Shinsuke Shimada quits!

[isityours]

Shinsuke Shimada 島田紳助 one of Japan's most popular and prolific television presenters/hosts announced his immediate retirement on the 23rd of August 2011.

The Daily Yomiuri article

1/9 press conference (in japanese)
[youtube]8CNwS93Lf_w[/youtube]

this is somewhat distressing as i am a fan of his and watched several of his regular programs every week.

 

[aquamarine]

Officially, he claimed that he is leaving because he feels that he added to the Japanese cultural heritage... talk about a blow-hard, lol. I'm sure it has -NOTHING- to do with the recent outing of him and ties to the yakuza... yea... nothing at all...
(Source: NHK TV News)

 

[isityours]

i think that shinsuke shimada has added to japanese (comedy) culture in many different ways and is one of the most talented tv hosts i know of. his quick wit and ability to put a lot of meaning into a few words are among his many charms. he was also a strong role-model to younger comedians (the M-1 comedy championships for example) and is a successful business entrepreneur.
his involvement with yakuza affiliates was 3rd party (a friend of a friend apparently) but was compounded by his recent 6 month hiatus following his physical assault of a fellow company employee 3 years ago.
as far as i know shinsuke demanded that he be allowed to resign (to protect himself, his family, Yoshimoto productions, the industry and his friends) against the urgings of his employer and fellow employees. he had been saying that he would retire before or once he reached 60 (within the next 5? years) and may have felt that he had contributed what he had to give.

shinsuke shimada. another asshole who deserved it??? i think not.