Q & A with Aichan on the radio

By: Zabel

I'm gonna give ya a full translation of Aichan's appearance on the radio show Nack5 Fanky Friday from two days ago. I say full translation although I've shortened/paraphrased parts. The conversation was recorded over the phone and consisted of the host asking yes/no questions where Aichan was to answer yes or no in English. (often accompanied with a cute giggle)

Kobayashi: Is it hard being Morning Musume's leader.
Takahashi: Yes.
K: What kind of things do you have to do?
T: Organize the others, tell them important things. There's not that much to do, but I'm poor at speaking. I trip up when I speak so I have trouble getting across.

K: Since everyone's blood type (personality) is different, is it hard to organize them?
T: No.
K: Are their blood types (personalities) different?
T: They are, but it's not so hard.

K: Your new single is your 42nd. Can you name the titles of all 42?
T: Yes.
K: Do you sing songs from before you joined?
T: We do.
K: Which out of the previous 41 singles is your favorite.
T: I like Do it Now.
K: How about the early era?
T: I like Memory Seishun no Hikari.
K: Each member has her favorites, huh?
T: Yeah, some girls like the bright songs. I like the kind of dark emotional ones.

K: Does producer Tsunku give instruction in fine particulars?
T: Yes.
K: So he does?
T: Like on rhythm, or about speaking in concerts.
K: What does he say to you?
T: In the beginning he instructed me on rhythm a lot. I tended to go too fast. More recently it was about being a leader, and he taught me tsukkomi.
K: Would you say you are more boke than tsukkomi?
T: Neither I guess. Maybe boke.

K: So you like Takaraduka?
T: Yes.
K: Would you want to play the male or female role?
T: If my height wasn't a factor, the male role. Otherwise it would have to be the female role.

K: Are you bad at shopping by yourself?
T: No.
K: Are you the type who buys lots of stuff?
T: Yes.
K: Does shopping relieve stress for you?
T: It does.
K: What is something big you have bought recently?
T: Detergent. I like to buy a lot of it at once.

K: When you were a kid did you participate in Nodo Jiman?
T: Yes.
K: What were you good at singing?
T: Well I was in chorus so I did a lot of singing, and before that I went to karaoke a lot. I sang Nakamori Akina.
K: So you were good at singing.
T: I dunno about that, but I like singing.

K: Would you like to live leisurely in Fukui?
T: Yes.
K: When you are busy you don't get much sleep. Is that so?
T: I get sleep. But the trains in Tokyo come so fast. It's convenient, but in my home town a train comes only once every hour. Sometimes it's nice to live in a place like that where the pace is slow.
K: After you marry or retire, would you want to live in Fukui?
T: Yeah somewhere where it's laid back.

K: Do you often sing Morning Musume songs at karaoke?
T: Yes.
K: Are you best at singing the songs you like best?
T: Yeah, I sing the songs I like, and when I go out with my friends they ask me to sing (MM songs).
K: So your friends are going, "It's the real thing!"
T: Yeah. (laugh)

K: Should an idol need to update a blog every day?
T: No.
K: Do you blog?
T: I don't have one.
K: Do the others?
T: Morning Musume doesn't blog.
K: Because of company policy?
T: Probably. But I'd like to. For a time I did some blogging for a play, and I'd never had that experience before. It was fun.

K: Was it your mom who applied for your audition to Morning Musume?
T: No.
K: Did other members' moms apply for them?
T: I haven't really heard so. I think they applied themselves.

K: Do you pay attention to the charts when you release a single?
T: Yes.

K: Do you like umeshu better than beer?
T: Yes.

K: Because you're the leader, do you quarrel with the staff, etc on behalf of the others?
T: Yes.
K: Have you done so recently?
T: Well, recently, since there's a lot of members and we're girls, it was something along the lines of, "Be careful how you speak to them." If there's something bothering us, I'll tell them this is how we feel.
K: You must feel like you're the leader at such times.
T: Yeah, like if I don't say it, nothing will change.

K: As the leader do you know a lot of members' secrets?
T: No.
K: You don't know?
T: I don't know. I don't really ask them. Well, when giving advice a little, but I don't really know their secrets.
K: Are your own secrets known?
T: No.

K: Do you sing enka?
T: No. I haven't sung enka, but I'd like to try.
K: Do your parents sing enka?
T: My dad likes to sing Shima Uta. But that's not enka.
(cool dad! Shima Uta is a good tune)

K: Marriage is something you don't need to think about for now?
T: Yes.
K: The company probably tells you how you need to be mindful of the fans and things like that, huh?
T: Yeah, being a Morning Musume.
K: When would it be okay to get married?
T: After I graduate, probably any age would be okay.
K: But do you want to be in love? Are you now?
T: No.
K: Is there someone you'd like to be with?
T: Well I'd like to be, and the songs I sing have to do with love, but I'm not thinking of that now.

K: Do you check on other female idol groups?
T: Yes.
K: There's quite a lot of them even in your own company. Are you friends with them, and do you check on them?
T: Well I'm the eldest in Hello! Project and the leader of the whole body, so well, you know, they're my juniors so I notice them.
K: The eldest, huh?
T: 23.
K: When I was a 1st year student in college, a female 4th year student thought of herself as an old lady and I thought that was silly. But do you feel that way?
T: Well yes, I'm the eldest even in Morning Musume, so I get that treatment. It was that way from age 20. So I don't really feel I'm young.
K: In that case, when you graduate you'll become very young again.
T: Is that so? (laugh)

K: Do you go to graduated Morning Musume members for advice?
T: Yes.
K: Is there one of them you're particularly close to?
T: I see Yoshizawa now and then and she gives me advice.

K: Is producer Tsunku a genius?
T: Yes.
K: What impresses you about him?
T: He has all these groups, not just Morning Musume, and makes so many songs. The melody is different each time. It thought it was amazing how he got the idea for Kimagure Princess by looking at his daughter's butt.
K: He has kept making so many songs.
T: He's really great. And not just singles, but songs for albums too. More songs than you can count.
K: Do you feel like you want to become like him?
T: I can't be like him. I can't beat him.

K: Are you ignorant about politics and economics?
T: Yes.
K: But are you interested in it?
T: I'm interested, but I joined Morning Musume in junior high school not knowing those things. It would have been nice to have studied them more.
K: But for instance, do you care about like how the highway will become free of charge if they win the election, or like receiving financial aid for giving birth, and things like that?
T: Well I was impressed when the highway toll went to 1000 yen. (laugh)

K: If you have a daughter in the future, would you want her to enter a Morning Musume audition?
T: Yes.
K: You wouldn't want her to stay away?
T: Well, it's tough and stressful, but I know the good things about being Morning Musume. I'd kind of like to see that.

K: Have you ever received an expensive present from a fan?
T: Yes.

K: Is Morning Musume a dream job?
T: Yes.

K: But do you have quarrels with the other members?
T: Yes.

K: Are you the weakest at quarreling?
T: No, I guess.

K: The day after tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Will you give lots of chocolates?
T: Yes.


That's the interview. Did you learn anything new about our Lovely Commander? ^^

Possibly today I should be putting a sub of the recent On-ryu guest appearance (Ai, Risa, Linlin) on the Hello! Online tracker, so keep an eye out for that.