It has been announced that the 75th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen, which will be broadcast on New Year's Eve, will feature a special segment in memory of actor Toshiyuki Nishida, who passed away on October 17th at the age of 76.
Nishida has participated in the Kohaku Uta Gassen four times as a singer and has also appeared as a host and judge. In commemoration of Nishida's achievements, in a special project, people closely related to Nishida will sing the famous song "If I Could Play the Piano" along with precious footage.
The performers who will be gathering on the stage of the NHK Hall are Shigeru Matsuzaki and Ken Tanaka, who have been friends with him since they first began their careers as members of the "Goninkai." They will also be performing with Tetsuya Takeda, his sworn friend of 50 years, and Keiko Takeshita, who has performed with him on NHK radio programs for many years. The performers will be singing their hearts out to the great actor who has been loved by the whole of Japan for so long.
The 75th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen will be broadcast on December 31st from 7:20pm to 11:45pm (with some news breaks). Hiroiki Ariyoshi, Kanna Hashimoto, Sari Ito, and announcer Naoko Suzuki will be the hosts.
