Mona Yamamoto, a former freelance announcer who left television at 35, is studying as a judicial apprentice at 50. She passed the bar exam in her 40s, and she told AERA DIGITAL that the years since have changed how she sees age and rank.
Yamamoto went freelance at 29 in 2005 and became a regular on variety and information programs. She said the schedule wore her down. On some days she arrived at a TV station around 7 a.m. and stayed in the studio until 11 p.m.
Even after finishing late, she could not sleep. She said the adrenaline kept her nerves taut, and she went drinking afterward, smoking and drinking heavily to force herself to relax. She stopped eating without noticing and fell ill.
“I had a strong feeling that I had to reset once.”she told AERA DIGITAL
The pressure to fit the role she was given was just as heavy. On Fuji TV's quiz show "Quiz! Hexagon II," where she appeared irregularly, she was cast as the one who could answer, so she had to get the questions right and studied hard to do it.
A reset at 35
Yamamoto married at 34 and announced her retirement from show business at 35. She said the main reason she married was that she wanted children, and that she did not think she could balance a media career with family life.
Her mother opposed the marriage, telling her she was still young and should keep working. Yamamoto said her wish to become a mother won out.
She described the move into law as an attempt to reconnect with society after years at home raising three children. She has said the decision to sit the bar exam followed a sense of loss.
Studying alongside classmates in their 20s, she said she has come to see a version of herself that does not depend on age or seniority.
“I have already lowered my fighting pose.”she said