After graduating from the idol group "Keyakizaka46" in 2019, Neru Nagahama has been active in a wide range of fields, including acting, variety show MC, and radio personality. Since October last year, she has appeared as the Tuesday partner on the weekday night news program "news zero" on Nippon Television. On July 15th, Nagahama released her first new photo book in about eight years (published by Kodansha). We asked her about what she is conscious of in "news zero" and her thoughts as a native of Nagasaki Prefecture appearing on a news program at the turning point of 80 years since the end of the war.
Nagahama-san began her entertainment career in 2015 while still in high school, when she auditioned for the idol group "Keyakizaka46." When appearing on "news zero," she said that it was important to "not overreach herself."
"I still feel like I don't have enough knowledge, but I was fortunate enough to have many opportunities to learn, such as serving as an ambassador for NHK's SDGs campaign before appearing on 'news zero.' I'm participating honestly, without trying to overreach myself, and with the attitude that I won't understand what I don't know."
She moved to Tokyo from Nagasaki when she began her entertainment career. "Coming to Tokyo made me realize even more how strong the feelings of the people of Nagasaki towards peace are," she says. Nagahama is also a third-generation atomic bomb survivor, whose grandmother was a victim of the atomic bomb.
When he was young, he had a school assignment to ask his family about their war experiences, but "my grandmother didn't want to talk much about it. She would say, 'I don't even want to remember it.'" Seeing her like that made him realize the horror of war.
"Since I work in a job that puts me in the public eye, I want to be someone who can understand the feelings of the people of Nagasaki and speak on their behalf. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, so I would like to actively participate in such activities and work," he said.
