Singer-songwriter and actor Masaharu Fukuyama appeared at the press conference for the special exhibition "The Great Extinction Exhibition - The Big Five in the History of Life" held at the National Museum of Nature and Science (Taito Ward, Tokyo) on October 31st. Fukuyama, who serves as the exhibition's special navigator, also voiced the audio guide, and it took him five hours to record the 30 minutes of audio. He explained his commitment by saying, "I recorded it once and then re-recorded it," and appealed to the audience, saying, "I think people will enjoy it like a radio drama."
Fukuyama sent a message to children looking forward to the exhibition: "During the extinction period, 70 to 90% of species will disappear, and the remaining 10% will be species that have been chosen by chance to develop the next ecosystem. In order to survive, we must both do what is given to us and work hard to grasp what we have. We are fortunate worldwide to be able to receive compulsory education. I hope that you will think about what you need to do to survive, and that you need to work hard to live forever with the people you love."
The "Great Extinction Exhibition" will be held at the same venue from November 1st to February 23rd, 2026. The exhibition will unravel the five largest "mass extinction events" (commonly known as the "Big Five") among the crises facing life on Earth in the 4 billion years since life first appeared, using various pieces of evidence left in fossils and rocks to introduce the evolutionary history of how living things fought for their survival.
The second venue will display 27 photographs of endangered animals that Fukuyama has taken around the world, including six new shots he took when he visited the Galapagos Islands about three to four weeks ago for the filming of the NHK nature documentary program "The Hot Spot: The Last Paradise" (the first part is scheduled to air in December this year, and the second part in January 2026).
