Guest: Inohara Yoshihiko from V6
Nakamaru: When I think about it, it was easy to understand when I was in Jr. that our goal was to make a CD debut. If you work hard towards your goal, you will be able to surpass your limits, but after debut, your goal becomes vague.
Inohara: I don't think that making a CD debut is everything now. I'd like to say that there may be other ways, but even so, making a CD debut is still very strong. I guess there's still that feeling of wanting to debut.
Nakamaru: Did you have anything like that when you made your debut?
Inohara: Yes, yes. When I joined the group, Hikari Genji had just debuted, and I was riding a skateboard in the background. Then SMAP debuted, and we backed them up. Next, TOKIO debuted. Matsuoka (Masahiro) and Nagase (Tomoya) joined the Johnny's office after me, so...
Nakamaru: Oh, there's a little twist there.
Inohara: Yeah. When Nagano-kun and I appeared on stage for the 10th anniversary of Shonentai, it was at a venue in Osaka, and after the show, we were left alone and took a train from Shin-Osaka station.
Nakamaru: Oh, does that actually happen? (laughs)
Inohara: We were left behind, just me and Nagano-kun. We were talking in the dressing room while waiting for someone to say, "Let's go." But it was quiet outside. We were like "Oh, there's no one here," "no way". And then Nagano-kun said "they left us!" (laughs)
Nakamaru: They left you (laughs).
Inohara: They left us, they left us. What's with this treatment? (laughs). At that time, Sakamoto (Masayuki) was also in Osaka on business, and he heard our story and felt sorry for us, so he treated us to soba.
Nakamaru: That was very kind.
Inohara: He said, "I know it's been hard for you guys, but I'm also doing my best on my own". On the way home, Nagano and I took the Shinkansen together.
Nakamaru: On your own.
Inohara: That's right. we only had the Shinkansen tickets, so we got on the Shinkansen on our own, and we found out that TOKIO, who had come to Osaka for their first live performance after debut right about that time, were on the same Shinkansen. We were sitting in the regular seats, and just when I wondered where they were going to sit, they said, "See you!" and they went into the green carriage. Then Nagano-kun said, "I see... the green carriage..." (laughs)
Nakamaru: It's been hard. (laughs)
Inohara: Yes (laughs). But that was in the summer, and we announced our debut on September 4th, so the announcement was right after that event.
Nakamaru: Did you hear about your debut before that event?
Inohara: I had only heard about the image character for the volleyball World Cup, but it hadn't decided who it would be. When we were left behind, Nagano and I were talking in the dressing room, wondering what happened to the volleyball project.
Nakamaru: I see.
Inohara: After that, I heard that the six of us were going to become V6, and when I went to the Welfarre (t/n: not sure what that is) in Roppongi on September 4th, and Johnny-san was there. The day before that, Hikaru Genji said they were "graduating".
Nakamaru: I see.
Inohara: Me, Sakamoto-kun and Nagano-kun were in the Taira faction. Did you know that? The Taira faction against the Genji. (t/n: reference to Heike Monogatari, a Japanese literary tale of the fight between the Taira and the Genji, where the Taira lost).
Nakamaru: I kind of heard rumors about it. (laughs)
Inohara: Then Johnny-san said, "You guys can finally make your debut. The Taira have defeated the Genji. (laughs)
Nakamaru: Wow (laughs). But it seems like fate. You said you were left behind in Osaka, and the way you felt when you saw TOKIO on the shinkansen. It feels like a set-up, doesn't it?
Inohara: It's not normal for us to have been on the same bullet train. It's amazing.
Nakamaru: It's amazing.
Inohara: By the way, Nagano-kun was the first to star in a drama after his debut. It was a drama called "Handsome Man".
Nakamaru: Ah, I remember that.
Inohara: Nagano was the star of the show, but even there, he was left behind when they went out on location.
Nakamaru: Hasn't he been left behind too much (laughs). Normally, that wouldn't happen to the leading actor.
Inohara: He thought it was quite quiet, but then he went out, he found no one there again (laughs).
Nakamaru: He got used to it (laughs). But that's how it was at the time V6 debuted, right?
Inohara: Yeah, yeah.
Nakamaru: For those of us in KAT-TUN, it's amazing that you've been able to keep going for a quarter of a century without losing any members.
Inohara: KAT-TUN started out with six members?
Nakamaru: Yes, six people.
Inohara: I think it must be hard to watch someone leave. Just by losing one person, the existing balance is lost. And that happened many times for KAT-TUN, right?
Nakamaru: Many times.
Inohara: Each time, I wondered how you'd manage to balance it all.
Nakamaru: It's finally settled down now, but it was a two to three-year cycle of one out, two out, three out. During that period of time, I've been... exploring. I was trying to figure out what would be the best way to do things. That's what I've been doing for a long time.
Inohara: It's tough.
Nakamaru: It was tough, that period.
Inohara: Nakamaru is the leader, right?
Nakamaru: No, not really a leader.
Inohara: In terms of age?
Nakamaru: I'm the oldest.
Inohara: When I heard that, I laughed... Yeah, you're the oldest, aren't you? (laughs) But on the other hand, I thought it was amazing. I'm sure you're carrying it on your back, but the fact that you make it look like you're not is amazing. But you know, when you lose a member, it's like losing a part of your body, isn't it? So you've done that three times, and now you're like, "Maybe this is all I've been doing from the beginning"?
Nakamaru: It's like when a member leaves the band, it's like a part of me is missing and I feel unbalanced. But now I feel like, "What? I feel like I can walk again". Finally, I feel normal.
Inohara: I said "It might have been this way from the beginning," but it wasn't necessarily so. One of you was gone, and the only thing left was the left leg, and that left leg became very strong. Then, the next time you lost that trained left leg, your arm got stronger. That's how the remaining parts were trained... maybe that's how it is. "I really wish I hadn't (lost it), but if I'm happy now, then maybe that was the best choice, just want to stay settled as much as possible.
Nakamaru: That's right. It's easy to say, but it's each person's life, so we can't interfere more than necessary. If that's the case, I'll have to work harder to enrich my own area and manage the whole thing with extra effort. Otherwise, my heart can't do it.
Inohara: The heart is important.
Nakamaru: It is.
Inohara: But it would be nice if the members who left were doing something somewhere else.
Nakamaru: That's right. I'm just hoping that everyone is doing well.
Inohara: As for KAT-TUN, actually, I'm glad it's like this.
Nakamaru: I'm glad to hear you say that. But V6 is really great, isn't it? I'm also in a group, so I can imagine how difficult it can be. But you don't show it at all, you only show the positive side to the people who support you as an idol, don't you?
Inohara: I don't know. But isn't that what we all do?
Nakamaru: Basically, it might be the same, but we weren't able to do it. We've been sending out negative messages as well (laughs).
Inohara: Well, yeah (laughs). I don't think it's Nakamaru's fault. But if you work at it for a long time, the negatives will turn into positives. Everyone has grown up and said, "Maybe that was the right thing to do at that time." I've been doing this for 26 years, and there are many good things about it. There are many things that I have said and done that I don't want to remember, but if they led to this place, then they have become something as a result. The longer I do this, the more I think about it. It's been a great learning experience, though. I think it's not a bad idea to keep at it for a long time.
Nakamaru: Yes.
Inohara: Also, when I think about what makes the fans most happy, I think it's to deliver something that you worked so hard to create, but more than that, I think the fans want Nakamaru to be happy. So you must be happy.
Nakamaru: Yes.
Inohara: I'm trying to be happy too.
Nakamaru: Yes, first of all as a human being.
Inohara: I think that's part of being prepared. There will be times of negativity, it's hard to be happy. That's what Nakamaru is choosing to do. I thought you'd arrived at this point with quite a lot of thought.
Nakamaru: ..... yes.....
Inohara: Are you deep in thought? (laughs)
Nakamaru: Yes (laughs)
Inohara: Nakamaru doesn't seem to be thinking much about what he's going to do in the future, but I'm wondering if he actually is.
Nakamaru: It's not that I don't think about it at all. But half of me says, "I want to enjoy my work now."
Inohara: Oh, I think that's a very good thing. There are people who set goals or write about them in books, such as "I want to achieve this goal in a certain number of years," or in the case of a company, "I want to increase annual sales by this amount in a certain number of years." right?
Nakamaru: Yes.
Inohara: But times change. "If you don't have something you really want to do, I think it's better to stay casual for now. Don't force yourself, because you're having fun right now. I think it's important to do what you can do to the best of your ability.
Nakamaru: That's true.
Inohara: I think the world will probably change dramatically in the next 10 years. There's the whole Corona thing, the whole world is going to be automated, and so on.
Nakamaru: That's true. Like, AI and such.
Inohara: All things will change drastically. Yamada Goro-san always says, "Old shops are the ones that are really different." For example, during the Warring States period, we used to sell futons, but one day we decided that futons were no longer viable, so we started selling Japanese sweets and have been doing so for hundreds of years. Even in the area of wagashi (Japanese sweets), things that had been protected up to that point were suddenly changed in the next generation, and so on until now. People often say, "There's a certain quality that hasn't changed," but I say, "No, no, the old stores have changed."
Nakamaru: Hee!
Inohara: We too are often told that "V6 has always been the same," but I think it's actually changed a lot. Because I don't think I could have survived without changing. I think if we kept doing the same old thing forever, it would have been over by now. I'm sure Nakamaru is one of those individuals who has changed tremendously. I felt that you were able to adapt. As the group changed drastically, the fact that your face and appearance remained unchanged is because it's something you were born with. In fact, you probably had to change a lot of things about yourself to stay there.
Nakamaru: I'm glad you said that. I'm happy to hear that, and I'm also a little relieved that I've recently started a YouTube channel, and I'm also working on a manga that I'd like to publish, but that's not my main job, is it? Basically, it seems the right thing to do is to work hard at singing and dancing. I want to do YouTube, and I'm happy to be invited to do it, and I'm having fun doing it, but on the other hand, I wonder if there are people who don't think this is a good idea. But times change, and if we don't accept and change with them, we won't last long. Inohara's words fit perfectly. It made me very happy.
Inohara: It's only for now. It's only when things change that people will say something. If people say something, it means you're doing the right thing. It's about having an impact. Basically, people don't want to change. The older we get, the less we want to change. You know that, right?
Nakamaru: Yes.
Inohara: But I think it's a very good thing that things are changing, and I'm sure no one will stop saying that. You may have forgotten this, but I was doing a piece on "Asaichi" about morning drama reception (t/n: sorry not sure about this, not familiar to me).
Nakamaru: Yes.
Inohara: That was something I first brought up when I was working on Gegege no Nyobo, and I got complaints at first. They asked me to stop.
Nakamaru: I see.
Inohara: When they showed me the faxes of complaints, I asked how many had been received. They said, "Three." I thought, "Eh, only three?". I said, "Okay, I'll make three a week then.". So I changed the schedule to three times a week, but then people started to ask me why I didn't do it. When things change, there are always people who say, "That's not what I want."
Nakamaru: That's true.
Inohara: We all want to sit on the couch all the time. We don't want to get up. But when things change, there will be a moment when everyone will start to think that this was the way it was from the beginning. Don't worry about it at all. You can keep changing things, and if they don't work, you can stop.
Nakamaru: Right.
Inohara: We know how to turn failure into black history, a laughing stock for hundreds. When they say "I wonder what you were thinking at that time. You must have been in a lot of trouble." you should just laugh at it. Even Nakamaru's manga is entertainment in its own right. Why don't you show that form to your kouhai? In fact, I feel like there will be more and more "is it okay to do this in entertainment?". That kind of diversity in entertainment is something I'm looking forward to in the future. I hope your manga turns out well.
Nakamaru: Thank you for today. It was a very good talk. I learned a lot.
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