🍎 [True Story] How a casual note I wrote led to an appearance on 'ABEMA Prime' 😲

I made a studio appearance on the April 23rd broadcast of ABEMA Prime.
I was so surprised. 😲I was so surprised. 😲

That's me on the other side of the frosted glass.

Watching the video, it feels very strange to hear my own voice playing.

I find myself watching it like it's someone else, thinking, 'Wow, she's really talking her heart out.'When I was writing that note, I never imagined that something like this would happen to me., I never thought it would happen.

Here is the note article that started it all 👇

When I wrote it, my mother was just being hospitalized.

I was completely overwhelmed by the changes in her physical condition and the environmental changes caused by her hospitalization.

My mother's stress reached its peak, and when she got angry at me for some reason I didn't understand, the lid on my old memories was blown off.

It was an article I wrote because I wanted to organize for myself why that had happened.

Until the event I wrote about in this article happened, I had the leeway to accept my mother's irritation by thinking,'Well, that's just how my mother is,' or 'Oh, here we go again. That's just how it is.'I thought it would be fine even if she started getting angry in worse ways.

Truly, it was unexpected.
It felt like having a bucket of forgotten kitchen scraps suddenly dumped over my head,and as those unpleasant memories welled up, I was stunned, thinking, 'Oh, I hadn't forgiven her yet.'

And so,I learned firsthand that 'forgiving' is not an easy thing to do.I learned that firsthand.

I first received a message on April 8th.
I got a notification saying, 'You have an inquiry from a note user,' and when I checked the email,

Along with that opening, it asked if I would be willing to do a phone interview about my experience and what I am thinking now.

What?! ABEMA Prime, you mean that ABEMA Prime?!

Just to be sure, I checked the domain,
@tv-asahi.co.jp was written there.

Well, if it says 'TV Asahi' clearly in the domain name, it surely can't be a scam... right?!

I replied with some trepidation,
a phone interview was scheduled for April 9th,
and the director's phone number was sent to me.

Then, as I waited by the phone at the scheduled time on April 9th, I actually received a call from the number provided,

and after being interviewed by the director for over a full hour on themes like 'toxic parents' and 'forgiveness','Would you be able to speak with us on the day, either remotely or in the studio?'I was asked.

I told them that my home is quite far away, the broadcast time is 10 PM, and I have work the next day, so I would appreciate doing it remotely, but after that, I received an email on April 16th

'Would you please consider coming to our office...?'so I consulted with and got the support of my husband and mother-in-law,

and decided to try my first television appearance.

Television, of all things.

Apparently, footage of me doing gymnastics with the instructors on 'Okaasan to Issho' aired a long, long time ago, but I don't remember that at all 😂

As for interviews... I had been interviewed on the street twice before in Shinjuku and Ginza, but I ended up never checking if they were actually broadcast.

Come to think of it, I remembered how I once wanted to do voice work and briefly aimed to be an announcer or voice actor, and how I sent an entry sheet to NHK during the employment ice age and didn't even get a look-in,

but I had always thought of'television stations' as the place most distant from my own life.

To put it nicely, 'a gathering of tough people'.

To put it bluntly, 'a place where people can be easily discarded'.

I had held that kind of image of the people who work at TV stations,

and even had the impression that it was a 'scary place'.

I decided to appear with my face obscured by 'frosted glass',

but my figure and shape would still be visible.

I was afraid of being 'attacked' for it in some way, but

in the first place, people watch the show to hear from Announcer Hiraishi, EXIT, Miki Ando, and the experts, not me. I figured no one would care about a middle-aged, ordinary woman in her late thirties.

Above all,

I didn't want to miss the precious opportunity to go to a 'TV station' and appear on a 'TV program'.

That fan-girl spirit—or rather, my curiosity—won out. 😂

Leading up to the day, the director sent me the script and emails explaining the schedule and confirming the meeting time.

On April 23rd, the day of, I had work in the morning, so I packed in the afternoon and headed to Tokyo Station by highway bus.

The weather was unfortunately rainy.
And it was a real downpour, too.

The bus was crowded on the way, and I thought, 'I'm glad I left early...' as I walked and walked through Otemachi Station to catch the Chiyoda Line.

I transferred to the Hibiya Line at Kasumigaseki and headed to Roppongi.

After a long time, I gazed up at the Roppongi Hills building

and arrived at the entrance of the TV Asahi building for the first time.

The director had told me, 'Please call me when you arrive,' so
I called from beside the guard booth,

but it didn't connect. 😂

'Well, that makes sense, they're busy...' I thought,

and I tried calling one more time, but it still didn't connect. 😂

I tried calling back after a little while, but I couldn't get through. 😂😂😂

Well... what should I do now...?
Would they let me in if I just gave them my name...?

The moment I called out to the security guard, saying, 'Um, excuse me...'

I got a call from the director, who said, 'I'm so sorry I couldn't answer! I'm coming to pick you up right now!'
'What! You're going to come pick me up even though you're busy?!'I thought, and replied, 'I'll be waiting,' before hanging up.

The director who came to pick me up was, of course, someone I was meeting for the first time. I had imagined a woman with disheveled hair or a tight bun, moving around frantically, but when I actually met her, she had long, gently wavy hair, glasses, and a lovely smile, and she was someone who carried a very soft and elegant atmosphere.

'Thank you so much for coming all the way here today. I'll show you to your dressing room,' she said. 'What! A dressing room for someone like me?!' I thought, feeling humbled once again.

When the elevator doors opened, there was a gray hallway with a real 'TV station' vibe, lined with posters for TV Asahi programs.

A young celebrity was taking photos in the hallway.

Dressing rooms were lined up along the right side of the long hallway, with the names of famous celebrities posted on them. 'Oh, this person is here, and that person too! Wow, this is really a TV station...' I thought, walking around like a total civilian, when

I passed by the real Kendo Kobayashi.

'Wow, it's the real deal...' I didn't say it out loud, but I thought it while bowing my head. Sorry if it was a fake...

While I was thinking that, at the very end of the long hallway,

'Ms. Ringo Rin'I really found a door with that written on it.

'Please spend some time here until it's time. When you leave, please lock the door with the key card on the table. The restroom is over there in the hallway,' she explained, and the dressing room I entered was

truly the kind of dressing room I had seen on TV.

I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to show, so here's just the front of the door.

Inside, there was a changing area immediately to the left, with a wall covered in mirrors. In front of the mirrors, there was a vanity and a long table, and another mirror and table set was placed against the opposite wall.

On the long table were a stack of today's scripts and a TV screen.
And there was a small bottle of water and a small basket filled with snacks.

It's way too big for one person to use 😂

And then, I carelessly placed my wet backpack on the chair, soaking the fabric.

Since it was a black chair, I prayed the stain wouldn't be discoveredor be noticeable, while mentally scolding myself, 'You amateur!'

The broadcast time for ABEMA Prime is from 21:00 to 23:00.

By the time I arrived at the dressing room, the broadcast had already started.

It felt so strange to watch the studio I was about to enter and the celebrities I would be talking with on the dressing room TV screen.
The feeling of being in another world, thinking, 'Am I really going to go there soon?' was intense.

The segment about 'toxic parents' was scheduled for 22:00, so a director was supposed to come by for a meeting around 21:30.

Thinking I should go to the restroom before that, I grabbed my key card and headed out of the dressing room.

The restroom wasn't very large, but it was clean.

When I returned to the room, I heard a woman's voice from outside saying, 'Excuse me.'

Thinking it might be the director, I replied, 'Yes,' but

it took me a few seconds to realize that the door locks automatically when closed, so I had to go open it myself.

I hurriedly opened the door, and a woman from the office handed me a paper, saying, 'Could you please write down the account information for today's appearance fee?'

...Wait, account information...?

Somehow, due to my Showa-era habits, I had imagined I would be handed a 'cash envelope'. I thought.

I told myself, 'Of course, these days it's all bank transfers!' and for once, I was glad I had my bank card in my wallet.
🍎 If you ever have a similar experience, make sure to keep the transfer details handy!

Just after 21:30, the director came over, and I thought we would go over the script, but...

'This show doesn't really follow the script, but we'll be showing panels like this, so could you use them as a reference?' They showed me a printed paper of the panels that would appear on screen when I spoke. While looking at that, the director started chatting as if we were just making small talk, asking, 'By the way, when was it that you, Ringo Rin-san, felt you couldn't forgive your mother?' and as I answered, they expanded on the conversation...

a meeting that felt like an extension of a conversation or a counseling session lasted for a solid 20 minutes. It really helped me warm up, and I felt much more comfortable talking.

Anyway, I had imagined a 'director' would be more high-handed and aggressive, but the ABEMA Prime director was excellent at 'active listening'—they would listen intently, nod along, and gently expand on the conversation by asking, 'Is that what you mean?' or 'How about in this case?' They were truly a 'good listener'.

I'm sure they've listened to many people while producing the show, and I think if someone is just listening half-heartedly, that attitude is immediately apparent to the speaker, but I felt like they were carefully picking up every single word I said.

Even so, they didn't get too involved or overly empathize with my emotions; I could see them quietly and gently drawing a line. It didn't feel like they were 'avoiding' me, but rather keeping a distance that made it easy for me to open up.

Since they sometimes give their phone numbers to guests, and they are lovely women, I'm sure some people might want to have a personal connection, so I thought they must be especially careful about how they build those relationships.

After that intense exchange, I was guided to the studio just after 22:00.

The guide was a woman who seemed to be an assistant director. She told me to keep my mask on until I entered the frosted glass booth, and when she opened a heavy gray door that didn't look like a studio at first glance,

the studio I had just been watching on TV was right in front of me. Camera operators were filming around it, and the live expressions and voices of the celebrities were echoing in the space. 'Wow, I'm really in the studio.' I couldn't help but look around at everything.

Then, a man who seemed to be in charge of sound approached me, handed me a lapel mic, and said,
'Could you pass this through your clothes?'

I suddenly remembered MEGUMI saying on a show somewhere,
'A sound guy just shoved his hand right into my chest to attach the lapel mic,' and thinking, 'This is it!'

As they clipped the lapel mic to my collar and hooked the mic pack to the back of my pants, the previous segment ended, the staff started moving around busily, and the call 'We're going to commercial!' rang out.

While the announcers and celebrities were drinking water and chatting, the staff prepared the frosted glass space I would be entering.

Finally, it was time to sit in the ABEMA Prime chair.

The ABEMA Prime chair was pure white, with a bit of a hair salon vibe.

When I sat back, my hips sank in further than I expected since I have short legs, so I straightened my posture and sat a bit further forward.

The camera would only see me through the frosted glass, but
I could see Yuna-san, the two members of EXIT, and Announcer Hiraishi sitting next to me, so I made sure to look at them and my notes when I spoke.

In particular, since Yuna-san was sitting next to me,
she asked, "Are you okay?" and
introduced herself by saying, "I grew up with toxic parents and I'm an influencer on social media," so I greeted her by saying, "I read your article in Bungeishunju. It's a pleasure to meet you today."

When I told her I had read the article, she immediately smiled and looked happy, and I thought, 'Oh, I'm glad I checked it beforehand.'

Here is the Bungeishunju website where Yuna-san's interview is published 👇

The discussion in the previous segment got heated and ran over time, so during the actual broadcast, I talked about my relationship with my mother and what happened when I was hospitalized. By the time they turned to me again, it was already time to wrap up, and I just ended by agreeing with the expert's opinion, so I wondered, 'Was that okay?'

Well, I'm just an ordinary person after all! I told myself, and with that,

my first television appearance came to an end.

I've written at length, but

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the people at ABEMA Prime for giving me such a valuable experience, and

to the director and Yuna-san, who were so kind to me, thank you very much.

I offer my heartfelt thanks.

🍎 Here is #Bull-chan, who appeared remotely with me 👇

I heard she is a school teacher, and she was able to articulate the situation at the time and her current feelings very precisely ✨

🍎 Here is #Sayaka, who appeared in the VTR 👇

At the beginning, footage of her trip with her mother was shown. I really empathized with her story about the sense of discomfort she felt afterward.

If I was brought on because of my note, I wondered if the other two might be noters as well, so I looked them up and was happy to find them 🍎

I hope we can all continue to keep writing in the forest of note.

And if there is anyone out there who thinks, 'Writing notes is useless' or 'It's painful to keep writing notes,'

🍎 I want you to know that you never know where or how your articles are being read, so please just write down your experiences and thoughts.
I truly believe that.

I never imagined that a director from Abema Prime would be reading my work.
Whether you get likes or not, if you keep writing, there is always someone out there reading.

I hope this experience will be helpful to anyone who might go through something similar 🍎

🍎 This is who 'Ringo-rin' is

🍎 This kind of #WritingRadio is currently broadcasting

I've been a bit behind on updates lately, though...

🍎 A magazine summarizing my relationship with my mother.

#ToxicParent About that topic. About the changes in my feelings when I had to start providing care.

🍎 Since I work in #NursingCare, I write about that as well.

🍎 A magazine summarizing the life of my son who tends to be truant

🍎 Thank you for reading!