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Takahashi Ai interview in Nikkan Spa! 3-22-13 translated
Posted by zabel,
25 March 2013
·
795 views
This is my translation of an in-depth interview with Takahashi Ai that appeared in Nikkan Spa! 3-22-13.
Don't take this to mean I'm reviving the blog, but since I posted it in the Takahashi thread, I should post it here too.
--------------------------------------------------------------
OG Morning Musume Takahashi Ai Talks About Leadership Theory
A leader is needed whenever there's work to do. The leader assembles members, guides an organization to success, at times assumes the responsibility of getting upset, and can also be the object of members' envy. But what makes an ideal leader?
We asked this question to Takahashi Ai (age 26), the musician and actress who became the leader of Morning Musume at age 20, who played the lead heroine in the musical The Wedding Singer, and who will lead the cast as star role and chairman this summer in the musical Anne of Green Gables, sponsored by Estee.
First of all, how is the leader of Morning Musume decided? Do they say something like, "It's about time for you to become leader"? Are you voted in? Are you designated?
Takahashi: Basically, you get designated after long service in the group. It was like this for me, but you can see it coming when you become sub-leader. It's sort of like a rule in that it pretty much gets decided by additions to the group. Of course there are times where there isn't a sub-leader, in which case the producer Tsunku will make an offer asking you what you think.
Before you became leader did you get to serve as captain or student president or anything like that?
Takahashi: Not at all! I'm more the dorky type, so when I became leader I was thinking, "Huh? I can't do that!" All I knew was that because I became sub-leader of Morning Musume, I was probably going to become leader some day. But it came quickly.
Fujimoto Mikitty was leader for a mere one month before graduating, huh.
Takahashi: I resigned myself to the task. The group was undergoing changes at that time. Chinese members were in the process of joining and I thought about what I should do. In those days I butted heads with my sub-leader and fellow member Gakisan (Niigaki Risa).
I don't have a leader's disposition by nature. Even if I thought a member needed to be chewed out, I wouldn't tell her. You do need to tell, but Gakisan was the opposite of me in that she couldn't leave a thing alone. Gakisan would discuss with and prod me saying, "The leader is the one who should tell."
Is there difficulty in unifying only women? Maybe it's just me, but I imagine there would be a lot of troublesome things involved in keeping a garden of women in order.
Takahashi: When I first joined Morning Musume I had many seniors and there were lots of difficult things. They would get upset at me, and anyway there were just tons of things. But after I went up the ranks it wasn't particularly difficult that we were women. Rather than keeping women in order being difficult, it's probably more like keeping order itself is difficult.
There were occasionally arguments between the members. At those times I would say, "Hey, be friends!" I think it's sort of like a school club. When I was in a school club (chorus) we didn't have a captain. So when I first became leader I was always anxious. I would trip up just saying the words 'Morning Musume' or my own name. I honestly wondered if a person like me could pull the group along. Or rather, I had never thought that I could. So I think that Morning Musume of that time was built by everyone together, not by me.
That's different from the sterotype of a leader that we have in society, isn't it?
Takahashi: I worried about not being the type who goes all out. But the first generation's leader, Nakazawa Yuko, eased my anxiety when she said, "You can do it the way Aichan would." Maybe I wasn't good at getting things across with words, but I could get them across through my conduct. Of course there are times when words are necessary, but I thought it would be great if my actions could speak for me.
Like, "Follow what I do"?
Takahashi: Right! I need to get better at becoming like that.
Earning trust through tears
Did you have a specific way of gaining members' confidence?
Takahashi: Crying.
Huh? What do you mean??
Takahashi: I'm a crier. When I would think, "I need to say something to this girl!", I would break down and cry. I'd say things like, "Morning Musume is supposed to be like this!", and cry even more. People would say, "Hah, there goes Aichan crying again", but I couldn't help it. It'd be with the youngest generation members, but the more I cried the more serious I'd get with them. Perhaps I gained their confidence that way. They may have thought, "Ai is serious."
I asked about the relationship between you and sub-leader Niigaki a bit before, but can you explain how duties are split between the leader and sub-leader?
Takahashi: It's nothing strict, but in our case we'd agree, for instance, "Okay, I'll talk to Linlin and Gakisan will talk to Junjun". It wasn't a hierarchical thing; Gakisan naturally helped that way. I was probably the more unreliable leader.
So no, I wasn't the so-called typical leader that we have in society. Tsunku told me that he wanted to make Morning Musume have an "at home" feel. Maybe we had that "at home" feel when I was leader.
As for my relationship with Gakisan, it was like following each other. Instead of the leader doing everything, one or the other of us would talk to somebody when she needed help. We were the same generation after all.
In that case, didn't Niigaki have trouble when you left?
Takahashi: I think there probably were a lot of things that had gone well because the two of us had been there. After I left, Gakisan, too, became discouraged for a time and kept frequent contact with me. After my graduation, the age of the members dropped considerably, so that must have been hard on her.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The art of turning factions into a unified Momusu
Are there groups or factions within Morning Musume?
Takahashi: To some extent there is division. Like two or three girls sticking together. I was conscious of the need to act evenly with groups like that who eats meals together. There were of course girls I got along with very well, but if I had just spent time with one group I'd try to spent time with another group the next time, not sticking to any particular person.
In fact, it was often one-on-one. I'd invite them casually. And not to preach to her but to ask her what she thinks of the current job and the members.
Just like a boss. But not just any boss, the boss of Morning Musume with its outrageous sales. Wasn't that pretty tough?
Takahashi: Yeah, when I think of it now it really was something. I was in the group a long time and leader for a long time, but there were some tough things! You could say it was severe! Things like CD sales and not making #1 on charts when we had before. Also, there was a period when we weren't getting much exposure which was tough. During that period of not getting exposure, we did lessons together to get everyone's ability up.
You invited not just one person but everybody?
Takahashi: Yes. Everyone had to do it or it wouldn't work. It was important to the system that we focus together. Everyone needed to look cool to get to where we were going. That's why we needed to focus together and put our heads together. Like if someone suggested, "Shouldn't that part be like this?", we could decide together, "Okay, let's change it". It was important that we were all going in the same direction.
You're playing the lead role in Anne of Green Gables. Are you expected to act in a leaderly way? Morning Musume was made up with members whose dispositions were known, but what will you do with people assembled from various places?
Takahashi: I'm looking forward to it. I think it will be somehow different from Morning Musume. For example, in Morning Musume we all had to be going in the same direction in order to do a musical or put out a single. With musicals, there were some members who were more up to the task than others. It was really hard getting us going in the same direction.
But for Anne of Green Gables, the participants are all people who love Anne and love musicals, so I actually think it will be easy. Last year I played the role of Diana. This year I'm the lead role of Anne, and instead of trying to pull them along because I'm the chairman, I'd like to create an "at home" atmosphere. Not like a leader. I ought to tell everyone that, huh.
What I mean is, rather than leading sternly and rigidly, the "at home" way of doing things probably fits me the best. I'm not the type who can order people around.
Do you get people to think, "I want to help out Ai!", instead?
Takahashi: Since I'm helpless, the people around me are probably thinking, "Oh come on!", and take it upon themselves to help. I used to not know how to let my seniors be affectionate towards me. It's because I'm an eldest daughter. Of course it's important to take care of those above you, but I think it's really important to take care of your juniors.
If you're not affectionate towards those below you, they won't go your way. Better than those below flattering those above them, if those above aren't affectionate to those below, a relationship of trust can't emerge. Those above need to exert on their behalf in order to build the same thing they all want. That's the time when you are tested on how well you've been taking care of your juniors. Being leader is less about this and that than it is about working at it together; that's the kind of approach that I like.
How were you affected by leaders from before you became leader yourself?
Takahashi: The leader at the time, Iida Kaori, would get mad at me, and I can still remember it. I would wonder why she's getting so mad at me for things that they normally don't get mad at me about. It even made me to want to go back home to Fukui.
But when I think of it now, Iida had ventured to play the bad guy, which must have been hard. At the time I joined, Iida had just become leader and I think there had been conflict. Even after Iida graduated, she would always come to my concerts and stuff and praise me. I realized that she's always looking out for me. Iida, unlike me, is the type of leader who tells you what you should do. She really has her own pace, and since becoming friends with her I've come to understand her charm.
Even I get it. I can understand how a leader needs to act superior. You gotta know what it means to be a leader, you know? Before going on stage I'd get them psyched up with pep talk. Sports festivals have always been my kind of thing. Although I've been talking a lot about how I'm an unreliable leader, I did say, "Let's do this!" and "Huddle!" and the things you say to get people fired up. Please don't misunderstand.
The current leader Michishige Sayumi acts strong
What kind of leader is the current leader, Michishige Sayumi, now?
Takahashi: She's a person who acts strong. She won't go out and say it, but it's got to be quite a bother. Her generation is graduating and she needs to pull them along by herself. I had Gakisan with me, but it's a different situation from then. What's worse, I think it's gotta be real hard to have to pull along girls with all those different ages. There were girls separated in age when I was there, but because there were members who could perform the so-called middle management, it was easier.
When I was there, the members were grown up to an extent. For the most part they were older than 20. When Gakisan became leader she said she'd have to play hide-and-seek with them. I was surprised about that, but because we're talking about a performance customers pay money to see, childishness won't do. The young girls need to be made to become professional and have an attitude that can bring in money.
I think Sayu (Michishige) is steadily putting together a new Morning Musume. She's on top of things.
Did anything change when you became leader?
Takahashi: I stopped hanging out with other members.
Huh? Wouldn't they say that you had become cold?
Takahashi: But if I hung out with one person it wouldn't be equal, right? A leader is obliged to be that way. Also, I refrained from talking about myself in public. When seated at meetings I would give my opinion, but on TV programs when everyone is appearing, instead of me doing the talking I'd try to see that there was a balance. That's why I've been told, "You started talking more after you graduated."
Have you thought of capitalizing on your leadership experience by becoming a manager, for instance?
Takahashi: I have no interest in becoming a manager! I'm bad at that sort of thing! Although I'm working solo now, having worked in units was a really big experience. It's because of what I did in Morning Musume that I've come to love musicals like this. It's because I realized that I love musicals then that I enjoy the stage now as much as I do, I think.
Tsunku says that Morning Musume is a place of training. So it continues. "You first start walking after you graduate."
---------------------------------------------
Akashiya Sanma as the ideal leader
Who is your ideal leader?
Takahashi: Sanma! The thing that really struck me as we did the radio show together is how Sanma never gets upset. He never gets upset at people! Even when a problem occurs he says, "No worries, no worries", and the people around him move to resolve the problem thinking, "We can't let Sanma be saying that." Although Sanma was the one in charge, instead of it being about this and that, the people around him took it upon themselves to prevent Sanma from saying, "No worries, no worries."
I think it is exactly because he has this kind of leadership trait that people around him love him. I was deeply struck by what a great person I was working together with. The more you're with him the more you like him. That's why people follow him like a disciple follows a master. I want to become like Sanma some day.
You'll be the leader for this year's performance of Anne of Green Gables, but is there any difference from last year?
Takahashi: The feeling is different from last year. As far as roles go, last year I was the well-bred young lady Diana, but Anne is a frank girl who expresses her emotions. In that sense the mental state is utterly different. Also, returning to the topic of leadership, I don't particularly want to pull people. I'm thinking it would be better if we could all have fun doing it together.
Just the same as when I was in Morning Musume, I eagerly want to get everyone to communicate. In Morning Musume, what we were doing was our livelihood, but Anne of Green Gables is a single production. I want us to be going in a single direction to create this production.
In Morning Musume we spent more time together than with our families, and had relationships as comrades who were rivals. And it was because of those very relationship that it was necessary to pay attention to how a slight change of expression could indicate that someone wasn't feeling well.
I was leader of a group in Morning Musume, and this time I'm leader of a project. You might think they are totally different, but they are the same in the sense that everyone is working to build a single thing. Just the same as when I was leader of Morning Musume, I don't want to act superior because I'm the leader or act superior because I'm the chairman, but rather, I picture everyone building a thing together.
You said just now that you weren't interested in management, but would you want to be a producer of a play?
Takahashi: Oh. I don't think I could ever do producing!
But you might find yourself in a position where you're able to.
Takahashi: Well, I dunno! But I have some interest....
What did you think when a member would quit Morning Musume?
Takahashi: There's no reason to stop someone who wants to quit, is there?
Even if they had been in an important position?
Takahashi: It certainly was hard when a girl would quit, but there was a problem behind why she would. If the problem couldn't be solved except by graduating, then the thing couldn't be helped. Reasons for quitting were often physical. It was like this with Kamei Eri. It hurt when she quit, but for the sake of her future it couldn't be helped. Mitsui Aika was also like that. She graduated because her foot wouldn't heal and it couldn't be helped. Hearing the circumstances, you have to respect that person's decision.
But I just hate it when a junior graduates before me. It's sad when they leave first. I would have wanted them to say "Congratulations on graduating" to me. To have a girl who was my junior take off ahead of me...I didn't want that. I wanted her to see me off.
But it's her life and you can't stop her. When you start to think of what will become of Morning Musume after she leaves, all you can do is move ahead with those conditions.
Since Morning Musume was always a group repeating the cycle of auditions and graduations, the shadow of a member graduating is always looming. I was leader with those conditions as a given; I feel it keenly even now.
Takahashi, thank you for sharing your thoughts.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Don't take this to mean I'm reviving the blog, but since I posted it in the Takahashi thread, I should post it here too.
--------------------------------------------------------------
OG Morning Musume Takahashi Ai Talks About Leadership Theory
A leader is needed whenever there's work to do. The leader assembles members, guides an organization to success, at times assumes the responsibility of getting upset, and can also be the object of members' envy. But what makes an ideal leader?
We asked this question to Takahashi Ai (age 26), the musician and actress who became the leader of Morning Musume at age 20, who played the lead heroine in the musical The Wedding Singer, and who will lead the cast as star role and chairman this summer in the musical Anne of Green Gables, sponsored by Estee.
First of all, how is the leader of Morning Musume decided? Do they say something like, "It's about time for you to become leader"? Are you voted in? Are you designated?
Takahashi: Basically, you get designated after long service in the group. It was like this for me, but you can see it coming when you become sub-leader. It's sort of like a rule in that it pretty much gets decided by additions to the group. Of course there are times where there isn't a sub-leader, in which case the producer Tsunku will make an offer asking you what you think.
Before you became leader did you get to serve as captain or student president or anything like that?
Takahashi: Not at all! I'm more the dorky type, so when I became leader I was thinking, "Huh? I can't do that!" All I knew was that because I became sub-leader of Morning Musume, I was probably going to become leader some day. But it came quickly.
Fujimoto Mikitty was leader for a mere one month before graduating, huh.
Takahashi: I resigned myself to the task. The group was undergoing changes at that time. Chinese members were in the process of joining and I thought about what I should do. In those days I butted heads with my sub-leader and fellow member Gakisan (Niigaki Risa).
I don't have a leader's disposition by nature. Even if I thought a member needed to be chewed out, I wouldn't tell her. You do need to tell, but Gakisan was the opposite of me in that she couldn't leave a thing alone. Gakisan would discuss with and prod me saying, "The leader is the one who should tell."
Is there difficulty in unifying only women? Maybe it's just me, but I imagine there would be a lot of troublesome things involved in keeping a garden of women in order.
Takahashi: When I first joined Morning Musume I had many seniors and there were lots of difficult things. They would get upset at me, and anyway there were just tons of things. But after I went up the ranks it wasn't particularly difficult that we were women. Rather than keeping women in order being difficult, it's probably more like keeping order itself is difficult.
There were occasionally arguments between the members. At those times I would say, "Hey, be friends!" I think it's sort of like a school club. When I was in a school club (chorus) we didn't have a captain. So when I first became leader I was always anxious. I would trip up just saying the words 'Morning Musume' or my own name. I honestly wondered if a person like me could pull the group along. Or rather, I had never thought that I could. So I think that Morning Musume of that time was built by everyone together, not by me.
That's different from the sterotype of a leader that we have in society, isn't it?
Takahashi: I worried about not being the type who goes all out. But the first generation's leader, Nakazawa Yuko, eased my anxiety when she said, "You can do it the way Aichan would." Maybe I wasn't good at getting things across with words, but I could get them across through my conduct. Of course there are times when words are necessary, but I thought it would be great if my actions could speak for me.
Like, "Follow what I do"?
Takahashi: Right! I need to get better at becoming like that.
Earning trust through tears
Did you have a specific way of gaining members' confidence?
Takahashi: Crying.
Huh? What do you mean??
Takahashi: I'm a crier. When I would think, "I need to say something to this girl!", I would break down and cry. I'd say things like, "Morning Musume is supposed to be like this!", and cry even more. People would say, "Hah, there goes Aichan crying again", but I couldn't help it. It'd be with the youngest generation members, but the more I cried the more serious I'd get with them. Perhaps I gained their confidence that way. They may have thought, "Ai is serious."
I asked about the relationship between you and sub-leader Niigaki a bit before, but can you explain how duties are split between the leader and sub-leader?
Takahashi: It's nothing strict, but in our case we'd agree, for instance, "Okay, I'll talk to Linlin and Gakisan will talk to Junjun". It wasn't a hierarchical thing; Gakisan naturally helped that way. I was probably the more unreliable leader.
So no, I wasn't the so-called typical leader that we have in society. Tsunku told me that he wanted to make Morning Musume have an "at home" feel. Maybe we had that "at home" feel when I was leader.
As for my relationship with Gakisan, it was like following each other. Instead of the leader doing everything, one or the other of us would talk to somebody when she needed help. We were the same generation after all.
In that case, didn't Niigaki have trouble when you left?
Takahashi: I think there probably were a lot of things that had gone well because the two of us had been there. After I left, Gakisan, too, became discouraged for a time and kept frequent contact with me. After my graduation, the age of the members dropped considerably, so that must have been hard on her.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The art of turning factions into a unified Momusu
Are there groups or factions within Morning Musume?
Takahashi: To some extent there is division. Like two or three girls sticking together. I was conscious of the need to act evenly with groups like that who eats meals together. There were of course girls I got along with very well, but if I had just spent time with one group I'd try to spent time with another group the next time, not sticking to any particular person.
In fact, it was often one-on-one. I'd invite them casually. And not to preach to her but to ask her what she thinks of the current job and the members.
Just like a boss. But not just any boss, the boss of Morning Musume with its outrageous sales. Wasn't that pretty tough?
Takahashi: Yeah, when I think of it now it really was something. I was in the group a long time and leader for a long time, but there were some tough things! You could say it was severe! Things like CD sales and not making #1 on charts when we had before. Also, there was a period when we weren't getting much exposure which was tough. During that period of not getting exposure, we did lessons together to get everyone's ability up.
You invited not just one person but everybody?
Takahashi: Yes. Everyone had to do it or it wouldn't work. It was important to the system that we focus together. Everyone needed to look cool to get to where we were going. That's why we needed to focus together and put our heads together. Like if someone suggested, "Shouldn't that part be like this?", we could decide together, "Okay, let's change it". It was important that we were all going in the same direction.
You're playing the lead role in Anne of Green Gables. Are you expected to act in a leaderly way? Morning Musume was made up with members whose dispositions were known, but what will you do with people assembled from various places?
Takahashi: I'm looking forward to it. I think it will be somehow different from Morning Musume. For example, in Morning Musume we all had to be going in the same direction in order to do a musical or put out a single. With musicals, there were some members who were more up to the task than others. It was really hard getting us going in the same direction.
But for Anne of Green Gables, the participants are all people who love Anne and love musicals, so I actually think it will be easy. Last year I played the role of Diana. This year I'm the lead role of Anne, and instead of trying to pull them along because I'm the chairman, I'd like to create an "at home" atmosphere. Not like a leader. I ought to tell everyone that, huh.
What I mean is, rather than leading sternly and rigidly, the "at home" way of doing things probably fits me the best. I'm not the type who can order people around.
Do you get people to think, "I want to help out Ai!", instead?
Takahashi: Since I'm helpless, the people around me are probably thinking, "Oh come on!", and take it upon themselves to help. I used to not know how to let my seniors be affectionate towards me. It's because I'm an eldest daughter. Of course it's important to take care of those above you, but I think it's really important to take care of your juniors.
If you're not affectionate towards those below you, they won't go your way. Better than those below flattering those above them, if those above aren't affectionate to those below, a relationship of trust can't emerge. Those above need to exert on their behalf in order to build the same thing they all want. That's the time when you are tested on how well you've been taking care of your juniors. Being leader is less about this and that than it is about working at it together; that's the kind of approach that I like.
How were you affected by leaders from before you became leader yourself?
Takahashi: The leader at the time, Iida Kaori, would get mad at me, and I can still remember it. I would wonder why she's getting so mad at me for things that they normally don't get mad at me about. It even made me to want to go back home to Fukui.
But when I think of it now, Iida had ventured to play the bad guy, which must have been hard. At the time I joined, Iida had just become leader and I think there had been conflict. Even after Iida graduated, she would always come to my concerts and stuff and praise me. I realized that she's always looking out for me. Iida, unlike me, is the type of leader who tells you what you should do. She really has her own pace, and since becoming friends with her I've come to understand her charm.
Even I get it. I can understand how a leader needs to act superior. You gotta know what it means to be a leader, you know? Before going on stage I'd get them psyched up with pep talk. Sports festivals have always been my kind of thing. Although I've been talking a lot about how I'm an unreliable leader, I did say, "Let's do this!" and "Huddle!" and the things you say to get people fired up. Please don't misunderstand.
The current leader Michishige Sayumi acts strong
What kind of leader is the current leader, Michishige Sayumi, now?
Takahashi: She's a person who acts strong. She won't go out and say it, but it's got to be quite a bother. Her generation is graduating and she needs to pull them along by herself. I had Gakisan with me, but it's a different situation from then. What's worse, I think it's gotta be real hard to have to pull along girls with all those different ages. There were girls separated in age when I was there, but because there were members who could perform the so-called middle management, it was easier.
When I was there, the members were grown up to an extent. For the most part they were older than 20. When Gakisan became leader she said she'd have to play hide-and-seek with them. I was surprised about that, but because we're talking about a performance customers pay money to see, childishness won't do. The young girls need to be made to become professional and have an attitude that can bring in money.
I think Sayu (Michishige) is steadily putting together a new Morning Musume. She's on top of things.
Did anything change when you became leader?
Takahashi: I stopped hanging out with other members.
Huh? Wouldn't they say that you had become cold?
Takahashi: But if I hung out with one person it wouldn't be equal, right? A leader is obliged to be that way. Also, I refrained from talking about myself in public. When seated at meetings I would give my opinion, but on TV programs when everyone is appearing, instead of me doing the talking I'd try to see that there was a balance. That's why I've been told, "You started talking more after you graduated."
Have you thought of capitalizing on your leadership experience by becoming a manager, for instance?
Takahashi: I have no interest in becoming a manager! I'm bad at that sort of thing! Although I'm working solo now, having worked in units was a really big experience. It's because of what I did in Morning Musume that I've come to love musicals like this. It's because I realized that I love musicals then that I enjoy the stage now as much as I do, I think.
Tsunku says that Morning Musume is a place of training. So it continues. "You first start walking after you graduate."
---------------------------------------------
Akashiya Sanma as the ideal leader
Who is your ideal leader?
Takahashi: Sanma! The thing that really struck me as we did the radio show together is how Sanma never gets upset. He never gets upset at people! Even when a problem occurs he says, "No worries, no worries", and the people around him move to resolve the problem thinking, "We can't let Sanma be saying that." Although Sanma was the one in charge, instead of it being about this and that, the people around him took it upon themselves to prevent Sanma from saying, "No worries, no worries."
I think it is exactly because he has this kind of leadership trait that people around him love him. I was deeply struck by what a great person I was working together with. The more you're with him the more you like him. That's why people follow him like a disciple follows a master. I want to become like Sanma some day.
You'll be the leader for this year's performance of Anne of Green Gables, but is there any difference from last year?
Takahashi: The feeling is different from last year. As far as roles go, last year I was the well-bred young lady Diana, but Anne is a frank girl who expresses her emotions. In that sense the mental state is utterly different. Also, returning to the topic of leadership, I don't particularly want to pull people. I'm thinking it would be better if we could all have fun doing it together.
Just the same as when I was in Morning Musume, I eagerly want to get everyone to communicate. In Morning Musume, what we were doing was our livelihood, but Anne of Green Gables is a single production. I want us to be going in a single direction to create this production.
In Morning Musume we spent more time together than with our families, and had relationships as comrades who were rivals. And it was because of those very relationship that it was necessary to pay attention to how a slight change of expression could indicate that someone wasn't feeling well.
I was leader of a group in Morning Musume, and this time I'm leader of a project. You might think they are totally different, but they are the same in the sense that everyone is working to build a single thing. Just the same as when I was leader of Morning Musume, I don't want to act superior because I'm the leader or act superior because I'm the chairman, but rather, I picture everyone building a thing together.
You said just now that you weren't interested in management, but would you want to be a producer of a play?
Takahashi: Oh. I don't think I could ever do producing!
But you might find yourself in a position where you're able to.
Takahashi: Well, I dunno! But I have some interest....
What did you think when a member would quit Morning Musume?
Takahashi: There's no reason to stop someone who wants to quit, is there?
Even if they had been in an important position?
Takahashi: It certainly was hard when a girl would quit, but there was a problem behind why she would. If the problem couldn't be solved except by graduating, then the thing couldn't be helped. Reasons for quitting were often physical. It was like this with Kamei Eri. It hurt when she quit, but for the sake of her future it couldn't be helped. Mitsui Aika was also like that. She graduated because her foot wouldn't heal and it couldn't be helped. Hearing the circumstances, you have to respect that person's decision.
But I just hate it when a junior graduates before me. It's sad when they leave first. I would have wanted them to say "Congratulations on graduating" to me. To have a girl who was my junior take off ahead of me...I didn't want that. I wanted her to see me off.
But it's her life and you can't stop her. When you start to think of what will become of Morning Musume after she leaves, all you can do is move ahead with those conditions.
Since Morning Musume was always a group repeating the cycle of auditions and graduations, the shadow of a member graduating is always looming. I was leader with those conditions as a given; I feel it keenly even now.
Takahashi, thank you for sharing your thoughts.
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