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Lesson Transcript

Talking Japanese Culture, Season 1, Lesson 25 – Top 5 TV Personalities in Japan
Hello, and welcome to JapanesePod101.com. I’m Eric.
In this lesson we will talk about the ​"Top 5 TV Personalities in Japan”.
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The first person (on the list) is the high-profile star comedian (J: Akashiya Sanma).
Sanma, who hosts many TV shows, is one of the “Big 3” comedians in Japan along with (J: Tamori) and (J: Bīto Takeshi).
Sanma is very lighthearted and talks fast with a strong Osaka accent. He is good at carrying a conversation with others and cleverly creates something very funny out of the conversations.
He is also very creative with language, and created new words like (J: Batsu Ichi), or “strike one”, which means “being divorced once”.
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The next person (on the list) is a multi-talented TV personality (J: Bekkī).
This star has a Japanese mother and a British father, and has beautiful greenish eyes. She is very cheery and bright, and thinks quickly to help TV shows run smoothly.
Japan has many biracial stars, or so-called (J: hāfu tarento), and Becky surely is one of the most successful ones these days.
She was also named as “the queen of TV commercials” in 2008 after having appeared in 14 different commercials that year.
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The next person (on the list) is a super-big celebrity (J: Tamori).
The veteran comedian, who always shows up with his trademark sunglasses, is known for having hosted a weekday live TV program called (J: Waratte Iitomo!) for 32 years until 2014.
The long run has also been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Tamori is famous for his talent in mimicking just about anything, from exotic animals to foreign languages. His knowledge of various topics is also making him a successful MC and singer.
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The next person (on the list) is a rising young actress (J: Ayase Haruka).
She has established herself as a well-recognized actress with a series of awards. She also has a reputation for being hard-working and devoting her time to studying the script until she fully understands the character she is playing.
This actress with an innocent smile also started hosting TV shows after she played the main character in a drama series broadcasted on the national broadcaster NHK.
But when she is not acting, she is said to be very relaxed, and talks slowly and gently, which many fans find cute and attractive.
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The last person (on the list) is the once-forgotten but successfully-revived comedian (J: Ariyoshi Hiroiki).
He is known for his black humor and bad mouthing with a bit of sarcasm. Using harsh comments like this, Ariyoshi now appears in a dozen TV shows, making him one of the most successful young comedians.
Ariyoshi first appeared on the TV screen in the 1990s as part of (J: Saruganseki), a comedian duo that made it big by traveling across the Eurasian continent by hitch-hiking. But the boom didn’t last long, and his income became almost zero for years.
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That’s all we have for this lesson. Do you watch Japanese TV shows or dramas? If you do, then you know these people! Are there any other faces you often see on the TV screen? Let us know by leaving a comment! Thanks for listening and we’ll see you in another series. Bye!

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