<figure id="attachment_467994" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-467994" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b1d76510"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/05/c007fbb91a297eeb2ccc876d294e403a.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-467994" class="wp-caption-text">Illustration by Kanda-san</figcaption></figure>
<h2> If it lasts long enough</h2>
<p> A weekly column in a weekly magazine is hard work. If I went home after a normal day&#8217;s work, none of the rare events I take the trouble to tell you about would ever happen. But that doesn&#8217;t mean I don&#8217;t have the time or money for frequent rare experiences, and I&#8217;m running out of stories from the past that I want to write about.</p>
<p> Then how can I write them up? What I have been practicing since this series started 3 years and 3 months ago is to &#8220;question everything.</p>
<p> For example, when I see &#8230;&#8230; cherry blossoms and say, &#8220;Wow, beautiful!&#8221; (Now why did I find this cherry blossom so beautiful?) (Why did I feel this cherry blossom is so beautiful?). On the other hand, if I don&#8217;t feel anything, I wonder why I don&#8217;t feel anything at all. If I don&#8217;t feel anything, I ask myself why I don&#8217;t feel anything at all. In this way, we do not miss the slightest reaction of our daily mind, and analyze our mind to find the reason why we reacted. I found that I had not been aware of aspects of myself and drawers of my mind that I had not been aware of before, and the letters began to fill in.</p>
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<p> However, there were times when we could not dig deeper than expected, and there were also times when we were rejected at the discretion of the office. In this issue, we will introduce some of those rejected stories.</p>
<h4> One: &#8220;Harassment with a young manager in charge.</h4>
<p> In these days of &#8220;00-harassment,&#8221; I think many people are worried about how to deal with people who are younger than themselves. I tried to write about how I am trying to deal with this issue in my own way. I asked the manager in charge for permission to write about it just to be sure, and he said, &#8220;That&#8217;s totally fine.　If I were to write about it, I would include specific examples and details. I asked him, &#8220;Because that&#8217;s your subjective opinion, isn&#8217;t it? I asked him, &#8220;Really? So I asked her, &#8220;It is subjective, but there are many people of my generation at work, so there is a possibility that they will read the article and think that the manager is like that. I asked. As a result, he said, &#8220;Well, I don&#8217;t like that. I don&#8217;t like that.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" I like Emi Takei."></div>
<h2>I couldn&#8217;t dig it up.</h2>
<h4> Part 2: You said you don&#8217;t understand people who are really bad at cooking.</h4>
<p> I am really bad at cooking. I especially dislike the expression &#8220;a pinch of salt,&#8221; which is often used in cookbooks and TV programs. How much salt do you mean? and &#8220;Don&#8217;t write on the premise that everyone understands it!　Don&#8217;t assume that everyone understands it! And then, &#8220;How much salt do you mean by &#8216;how much salt&#8217;? The expression &#8220;a ball of onion&#8221; or &#8220;a carrot&#8221; is also used because there are various sizes of carrots sold in the market, and it makes you think, &#8220;Which size is a ball if I buy it? I get tired and sick of thinking about it before making the dish. I started to write this, but I got tired of spending time writing about cooking, which I hate, and decided to drop it halfway through.</p>
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<h4> The first time I tried on a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes.</h4>
<p> Christian Louboutin is famous for its red soles. I tried on a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes for the first time when I was in a department store in San Francisco. The moment I put my feet into the beautifully shaped sandals, which looked like a work of art, I felt like I was finally joining the ranks of the world&#8217;s fashionistas. But when I stood up, my pinky toe felt different. The width of the shoe was so narrow that my foot did not fit, and my pinky toe was sticking out and stepping directly on the floor. The clerk saw this and snickered, &#8220;Oh, really? Without even asking, he put them in a box. Anyway, it is a shocking memory, but it is nothing more or less than that.</p>
<h4> No. 4 &#8220;The Story of Wanting a Black Leather Pocketbook.</h4>
<p> When I was addicted to the TV drama &#8220;Kurokurekano techo&#8221; (Black Leather Pocketbook), I thought that Ms. Emi Takei, who played the main character, was very beautiful and good looking (I wish I had a copy of &#8220;Kurokurekano techo&#8221; too). And if I really got it, what would I do with it?　I thought seriously, &#8220;What would I do if I really got it? I don&#8217;t have the energy to threaten people with a pocketbook like the main character, nor do I want to buy anything with the large amount of money I have forced myself to acquire. And I don&#8217;t feel good about &#8230;&#8230; keeping people&#8217;s secrets. (Huh?) I don&#8217;t want a black leather handbook, I just want to be the beautiful Ms. Takei!　I realized this deep down and rejected it.</p>
<p> There are about 20 other stories in the series that were rejected without reaching the publication stage. I left them in the memo function on my smartphone, thinking that they might be useful over time.　I have left them in the memo function of my smartphone. If I have a chance to do so again, I would like to share them with you.</p>
<figure id="attachment_467995" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-467995" style="width: 3004px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-467995 size-full" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/05/83614dfb64f7defb962a677fca6ada4d.jpg" alt="" width="3004" height="3734"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-467995" class="wp-caption-text"> © Kazuki Shimomura</figcaption></figure>
<p> Born in 1980 in Kanagawa Prefecture. After graduating from Gakushuin University with a degree in mathematics, she joined NHK as an announcer in 2003, and left in 2012 to become a freelance announcer. Since then, she has been active mainly in variety shows, and currently appears regularly as the main MC of the daytime TV program &#8220;Poka Poka&#8221; (Fuji Television Network).</p>
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<p> Her first book, &#8221; <a href="https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E7%8E%8B%E9%81%93%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6%E3%81%84%E3%81%86%E9%81%93%E3%80%81%E3%81%A9%E3%81%93%E3%81%AB%E9%80%9A%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6%E3%81%BE%E3%81%99%E3%81%8B-%E7%A5%9E%E7%94%B0-%E6%84%9B%E8%8A%B1/dp/4065361834?&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=fridaymag-22&amp;linkId=7b143dc06b0a909efda233f6deb7d36a&amp;language=ja_JP&amp;ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Where are you going on the road called Royal Road?</a> is now on sale by popular demand!</p>
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<p> From the May 29, 2026 issue of &#8220;FRIDAY</p>
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 Aika Kanda

 There are about 20 stories in the series that did not make it to the publication... I have continued the series by questioning and analyzing everything, but there are times when I cannot dig deeper or when my office decides to reject a story. In this issue, we will introduce four of the rejected stories.

Free Announcer Aika Kanda “Special Feature on Rejected Serialized Stories

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