Entertainer Panzetta Girolamo (62) appeared on Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's long-running talk show "Tetsuko's Room" (TV Asahi) broadcast on May 21. Girolamo, who is affectionately known as a "slightly bad old man," has been working hard at rice farming for the past two years.
Girolamo, originally from Naples, Italy, married his wife, Takako, in 1988. Girolamo had eaten risotto in Italy and has always loved rice. Two years ago, he started growing rice in Aizu Misato Town, Fukushima Prefecture, Takako's father's hometown.
"Everyone who has been a farmer for a long time gets older, right? There aren't many people who will take over as the next generation, but I want to carry on. To encourage young people to go into farming and to make farming cool, I thought it would be good if farmers became a bit of a bad boy (laughs)."
He decided to rent an old house as a base for his rice farming. "I want to invigorate Japanese farming. There is an image that farming is hard work and the pay is low, but I want to change that image. I want to show that farming is fun," he said.
When Tetsuko asked Girolamo, "You've been so kind to me in Japan, so do you want to give back?" he answered, "Of course!" He added emphatically, "After all, I live this kind of life and I've been so well looked after. I really want to give back. Japanese culture = rice, and Japanese farmers aren't doing so well right now, so I want to help them get better."
