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The story
On October 9, 2026, NHK announced that Mana Ashida, Masato Sakai, and Kazunari Ninomiya will host this year’s New Year’s Eve Kohaku Uta Gassen song contest. Ashida performed as a singer on Kohaku in 2011 and served as a guest judge in 2022, but this will be her first time hosting. On 5ch’s Geinou/Sports Breaking News+ thread, reactions ranged from welcoming comments like “Mana Ashida has finally arrived” to remarks pointing out how often Ninomiya gets picked as host and how little connection all three have to NHK, alongside ongoing speculation about how many years each host typically lasts.
NHK, October 9, 2026, 6:00 AM
The hosts for NHK’s annual New Year’s Eve Kohaku Uta Gassen have been announced: Mana Ashida, Masato Sakai, and Kazunari Ninomiya will take on the role.
Mana Ashida, chosen as one of this year’s Kohaku hosts, performed as a singer in the show in 2011 and served as a guest judge in 2022, but this marks her first time as host.
Source: news.web.nhk / Original article here
What people said
First the Asian Games, now this — what's going on with him?
Better to have at least one experienced host in the mix
Bigger draw than any of the singers performing
Surprisingly down-to-earth, can talk comfortably with athletes and artists alike, broad range. As long as he doesn't screw up, he could keep running the actor/MC double act for years
Where's the demand even coming from?
Factoring in the height difference with Mana Ashida
Uchiwan (Uchimura) did an unusual 4 years because of COVID, but apparently the original plan was to swap after 3; Oizumi also did 3, so it was obvious Ariyoshi would do 3 too — wonder if Sakai will also stick to 3 years
Actresses tend to rotate pretty fast, but if it's Ashida, she might run about 3 years like Hashikan (Kanna Hashimoto) did
No matter how you slice it, Ninomiya's the '3-year slot' guy
The other two are just guest slots
not one of these three screams 'the face of NHK' — total borrowed-talent vibes lol
Exactly this
Ninomiya aside, the other two barely register as 'NHK' at all
Wait, seriously? They're not performing?
The year went by way too fast
This year felt like it went by about 2 months faster than usual
I bet the ratings drop even lower than last year
Or just use AI at this point
Even Ohtani's buzz died down
Gold in the 4x400m relay at the Asian Games
Uchiwan also got swapped out after 3 years
He apparently did 4 years total, including the no-audience COVID year
Saw it on some list of past hosts, so I'm pretty sure that's right
Background and Key Points
NHK’s Kohaku hosts have typically rotated every 2 to 4 years in recent times, which is why thread posters speculated about how long Masato Sakai and Kazunari Ninomiya might stick around. Ninomiya has increasingly taken on hosting roles for sports broadcasts and talk shows in recent years, suggesting his selection reflects cross-network MC experience that goes beyond Kohaku alone. Ashida is hosting for the first time, but it’s easy to overlook that this isn’t her first Kohaku appearance overall — she performed as a singer in 2011 and served as a guest judge in 2022. The thread also voiced discomfort over all three hosts having a weak association with NHK’s image, but it’s worth noting that recent Kohaku hosting choices have increasingly prioritized general name recognition — including from commercial networks — rather than necessarily picking faces exclusive to NHK.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Breaking News+) thread “Kohaku Uta Gassen Hosts: Mana Ashida, Masato Sakai, Kazunari Ninomiya.”
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