Akashiya Sanma Pessimistic About Fuji Television’s Future as a 70 Years Old was Appointed as its New President!
The official decision will be made at the general shareholders meeting and board of directors meeting scheduled for June 28. Mr. Minato will also become a director of Fuji Media Holdings (HD), the parent company of Kyodo Television.
After graduating from Waseda University, Mr. Minato joined Fuji in 1976. He worked as a director of variety programs in the production department, and was in charge of many popular programs such as “Yuyake Nyan Nyan” and “All Night Fuji,” which gave birth to the Onyanko Club. As a producer, he was responsible for hit programs such as “Tonneruzu no Minasan no Okage Deshita“. There is no doubt that he is a man of considerable ability and a key figure in Fuji’s breakthrough.
Speaking of Fuji, however, at the end of last year, the company invited employees over 50 years of age and with at least 10 years of service to apply for early retirement, and approximately 100 employees will be leaving the company by the end of March. Among those who voluntarily retired were popular female announcers who supported Fuji’s golden era, as well as famous announcers who had made a name for themselves by providing live racing commentary for horse races and other events.
The new president, Mr. Minato is 70 years old, and one would think that he was trying to “rejuvenate” the company by taking early retirement, but here we are.
However, Mr. Minato may not have really wanted to be president either. Akashiya Sanma voiced these sentiments on his behalf.
He spoke on MBS radio’s “Young Town Saturday” broadcast late at night on January 21. He himself was involved with Mr. Minato in “Odaiba Akashi Castle” and other projects.
He has done a lot of work on my show, but he is now the president of the company. But most people seem to be afraid of being the president of a TV station…” He laughed and said, “I’m not sure if it’s a good idea”.
He laughed bitterly and spoke
It’s a tough time in the TV industry. I think they are a bit surprised to be made president.
Mr. Minato is known as “Minato-Tochi,” a nickname given to him by “Tunnels,” and is a close friend of the group. Noritake Kinashi created the character “Kominato-san,” an impersonation of Mr. Minato. Sanma took this into consideration and spoke
“But, well, it’s going to be Tonneruzu,” he said.
and predicted a new program by Tonneruzu. He then asked Minato
I want you to do your best in variety shows, but it’s going to be tough. I wonder how it will develop. This is not the time to worry only about Fuji TV. I’m worried about the TV station (as a whole).
He encouraged them. Former Fuji employees echoed Sanma’s words.
I think Mr. Minato himself is probably surprised by the resignation. Within the station, he was treated as someone who was finished. In other words, that’s how difficult it is to find talented people at Fuji.
For a long time, Fuji’s top three producers in the production department were Chihiro Kameyama, who worked on the hit series “Odoru Daisousasen” (Bayside Shakedown), Ryo Ohta, who mass-produced trendy dramas in the 1990s, and Minato, who worked in variety shows.
Of these, Kameyama became president in 2001, but he was unable to halt Fuji’s decline and stepped down in 2005. He was once considered to be the best choice for the job, but he was not.
However, he had been involved in a scandal reported in a weekly magazine in the past, and perhaps that had an influence on his decision,” said a former Fuji employee.
Meanwhile, Mr. Minato left Fuji in 2003 to become president of Kyodo Television. Many in the industry saw this as “dropping out of the race for president.
The industry saw this as a sign that he had dropped out of the presidential race. It’s no wonder people think we don’t have the talent. Even though he is the president, it is believed that the highest authority will ultimately be Advisor Hisashi Hieda, and rebuilding Fuji while taking those voices into consideration will be a difficult task, both physically and mentally. Knowing this, I hear that the younger generation has become less eager to rise to the top. Some people at the station are saying, ‘Mr. Minato may have been made to suffer a poor fate.
But even if there is some concern at first, all that is needed is to show rapid progress that blows it out of the water. Will Fuji make a great comeback under the new president?
PHOTO： Kojiro Yamada
