Rei Kikukawa

Rei Kikukawa bids tearful farewell to 'Bankisha'

Tuesday 29th September, 04:47 AM JST

TOKYO —

Actress Rei Kikukawa on Sunday night signed off as co-host of NTV’s “Bankisha” after seven years on the job.

During the weather report, Kikukawa, 31, started to say “Today was cloudy,” but then had to put both hands to her face as she began to cry. She said she had learned a lot on the show and was full of gratitude. She said she hopes to be back on the air one day.

Kikukawa will be replaced by NTV announcer Nana Suzue, 29.

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Latest 15 of 18 Total Comments Show All

hachmike66 at 07:38 AM JST - 29th September

Tasty green, if you remember she graduated from Tokyo University and was heralded as the smart idol. Not sure if that was true or not, but when she first was introduced she did a lot of quiz shows, and did have a fairly good amount of knowledge, which led to her Sunday night news show. Wonder why she left the show?
mansen at 10:26 AM JST - 29th September

She's hot. But lacks reporting skills and acting skills. I've seen some soap operas she been on and I'm sorry to say that she is not a good actress. And her broadcasting skills isn't good neither.
gogogo at 11:20 AM JST - 29th September

Why is she leaving? She's quite the hottie...
Yelnats at 11:56 AM JST - 29th September

Todai...had to be smart to get in, but if she just played after that, then she wasted 4 good years. I think only those that want to be doctors here study. No one else seems to care to do so.
Himajin at 12:41 PM JST - 29th September

She got her degree in architecture I think. From Todai. No mean feat, no matter what anyone says.
PepinGalarga at 02:03 PM JST - 29th September

to get into a top college in Japan is nearly impossible, but once you do it, you coast for 4 years. she did have sort of a reputation for being smart, but i didnt really see much of it.
movieguy at 02:16 PM JST - 29th September

Yelnats...

Todai...had to be smart to get in, but if she just played after that, then she wasted 4 good years. I think only those that want to be doctors here study. No one else seems to care to do so.

Why would you consider her smart just because she knows how to take a rote memorization test??? Please Tell us... I'm not saying she's stupid because of that, but anyone who knows anything about testing in Japan knows they're not measuring intelligence. They're measuring the ability to memorize obscure information about a subject. There is zero critical thought to getting into Todai.

Her combination of hotness and her ability to take a test that got her into Todai led to her career in entertainment.
dishdash at 02:38 PM JST - 29th September

Maybe the production guys wanted a fresh face. Remember wannabe tarento are dime a dozen in Japan. Also they probably though "Heck shes turning 31 better get a new bird before we get a complaint from the public"
Nessie at 03:11 PM JST - 29th September

I hope Rei doesn't slide off into obscurity...

Often other things slide off to forestall that eventuality. Tanoshimi.
davidattokyo at 08:26 PM JST - 29th September

Hmmm movieguy, I know a few people from Todai and none of them are stupid.
POTUS at 09:37 PM JST - 29th September

Was canned to save money probably.
movieguy at 10:43 PM JST - 29th September

Hmmm davidattokyo, I never said that, did I???

I have seven former students who are there now. They're not stupid. They have fantastic memories and know how to take standardized tests. That's not intelligence. They were never able to handle questions that were open ended or required them to give their own opinion. And they had the personalities of rocks...
nigelboy at 05:33 AM JST - 30th September

Sorry movieguy. Davidattokyo is right. Todai entrance exam is not what you call a standadized test.

http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/stu03/e010408_j.html

The sample above clearly indicates that they are open ended and requires full understanding of the material or else you don't have a prayer of answering them.
seggahme at 01:23 AM JST - 1st October

movieguy, if your example guys have fantastic memory and succeded in how to take tests, then they can memorize every recipe of that you deal as true intelligence.
goddifist at 12:56 PM JST - 9th October

sucks for her now lets move on to the next weather host or hostess