Rina Ikuta: “I Started Saving for Retirement in My Teens” — Thanks to Nogizaka46’s High Pay — 5ch: “She Really Was on Another Level”

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The story

Former Nogizaka46 member Rina Ikuta (30) appeared on Nippon TV’s “Ueda to Onna ga Hoeru Yoru” on October 28 and revealed that she had started preparing for retirement back in her teens. The trigger, she said, was the high salary she earned during her Nogizaka46 days: “I was shocked by an amount you just don’t get paid at that age.” The revelation sparked a 5ch thread that turned to her record of serving as solo center from the group’s formation onward, with fans who revisited old group photos reminiscing that “she really was on another level” and others speculating about the size of her current fortune — while some pushed back, noting that despite being center, she’d reportedly been given the cold shoulder by a segment of fans, leaving opinions split on how genuinely popular she actually was.

Rina Ikuta Has Been Preparing for Retirement Since Her Teens — Triggered by Nogizaka-Era High Pay: “An Amount You Wouldn’t Get at This Age”

Former Nogizaka46 talent Rina Ikuta (30) appeared on Nippon TV’s “Ueda to Onna ga Hoeru Yoru” (Wednesdays, 9:00 PM) on the 28th and opened up about her retirement planning.

The episode’s theme was “Not Losing Even One Yen! A Special Solving All the Money Questions You’re Too Embarrassed to Ask Now.” Amid rising prices squeezing household budgets, concerns about money poured out one after another from street interviews and the panel of guests.

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

What people said

2AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:26
Watching Osaka night-view video channels on YouTube is way more fun than watching 'Peace-kun' from Omiya Park anyway (Peace-kun, a local Omiya Park mascot character).
3AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:27
I'll be fine — I've got Kakki (an idol's nickname) to support me financially.
4AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:27
What's this person up to these days?
21AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:38
Re: #4
Mostly stage plays
Occasional variety shows
5AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:28
Someone with an unbelievably foul mouth.
84AnonymousOct 28, 2026 23:53
Re: #5
Yeah, pretty vulgar.
6AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:28
She was unpopular to a pitiable degree, honestly.
7AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:31
Well, she holds the record for most solo centers, so there was definitely a stretch when she was Nogizaka's highest-paid member.
9AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:33
Well, she had solo regular TV gigs too.
10AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:34
Nogizaka really didn't take off at the start… If Shiraishi or Nishino had been center from day one, they'd have made it to Kohaku a bit sooner.
17AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:37
Re: #10
I think Nishino didn't get that popular early on because her eyes had a kind of sharp, intense look.
She's even said herself that her popularity took off once she changed her makeup.
18AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:37
Re: #10
Nah, that was the dorky, unpolished phase — they'd have stayed stuck going nowhere, never breaking out of the "AKB's official rival!" novelty-act label.
11AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:35
Ikuta-chan seems like she's got some serious insecurities.
12AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:35
Honestly, she's the only one who left an impression on me.
26AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:44
Re: #12
Even I, who knows nothing about Sakamichi groups, can match Ikuta-chan's face to her name.
Also Furingo — don't know her real name, but I recognize the face.
13AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:36
In Nogizaka's early days, she was the one carrying the group.
Though for some reason her aura faded fast.

Still only 30, huh.
15AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:36
Takayama put out an investing-themed business book back when she was active too,
so there's probably someone out there giving these idols that kind of advice.
16AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:36
At Nogizaka's debut, she was the one member whose looks clearly stood out above the rest.
20AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:38
She was there during Nogizaka's best, fastest-rising period, so she's probably made hundreds of millions of yen.
89AnonymousOct 28, 2026 23:59
Re: #20
That lines up with when the Nikkei was climbing, so maybe tens of millions invested grew into total assets north of 100 million yen.
22AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:39
Wonder if she'll start popping up in some real estate investment company's commercial next month.
23AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:41
Maybe over 1 million yen a month, an amount you wouldn't get at that age?
Even 500,000+ would already be impressive.
27AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:45
'Retirement' has such an unpleasant ring to it…
I'd rather just drop dead before getting old.
28AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:45
Isn't it a bit early to be living with death on your mind? If you're going to spend money on experiences, I'd think you'd want to do it while you're young.
29AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:47
Is Ikuta related to the Ikuta clan that were daimyo lords, or not?
33AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:50
Quite a difference from you unemployed guys.
36AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:52
People getting fooled by the new NISA lol (NISA: Japan's tax-free investment savings scheme)
39AnonymousOct 28, 2026 22:59
Ikuta-chan was first-string and center, after all.
47AnonymousOct 28, 2026 23:06
Wasn't she from a well-off family to begin with?
81AnonymousOct 28, 2026 23:49
Re: #47
If she were from that kind of family, I'd think she'd have gone to a more academically elite high school.
60AnonymousOct 28, 2026 23:15
When Nogizaka46 was formed
https://livedoor.blogimg.jp/singlecell57/imgs/d/9/d9af52cf.jpg
71AnonymousOct 28, 2026 23:28
Re: #60
Every time I see this, I think Rina Ikuta really was on another level.
Yeah, there's just no way you could put her anywhere but center.
66AnonymousOct 28, 2026 23:22
This is something I noticed back when she was briefly also in AKB48 —
AKB fans welcomed her warmly, but I got the impression she was treated coldly by fans of her 'home' group, Nogizaka.
74AnonymousOct 28, 2026 23:32
Re: #66
I loved her duo with Mayuyu.
They were probably a great match since they're both the introverted-otaku type.

Background and Key Points of This Topic

Nogizaka46 was formed in 2011, and Rina Ikuta holds the record for the most appearances as solo center on the group’s lead singles, dating back to its earliest days. She served as the “face” of the group for a long stretch, and the thread links that track record to her high pay. That said, all Ikuta herself said on the show was that it was “an amount you don’t get at that age” — no specific figures or details of her current assets were revealed. The numbers floated in the thread, like a “monthly income of 500,000 to 1,000,000 yen” or “total assets over 100 million yen,” are purely posters’ speculation, not confirmed facts from her own statements. Opinions were also split over the claim that “despite being center, she was given the cold shoulder by some fans” — some say she was at the peak of her popularity, while others say she felt like an odd one out within the group. Idol salaries are generally understood to fluctuate based on popularity rankings and history of center appointments, which was cited as the backdrop that let her start building assets from such an early age, her teens.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Entertainment] Rina Ikuta Has Been Preparing for Retirement Since Her Teens… Triggered by High Pay from Her ‘Nogizaka46’ Days, “An Amount You Wouldn’t Get at This Age. I Was Shocked.”.”

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