Well, despite NHK chairman Ebisawa’s claims that it would be the best ever, Kohaku was a big flop. The second part of the New Year’s Eve song spectacle recorded a viewer rating of just 39% in the Tokyo area, the first ever below 40%. The opening half rated just over 30% and was the 2nd worst ever. Even the presence of several Korean stars such as BoA and Lee Byun Hung, who were last year’s hot item, couldn’t save the ratings. It did mean the show got a feature on Korean TV, though. Meanwhile, of the fighting sports shows that were on almost every other channel, TBS’s K-1 show became the first to record 20% on a private network.
• Yoshimoto comedian and emcee Shimada Shinsuke (photo, 48) made a brief appearance on January 2. Though highly apologetic after a 2-month layoff resulting from his assault of a female Yoshimoto employee in October, he signaled his intent to get back to work. He had 8 regular TV slots before the case that threatened to end his career. The woman has yet to fully accept his profusions of apology and took the case to court.