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The story
Snow Man’s Abe Ryohei revealed on a TV show that he passed the Level 2 Financial Planner exam. The news sparked a flurry of replies on 5ch listing celebrities’ surprising qualifications, from lyricist Kitayama Osamu’s medical license to comedian Savanna Yagi’s Level 1 Financial Planner certification and Tanaka Michiko’s first-class architect license.
Wed, Aug 26, 11:00 AM
Snow Man’s Abe Ryohei announced that he had passed the Level 2 Financial Planner exam during the August 14 broadcast of the two-hour special “Sore Snow Man ni Yarasete Kudasai” (lit. “Please Let Snow Man Do It,” TBS). As part of a segment where the losing team had to reveal fresh info likely to become internet news, Abe confessed, “There’s a qualification I’ve been studying for since last year… I passed the Level 2 Financial Planner exam.” His fellow members and co-stars erupted with cries of “Amazing!”, and Abe pumped his fist with a beaming smile.
The Financial Planner certification requires expert knowledge of tax systems, various types of insurance, pension systems, and asset management in order to help map out a person’s financial life plan. Abe is also known for holding a range of other qualifications, including a weather forecaster license and the Level 1 World Heritage Study Certification.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
Level 1 would be rare even for a regular person.
So what do you have, then?
Level 1 and Level 2 are completely different.
Well, even if you have one, it's not that big a deal.
The rough part is that just puts him on par with Ikechan.
But she's only a high school grad.
Not famous enough (to make the list).
The bar exam pass rate for law school grads is actually low.
So what are your credentials, then? ( ´,_ゝ｀)
Wait, GReeeeN goes by that name now?
That's the part that surprised me most, lol
Politicians have plenty of doctors, lawyers, and accountants too.
There's been news about a glut of lawyers who can't make ends meet, lol
And I feel like Takada Junji had something too.
Takada Junji used to work selling jewelry,
so it's probably something related to gem appraisal.
Should we go consult Matsumoto about it?
The Canadian couple (native English speakers) I did a homestay with looked at the Level 1 test questions and said, 'There's no way we'd get a perfect score!'
Anyone who passes that is impressive, I think.
Wasn't it the Class II Information Processing Engineer exam? Not totally sure though.
Life is wild.
B'z would still exist
just with a different vocalist.
'Chuken Tate-Hachi-kou' (wordplay on 'Chuken Hachiko,' the famous loyal-dog statue)
Background and Key Points
Japan’s Financial Planner system is a tiered national exam (FP技能士), not a single test. Level 3 is entry-level, Level 2 typically requires either clearing Level 3 first or two years of related work experience, and Level 1 is the advanced tier that only a small fraction of applicants ever attempt. The certification covers tax law, insurance, pensions, and asset-management planning, and it exists alongside a separate but overlapping AFP/CFP track run by a different body. None of this is obscure to Japanese viewers because “qualification-collecting” (資格) is a recognizable subgenre of celebrity self-promotion on variety shows — TV personalities routinely reveal licenses in medicine, architecture, or finance as a way to seem diligent and multitalented, and Abe’s own resume (weather forecaster, World Heritage Study Level 1) fits that established pattern rather than being a one-off surprise.
The thread’s actual disagreement wasn’t about Abe at all — it was about how much a Level 2 FP credential is worth. Posters citing Savanna Yagi’s Level 1 certification argued that only Level 1 is genuinely rare, while others flatly said Level 2, though respectable, “isn’t that big a deal.” A parallel argument broke out over whether elite licenses in general (lawyer, doctor) still signal much, given posts about Japan’s post-law-school glut of underemployed attorneys.
What outsiders likely miss is the scale gap the thread itself never spelled out in numbers: Level 2 FP has a pass rate commonly in the 40–50% range, whereas Level 1’s written exam sits far lower — so “Level 2” reads as competent hobbyist knowledge, not a rare feat, despite the celebratory studio reaction.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment & Sports News+) thread “Ranking of ‘Celebrities with Amazing Qualifications’ — Who’s the ‘Absurdly Impressive Person’ Who Topped Even B’z’s Inaba Koshi?“.
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