Tomomi Itano’s 4-Year-Old Daughter Goes ‘English First’ at International School — 5ch Divided

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The story

Former AKB48 member Tomomi Itano revealed that her 4-year-old daughter now speaks “basically English” as her primary language after enrolling at an international school. Her comment that the family’s housekeeper is also from overseas — reinforcing the English-first environment — sparked a flurry of technical terms on 5ch like “semilingualism” and “double limited” (a term for children who fail to fully master either language), as opinions split hard over the merits of bilingual education.

Is a solid foundation in your native language a prerequisite for learning a foreign one, or does language acquisition favor whoever starts earliest? The back-and-forth over parenting philosophy kept going.

Tomomi Itano: 4-Year-Old Daughter at International School Is “Basically English-Speaking,” “Even the Housekeeper Is From Overseas” — Reveals Her Worry: “What Should I Do?”

Former AKB48 member and TV personality Tomomi Itano (35) opened up about the environment she’s raising her 4-year-old daughter in.

She appeared on the ABEMA program “Super Nobishiro Time by Kyou, Suki ni Narimashita” (“Today, I Fell in Love”), which streamed on the 26th.

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

What people said

4AnonymousAug 28, 2026 12:48
The value is in speaking BOTH Japanese and English — someone who can only speak English has basically zero value here in Japan too.
6AnonymousAug 28, 2026 12:49
International school, a housekeeper… she really loves playing rich, doesn't she.
8AnonymousAug 28, 2026 12:51
If you don't think in Japanese, you're bound to end up a failure of a human being.
11AnonymousAug 28, 2026 12:52
Being able to speak English doesn't automatically make you smart, you know.
16AnonymousAug 28, 2026 12:53
If the daughter's headed for a university overseas, English-first makes sense — but can they actually afford it until then?
76AnonymousAug 28, 2026 13:12
Re: #16
Apparently they live in a place with rent of 1 million yen a month (~$7,000), so money's clearly not an issue.
18AnonymousAug 28, 2026 12:54
A behavioral geneticist once said 60% of a person's academic ability comes down to genetics, so studying itself is kind of out of your hands — but every kid is a genius when it comes to language acquisition. So sending them to international school is basically the strongest gift a parent can give (if you're rich enough to afford it).
20AnonymousAug 28, 2026 12:55
Broken Japanese, fluent English — even living in Japan, that'd probably make it easier to find work. Smart move.
26AnonymousAug 28, 2026 12:56
Re: #20
Even native English speakers end up stuck in service jobs without an education, so she'll need to go to university too — overseas, that is.
28AnonymousAug 28, 2026 12:57
Hurry up and make it to the majors already.
119AnonymousAug 28, 2026 13:31
Re: #28
Itano's husband isn't anywhere near the majors — he's on the chopping block to get cut.
37AnonymousAug 28, 2026 13:00
Someone wrote this once: when it comes to your kid's education, it's not about spending money — it's about continuing to show them you're learning too.
Basically, don't dodge responsibility by throwing money at it while making excuses like "I'm busy working" instead of studying yourself.
You already know — past you and present you — exactly how much studying sucks, so don't force it on your kid. Show them you're willing to learn first.
40AnonymousAug 28, 2026 13:02
Topics like this always draw a crowd of jealous people with an English-inferiority complex.
41AnonymousAug 28, 2026 13:03
Does Itano actually make that much money?
43AnonymousAug 28, 2026 13:03
If the daughter's mainly speaking English, can she even hold a conversation with her parents?
86AnonymousAug 28, 2026 13:16
Why do talentless celebrities always send their kids to international school? (´・ω・`)
94AnonymousAug 28, 2026 13:20
Re: #86
So they can send them to study abroad early.
102AnonymousAug 28, 2026 13:23
Nobody knows what the "right answer" is when it comes to raising kids.
I went to private school starting from elementary, and here I am — 46 years old, still working part-time.
106AnonymousAug 28, 2026 13:25
Re: #102
Every household is different.
If you're 46 and working part-time but still getting by just fine, I guess that's also something your parents gave you — not that I'd know.
118AnonymousAug 28, 2026 13:31
Re: #102
I had a classmate who was the star student of the whole area through elementary and into junior high, then partway through junior high he stopped going to school and became a shut-in.
Never went to high school either.
Didn't see him for years after that, but past 30 he showed back up in his hometown with a family in tow.
He does something called formwork carpentry — a job I'd never even heard of — and now it's the classic "DQN" (Japanese slang for a rowdy, delinquent-esque type) family lifestyle: everyone's got dyed brown hair, cruising around in a Vellfire minivan on weekends, backyard barbecues — looks like a blast.
No idea what happened along the way, but he went from a shy, introverted type to a total extrovert.

*This article is an excerpt and summary from a 5ch (Entertainment & Sports News+) thread titled [Entertainment] Tomomi Itano: 4-Year-Old Daughter at International School Is “Basically English-Speaking,” “The Housekeeper Is From Overseas Too, So Our Daughter Is Becoming English-First”.

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