Former Comedy Duo Member Jiro Karibo Also Speaks Out… The “True Identity” of “Station Announcer” Chiaki Kuroki, Who Was Surprisingly Selected as the Successor to “Miyaneya”

*Soko Made Iu Iinkai NP*,

Following the departure of host Seiji Miyane (63), “Information Live Miyaneya” (Nippon TV network, produced by Yomiuri TV) will end at the end of September.

There has been talk that the successor program will be titled “News to” (tentative), and details about a notable cast member have now been revealed.

Yomiuri TV announcer Chiaki Kuroki (32) will serve as the MC from Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, Shingo Murakami (44) of SUPER EIGHT will host, and Kuroki is scheduled to join him every other week.

Competition among afternoon information programs is fierce, with rival shows including “Gogosma -GO GO! Smile!” (TBS network), hosted by Ryoji Ishii (49), and “Toretate!” (Fuji TV network), hosted by Genta Aoki (43).Although the new show is making a bold push as the successor to “Miyaneya”—which was a dominant force in the time slot—the pressure seems immense precisely because of that.

“Even though the flagship program ‘Miyaneya’ has ended, the fact that we can continue production in Osaka was a relief for Yomiuri TV.If Nippon TV had taken that time slot, our top talent would have been left without work. There was concern within the station that the lineage of staff continuing from *The Wide* (a joint production by Yomiuri TV and Nippon TV) would be severely disrupted. For that reason alone, the new program absolutely cannot fail,” said a Yomiuri TV producer.

In fact, “Miyaneya” is Yomiuri TV’s top source of programming revenue. If Nippon TV had demanded that the time slot be “returned,” it could have shaken the very foundation of the station.

“It seems there was a fierce tug-of-war behind the scenes, but in the end, Nippon TV was likely short on staff and didn’t have the resources to launch a new two-hour program.Since this isn’t simply a matter of the show being held accountable for poor ratings, the team—from executive producers down to the assistant directors—will be carried over almost entirely to produce the successor program. With such a seasoned team, the content should be top-notch.” (Producer mentioned earlier)

Miyane—a highly recognizable figure with a strong personality—is leaving. Even if Murakami, a powerhouse talent, takes a firm hold of Fridays, the burden from Monday through Thursday will fall on station announcer Kuroki.

Kuroki was handpicked to succeed Miyane, who had been the backbone of this time slot. When we investigated the reasoning behind this decision, it became clear why the network was willing to take such a big gamble on her.

“Kuroki became the sub-anchor for the evening news program ‘Kansai Information Net ten.’ (Kansai local) in 2017, and that’s when she began to stand out.Her ability to ask tough questions without flinching, even when facing high-profile guests, went over well, and in 2019, she was selected as an assistant for our popular program ‘Say It All Committee NP’ (Kansai local),” said a source at Yomiuri TV involved with the news programs.

On “Say It All Committee,” where panelists debate current events such as politics and social issues, Kuroki served as the “secretary” assisting host Jiro Shinbo (70), who goes by the title “Chairman” on the show. When Shinbo left the program in 2021, she was promoted—believe it or not—to Chairman.

He wasn’t a particularly notable figure when he first joined the company,

“There were voices of surprise within the station regarding Announcer Kuroki’s appointment as chairperson. After all, previous hosts of the program included Takajin Yashiki and Mr. Shinbo, who was the ‘face of the station.’It was thought that only a true heavyweight could manage sharp-tongued commentators like Toru Hashimoto, Tsuneyasu Takeda, Heizo Takenaka, and Shinichiro Suda. However, Announcer Kuroki’s MC skills were truly impressive—whether calming them down when they got out of hand or cutting straight to the chase to bring them together.“By taming these ‘middle-aged debaters’—each with their own quirks—her reputation within the company has skyrocketed. I’m even hearing that she’s now regarded as the top talent at the station,” said a source involved with the news program.

There’s no doubt that her success on *Iite Iinkai* played a major role in her selection as the successor to *Miyaneya*. Even after taking on the role of host for the new program, she will reportedly continue to host *Iite Iinkai*, which is recorded on Fridays.

So, to learn more about Announcer Kuroki’s “true self,” this site spoke with Jiro Shinbo—a veteran announcer at Yomiuri TV who teamed up with her on *Iite Iinkai* as the “chairman” and “secretary”—and he said,

“The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Kuroki is that her conversational responsiveness was far superior to that of other announcers. She has a wealth of life experience and understands the subtleties of the world. When she first joined the company, she wasn’t exactly a standout beauty or particularly cute, so she didn’t really stand out at the time (laughs).Given that many female announcers are “disposable” by their 20s, being entrusted with a nationwide afternoon daily program is truly remarkable. She’s undoubtedly the ace announcer at Yomiuri TV. To me, this selection is a no-brainer,”

he says, giving her a stamp of approval for her abilities. Furthermore, as a senior announcer who has served as the host of numerous programs, Mr. Shinbo offers this advice to Announcer Kuroki:

“Coming right after someone as charismatic as Mr. Miyane, viewers will naturally compare her to him, and she’ll probably be conscious of that too. But I hope she doesn’t let the fact that she’s following Mr. Miyane weigh her down—I want her to stick to her own style. If she does that, I think the viewers will follow her. I believe she’s more than capable of doing just that,”

he offered words of encouragement.

Currently, “Miyane-ya” and “Gogosuma” are locked in a fierce neck-and-neck race for ratings. Although she isn’t yet a household name nationwide, we hope she’ll put her own stamp on the show and turn it into “Kuroki-ya”—a program that surpasses “Miyane-ya.”