TOKYO (TR) – A well-placed source told Sports Nippon (Mar. 9) on Saturday that two key Fuji TV announcers will be leaving the station this spring, a development that surely will raise eyebrows amid the continuing scandal surrounding Masahiro Nakai.
According to the source, both Yumi Nagashima, 33, and Keiko Tsubakihara, 39, both have already informed those around them of their intention to leave.
Both have been active as flagship announcers for the station. Nagashima is known as the eldest daughter of former Japanese national soccer team player Akihiro Nagashima. She has appeared mainly on the station’s Mezamashi TV daily breakfast program and variety shows.
She gave birth to her first child in January last year and is currently on maternity leave. Tsubakihara mainly appears in news programs. She is the mother of two children. She returned from childcare leave in August 2023.
The station has been shaken by problems stemming from former entertainer Masahiro Nakai’s so-called “woman trouble,” whereby he acknowledged engaging inappropriate behavior with a female employee in the entertainment industry.
However, the source at the station said, “There seems to be no connection between these problems and the departures [of the announcers]. Both of them seem to want to focus on raising their children.”
However, as both of them are Fuji TV’s flagship announcers, there is concern within the broadcaster, according to the source. The broadcaster told Sponichi that it “does not respond to questions about individual cases involving employees.”
