Actress Eiko Koike

All in a night's work for Eiko Koike

By Chris Betros

TOKYO —

TOKYO — It’s 11 p.m. and Eiko Koike has just finished a music variety program at NTV. But she’s not tired. This is a normal work day for the 27-year-old actress and TV personality. A quick change of clothes and she’s ready to chat, mixing some English with Japanese.

“I like meeting many people, young and old, and a wide variety of work – movies, TV, theater, commercials – enables me to learn a lot. I think it is good to have as much experience in as many fields as possible,” she says of her profession.

Koike’s showbiz career started when she was scouted one day in Shibuya. “I was surprised and asked them to wait for a week while I discussed it with my parents,” recalls Koike who says she wanted to be a kindergarten teacher when she was younger. “My parents gave me their support and I thought it would be fun and challenging, so I took up the offer.”

Since then, Koike has appeared in numerous magazines and photo albums, movies, TV commercials (currently for Sapporo Beer, Daihatsu, JA Bank and Matsushita), variety programs and dramas and was a ringside commentator for pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for six years. “I love the entertainment value of the fights,” says Koike who married pro fighter Wataru Sakata last August. “I’m always there to see my husband’s fights and cheer him on.”

On TV, Koike can be seen Monday nights on TV Tokyo’s “Ryu Murakami’s Business Talk,” Friday nights on TV Asahi’s “Bakushomondai no Kensakuchan” and most Sunday nights on the NHK BS1 program “Next,” in which she and foreign guests look at how TV programs from around the world reflect each country’s culture.

“TV programs in Europe are interesting because they have social satire, which we don’t get in Japan,” Koike says. “I think Japanese TV producers should be more serious about what they produce. I often hear foreigners say that Japanese TV programs are childish and they can’t understand what is funny about them.”

In addition to her TV work, Koike will appear in three movies this year, starting with “Seppun” (The Kiss), directed by Kunitoshi Manda. Koike plays the heroine Kyoko, an office worker who lives alone with no boyfriend or prospects. One day she sees a story on TV about a man in prison for murdering a family. She begins accumulating newspaper articles about him and before long, decides to go and visit the inmate. “I really felt sympathy for Kyoko. She is not interested in the fact that he is a murderer because she has fallen in love with him. He fills a void in her life.”

Koike will also be seen in “Pako to Maho no Ehon” (a drama based on a stage play about the friendship between an old man and a girl in a hospital) and “Ano Sora o Oboeteru” (a family drama). Of all her work, Koike says live theater is the most challenging. “You only get one take, unlike movies, and the audience is right there. When the play has a long run, you can really establish yourself in the part.”

On her days off, Koike likes to sleep in until 10 or 11 a.m. For exercise, she does training to control blood pressure and plays tennis occasionally (“and I hurt all over the next day,” she jokes). At home, Koike is turning her attention to cooking. “I used to eat out all the time before I got married, but now I enjoy having dinner at home.” For fun, she likes to hang out in Aoyama and tries to avoid crowded places such as Roppongi. She often wears a hat or fake glasses to the supermarket so fans won’t recognize her.

Koike says she takes a greater interest in the news these days. “I’m interested in crime stories the most. I’ll have kids one day and I am concerned that I can’t do anything to make society safer for them.”