Yuji Ayabe of Peace: The sad reason why his struggles in New York are not getting enough attention
Yuji Ayabe of the comedy duo “Peace” has been in the U.S. for over 5 years and started YouTube this month. This is the first time he has begun to talk about his life in the U.S., which until now has been shrouded in a veil of secrecy, rarely revealing the details of his activities.
Ayabe posts daily videos in the form of interviews. He says that he had zero “English ability” in the beginning, but over the past five years he has established a study method after meeting a good teacher.
He says that he does not recommend that people like Ayabe, who cannot speak English at all, suddenly try to converse with native speakers. He says it is important to learn the basics from someone who can also speak Japanese. In the video, Aya is shown chatting with a foreigner and seems to be able to communicate with him without any problems.
He is a person who talks to everyone and makes friends proactively. In the beginning, when he did not speak English at all, the president of an American event company took a liking to him and asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” When asked what he wanted her to do, she replied, “I want to meet Britney Spears and Ringo Starr,” and he actually allowed her to meet them for one minute. Ayabe’s energy is amazing,” said a reporter from a sports newspaper.
He has also met superstars such as George Clooney and Nicolas Cage.
When she met George Clooney, she said
“Hi! George! I’m a comedian from Japan, and I’d love to do a movie with you someday!”
He said he spoke to him. But that would mean that in the future, when they co-star in a Hollywood movie
He said, “It’s not the first time, George! I was taking a picture with you that time.
He said he was taking pictures with stars now, as a “prelude” to saying, “I was taking pictures with stars when I was in Hollywood.
In fact, Ayabe has appeared in several movies, as a “Japanese star” on a cooking show, and in commercials broadcast in the U.S. by major corporations, although he has played a minor role.
It must be quite an accomplishment for her to work with such vitality while speaking no English at all.
However, what is worrisome is the reaction in Japan.
Although Ayabe’s movements have been reported on the Internet news, there has been no response at all. Ayabe announced on YouTube that she was moving from New York to Los Angeles, but a look at the comments section of the news article shows that there are really very few comments. Even in the rankings of various websites, you don’t see many articles on Ayabe. Perhaps Japanese people are not interested in Ayabe taking on challenges overseas….
Perhaps the fact that he has remained silent for five years has backfired. If he is not seen for a long period of time, he is treated as a “disappeared celebrity,” as in “That person is now.
Young people may not be familiar with Mr. Ayabe’s existence if he has been gone for five years. However, Mr. Ayabe has no interest in the Japanese market. He has a dream of becoming a Hollywood star, so he probably doesn’t care.
In 2003, his partner, Naoki Matayoshi, won the Akutagawa Prize for his book “Spark. In 2003, his partner, Naoki Matayoshi, won the Akutagawa Prize for his book “Hibana” (Fireflower), and was revered as a “sensei” (teacher) throughout Japan.
The following year, Ayabe announced that he was going to the United States. His cloud-hogging declaration that he would become a Hollywood star was sometimes derided as a big mouth move. Behind it all, Ayabe may have felt a sense of rivalry that he could not afford to lose to his partner.
Ayabe is steadily fulfilling his dream one step at a time. It will be interesting to see what kind of big job Ayabe will accomplish in the future.
Photo: AFP/Afro