Recent photos of Mona Yamamoto (50), the former anchor of TBS’s “NEWS23,” have gone viral on social media, sparking surprise that 20 years have already passed since she left the show. On 5channel’s Geinou/Sports Express+ board, many posts speculated about the timing of the article coinciding with the recent cabinet appointment of Goshi Hosono — the politician once reported to be dating her and nicknamed “Mona-o” (“Mona’s Man”) — while others revisited the affair scandal involving former pro baseball player Tomohiro Nioka. At the same time, a fair number of posts bluntly mocked her current looks by name, making for a thread with a mixed, uneven temperature.
“Can’t tell who this is…” — Mona Yamamoto, 50, 20 Years After Leaving “NEWS23”: Completely Different Vibe in Recent Photos Draws Surprise, “Whoa!” and “I Forgot Her Old Face”: Nishi-Supo WEB OTTO! — the local sports media connected by “Oh!”
2026.09.20 06:50 (Updated: 2026.09.20 06:50)
“I changed my hairstyle,” she said, appearing in glasses…
Watching Osaka night-view channels on YouTube is way more fun than watching Piece-kun from Omiya Park anyway (Piece-kun is a bird mascot at Omiya Park in Saitama).
4AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:33
The timing of dropping this now, lol
70AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:52
Re: #4
That's obviously harassment aimed at that guy, lol
8AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:33
Since Mona-o just became a minister,
the media probably thought, 'oh right, whatever happened to Mona?' and wrote this after digging through her social media.
9AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:33
The idiots on the Geinou/Sports board are still just squealing over the affair, as usual.
12AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:34
She's gone full Angela Aki (the singer-songwriter known for that look).
13AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:34
Didn't she appear on London Hearts or something after the scandal?
18AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:35
On the day of his own daughter's school sports day, Mona-o used his Diet member pass for a secret affair trip to Kyoto.
19AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:35
Hosono gets appointed minister again and this drops now? Come on.
20AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:35
Whoa… c'mon, don't… quit it… Re: #1
by Goshi Hosono
22AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:37
Right after that whole scandal, Nioka got demoted to the farm team, and during a game some kid in the stands yelled 'Mon-aoka~!' (a mashup of "Mona" and "Nioka") — the whole crowd cracked up. Hilarious.
27AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:38
Re: #22
'Daddy's a bad guy' — kids just blurt that stuff out without understanding what it means.
25AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:37
I figured she'd seem serious since she passed the bar exam, but I guess once you're the type to become a TV announcer, striking poses for Instagram is a habit you never quite kick.
28AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:38
Best case, she ends up on the Anna Umemiya track.
(´・ω・｀) Just kidding.
Worst case, the Hide & Rosanna route?
29AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:38
Kind of looks like An Lewis before 'Roppongi Shinju' became a hit.
30AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:38
Wait, who's 'Mona-o' written with the 'husband' kanji instead of 'man'? I thought it might be Shinjiro, but no, that's Christel.
31AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:38
It's kind of sad to think she probably took dozens of shots, picked the best one, and worked hard editing it before posting.
35AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:39
Re: #31
(´；ω；`)
34AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:39
The photos of her with Hosono actually looked good — both of them tall, unlike the usual lineup of short, balding, dumpy old politicians.
38AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:41
Ah, the guy who's the origin of the 'Mona-o' nickname. She hasn't really changed, though — if anything she looks shinier and more energetic than before.
39AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:41
Even now, whenever that politician shows up, I still think 'Mona-o.' That scandal really left a mark, lol.
41AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:42
The legal world has become a landing spot for someone who screwed up.
43AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:42
Mona-o is ridiculously strong in elections — he jumped from the opposition to the LDP and became a minister.
82AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:59
Re: #43
Mona-o had his wife read out a congratulatory message at their daughter's elementary school sports day while he was off enjoying an affair date in Kyoto.
After it came out, he went into hiding and made his wife apologize to his support group on his behalf.
I don't really get how that adds up to 'strong in elections.'
44AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:43
By the way, NHK's Taisuke Yokoo went to law school to become a lawyer — whatever happened with that?
46AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:43
I searched 'Mona husband'
and Hosono comes up first.
This is basically a curse at this point.
47AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:44
Made some good money off her once during the Arima Kinen (a major horse race).
48AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:44
After the Mona-o scandal, he made his comeback wearing a watermelon costume on 'Owarai Ultra Quiz' — total Kitano Talent Recycling Factory, lol (Takeshi Kitano is jokingly said to run a 'talent recycling factory' by relaunching disgraced celebrities' careers on his shows).
49AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:44
Well, of course this resurfaces now that he's a minister —
I guess if he told the whole story from back then, it'd damage the Takaichi administration.
72AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:52
Wow, she worked hard for five years to pass the bar exam?
If she had that kind of discipline, surely she could've resisted having an affair too.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
Twenty years ago, Mona Yamamoto left “NEWS23” amid overlapping affair reports involving Goshi Hosono, who she was reported to be dating at the time, and former professional baseball player Tomohiro Nioka. Hosono himself became a recurring figure in political news coverage under the nickname “Mona-o.” In the thread, many posts speculated about this recent-photo article coinciding with Hosono’s cabinet appointment, and a fair number revisited the previously reported episode in which he took an affair trip to Kyoto on the day of his daughter’s school sports day. At the same time, many posts directly mocked her current appearance, and the mix of sympathetic and harsh reactions in the thread isn’t fully captured in the article body above.
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