NHK is weighing a Kohaku Uta Gassen appearance by Nakamori Akina and Kondo Masahiko, a pairing that would revive memories of a 1989 affair that ended with Nakamori's suicide attempt and a press conference staged in front of a gold folding screen.
Broadcast industry figures are said to be unsettled by the prospect. The two are among the names under discussion as surprise guests for the 77th edition of the year-end show, which airs on December 31, Daily Shincho reported.
This year's hosts are the actors Ashida Mana and Sakai Masato, the former Arashi member Ninomiya Kazunari and NHK announcer Suzuki Nahoko. Attention has settled on the lineup of performing singers.
Last year's show announced YAZAWA Eikichi as a performer at the last minute and brought back Matsuda Seiko for the first time in five years. The second part drew a 35.2% rating, up 2.5 points on the previous year.
A Showa idol segment
Nakamori, 61, resumed full activity last year and has been on her first live tour in 20 years since July. NHK devoted the October and November editions of "Songs Special" to her, and she sang live in the studio.
Kondo, 62, has seen his 1981 signature song "Gingira Gin ni Sarigenaku" become a hit again in South Korea. He played his first solo concert there in June, and his popularity has revived in Japan too.
A sports newspaper reporter covering the story said a segment spotlighting Showa-era idols is under consideration. Kondo appeared on NHK's "Nodojiman" in August and on "Uta Kon" in October, the latter featuring a tribute to "Let's Go Young," 40 years after it ended.
The 1989 press conference
In 1989, Nakamori attempted suicide at Kondo's home. The trigger was said to be his meeting with Matsuda Seiko in New York five months earlier.
At a comeback press conference half a year after the incident, Nakamori called Kondo "the most important person" to her. Asked about the possibility of marriage, Kondo said there was none at all, an entertainment journalist said.
A gold folding screen stood behind the two, heightening the strangeness of the event. In Japan, gold screens are traditionally set up for wedding announcements, and the pairing with a denial of marriage fixed the scene in the public memory.
If the two do appear together, Nakamori would most likely do so by remote link, a commercial broadcaster source said. Standing in the NHK Hall would tie her up for the whole broadcast, a heavy burden for someone who has only recently returned to work.
Offers are said to have already gone to both. The question is whether Nakamori will agree. "If she accepts, you could say her wounds have finally healed," the source said.
An NHK official warned that a joint appearance could draw criticism that the broadcaster lacks consideration. "Will they take the buzz and ignore the risk of a backlash? The people in charge must have a headache," the official said.
Asked about the two appearing on Kohaku, NHK's public relations bureau said: "We do not comment on the production process, including individual negotiations."
This year's Kohaku theme is "Koe te ikou, uta to tomo ni" — roughly, "Let's cross over, together with song." Whether Nakamori can cross over the trauma of the gold screen is the question hanging over the show.