TV, sell your face and name, and get commercials before you could make a lot of money, but now you can easily make a million yen a month if you get buzz on social networking sites such as YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.</span></p>
<p> As long as you are with an office, you share the paycheck. The ratio depends on the agency, but in most cases, for TV and other work, the talent is paid 7 and the agency 3, or the talent is paid 6 and the agency 4.</p>
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<p> The salary structure also differs from agency to agency, and varies from a percentage system to a monthly salary system. A manager at a mid-size entertainment company said, &#8220;At our company, we pay the heroine&#8217;s salary at the heroine level.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> At our company, a young actress who was a heroine and appeared in commercials was paid 500,000 yen per month. She became frustrated and left the agency.</span></p>
<p> She is now working as a freelancer.</p>
<p> If she becomes independent, her entire salary goes into her own pocket. However, in fact, there are cases of &#8220;hidden restructuring&#8221; by the agencies. In response to an interview by this site, a senior executive of an entertainment company said, &#8220;Entertainment firms as a whole are facing severe management problems.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The entertainment agencies as a whole are under pressure to manage their businesses in a difficult situation. While TV and movie fees have fallen dramatically, costume, maintenance, and personnel costs have skyrocketed. It is said that there are only a few offices that are running in the black. Talent with poor cost performance is advised to transfer to other agencies or notified that their contracts will be terminated. Since these circumstances are not made public, the public interprets it as the talent &#8220;leaving&#8221; the agency, but in many cases, it is actually just a case of &#8220;being restructured by the agency.</span></p>
<p> AI is said to be a threat to the talent agencies.</p>
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<p> One big-name actress reportedly allocates about 30,000 yen per month to an AI to calculate her market value and a fair salary, which she uses as the basis for negotiations with her agency. One entertainment manager did not hide his sense of crisis when interviewed.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> One entertainment manager did not hide the crisis when interviewed: &#8220;If you ask AI how to effectively market an actress, not to mention manage her schedule, it will instantly answer your questions. This actress still belongs to a production company, but if she can solve the transportation problem, she may go independent. Eventually, the time will come when she won&#8217;t need a manager.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> It seems that the wave of the times is sweeping over the entertainment industry as well.</p>


 Takao Kawakami

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