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The story
Actress Ai Mikami (25) revealed on NHK’s “Asa-Ichi” broadcast on the 18th that before she set her sights on acting, she wanted to become a “lighting technician.” The spark came from a stage play she saw in her second year of junior high, when she intuitively felt, “This is it — this is my future.” She also said she dreams of becoming a director someday. On the 5channel Entertainment/Sports News+ (Geisoku) board, this comment caught fire because it recalled an incident from a few years back when Suzu Hirose sparked controversy with her remark, “Why would anyone want to become a lighting technician?” — prompting a flood of replies comparing the two actresses’ comments.
Ai Mikami Once Wanted to Be a “Lighting Technician” — A Middle School Play Gave Her an Intuitive “This Is It, This Is My Future” Moment, Also Dreams of Becoming a Director – Sports Nippon
September 18, 2026, 14:20
Actress Ai Mikami (25) appeared on the Premium Talk segment of NHK’s “Asa-Ichi” (weekdays at 8:15 a.m.), which aired on the 18th, where she revealed what led her to pursue acting.
Source: sponichi.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
The lighting work at strip clubs is genuinely next-level artistry.
It's probably just a made-up backstory. Same category as those "my friend secretly submitted my audition application" type stories.
It's a jab at Suzu Hirose.
She probably wants to come off as sophisticated/high-minded — fitting, since her name "Mikami" (見上) literally means "look up." (a pun on her surname)
Like the Medicine Buddha (Yakushi Nyorai).
Honestly, she stood out in the "Honest Real Estate" movie too. She can pull off all kinds of roles — I think she'll really grow as an actress.
People who do theater often rotate through lighting duty themselves, so I don't think she meant it as sarcasm.
Suzu-chan was the one doing the dissing.
Haven't seen much of Suzu Hirose lately.
・Ryoko Yonekura's "Bubobomowa~" (a bizarre ad-libbed sound she once blurted out)
・Suzu Hirose's "Why would anyone want to become a lighting technician?"
Yeah, that one came off badly.
Add Kaori Iida's bus tour incident to the list too.
Add Kii Kitano to the list too.
Watch your mouth — Suzu Hirose trains in kickboxing, you know.
Love that she wrecked beginner Haruna Kawaguchi in sparring.
Well played, Tatsuo Kamon. (a comedian famous for trivia-laden parody songs)
Getting this aired probably set her up to look bad — she was likely just getting a little carried away.
Before that, there was also this: "I respect my agency's president, because he holds such incredible power." And: "I'm a realist, so when someone suggests going to see the illuminations, I don't get the point."
Ishibashi: "The illuminations are real — there are people who install them. There's a lighting technician here in this studio too — what do you think of them?"
And that's when she made the "become a lighting technician, of all things (someone with no power)…" remark.
She apparently doesn't see her own job as being just as much of a constructed illusion as the illuminations.
You can't become a star just by being the model student.
Wild — Kuranosuke Sasaki, who was sitting right across from her at the time, looked totally floored.
・Ai Fukuhara
・Ai Hashimoto
・Ai Mikami
Seems like this name isn't fated for happiness. ("Ai" means "love" in Japanese)
Well, I'm team Alice, then. (referring to Suzu Hirose's sister, actress Alice Hirose)
Background and Key Points of This Topic
Ai Mikami’s remark blew up on 5channel because of an incident a few years ago in which Suzu Hirose was criticized for saying, “Why would anyone want to become a lighting technician?” — seen at the time as belittling behind-the-scenes work. In the thread, Mikami’s story about once aspiring to be a “lighting technician” was held up against that earlier incident, with some users speculating it might be a veiled jab at Hirose. It’s worth noting, though, that whether she intended any such thing was never addressed on the program itself — that’s purely an association drawn by 5channel users. Ryoko Yonekura’s own past remark was also brought up for comparison, underscoring how an offhand comment on television can end up being repeated for years — which is itself part of what fuels threads like this one.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “[Actress] Ai Mikami Once Wanted to Be a “Lighting Technician” — A Middle School Play Gave Her an Intuitive “This Is It, This Is My Future” Moment, Also Dreams of Becoming a Director.”
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