It has been revealed that the New Year's special "Sanma and Takuya" (Fuji TV) starring Sanma Akashiya and Takuya Kimura will be broadcast from 3:00 pm on January 1, 2025. This will be the 23rd consecutive year that the show will be broadcast, and this time they will visit Noto in Ishikawa Prefecture, which was hit by an earthquake during the previous broadcast and was hit by flooding in September, and is currently working on reconstruction and recovery.
"Sanma and Kimura" is a variety special that has been aired mainly around New Year's since 2003. Sanma and Kimura decide what they want to try together, and then they take on various challenges with the motto of "doing what they say right away."
After looking back on the busy year of 2024 with studio recordings, Sanma and Kimura discussed the location for this shoot and decided to go as errand boys to help with the reconstruction and recovery efforts in Noto, Ishikawa Prefecture.
After arriving at Noto Satoyama Airport, the two visit Chef Ikebata, who runs a restaurant called "Mebuki". After hearing the story of Chef Ikebata, who took the initiative to serve food even though his own restaurant was also affected by the disaster, Sanma and Kimura become "errand boys" to help serve food using the best local ingredients in order to fulfill the local people's wish to "show them how Noto is gradually getting better!"
Chef Ikebata asked them to "help out at various locations while also getting ingredients, as we are short on manpower!" The two went to Wajima Port to pick up crabs, but when they heard that the fishing association's loading dock was in trouble due to a labor shortage, they immediately decided to help out. They went to a farm to pick up vegetables, and even tried their hand at harvesting them themselves.
They also interacted with a local little league baseball team, which lost its practice space due to the earthquake and is now practicing together with them. The children were thrilled to see the two stars, and they had a great time playing catch and practicing together.
The main event was a soup kitchen, cooking food for about 1,000 people for the residents of temporary housing and the surrounding area. The locals were delighted to receive the food from Sanma and Kimura. Kimura's singing performance, which has become a regular feature of the show, was also shown.
