Television personalities in Japan

Celebrities that have established themselves or are/were active in another field within the industry are considered to be multi-tarento. These people usually come from a different background within the entertainment industry than just appearing on television programs. They then transition into becoming television personalities. Multi-tarento can be actors, musical artists, models, voice actors, directors or anyone known for their work within the industry. Examples are IKKO, Shoko Nakagawa and Shinobu Sakagami.

These are usually former athletes who flourished as sportspeople and have retired to become a tarento in the entertainment industry. Due to their achievements as athletes in their respective sports, they garner a good deal of attention and often become successful television personalities. Athlete tarento can be active athletes as well, although most often they do not enter the entertainment industry until after retirement. Examples are Masakiyo Maezono, Karina Maruyama, So Takei, Konishiki Yasokichi, and Saori Yoshida.

These are people on programs that have a "trademarked" phrase, wardrobe, or mannerism that is used to elicit laughs from the audience. Their on-TV characters tend to be very shallow as they milk the comic device or neta (ネタ) that gave them notoriety and hardly ever expand on their character. It is these figures that tend to have the shortest shelf life on TV as they quickly fade into obscurity after the novelty of their act wears off. They are known in Japan as ippatsuya (一発屋), or "one trick ponies".[7] Examples are Yoshio Kojima, Dandy Sakano, and Razor Ramon Hard Gay.

'Owarai' is Japanese for laughter, or in this case a "comic talent". Owarai tarento are generally former comedians, often in manzai (type of stand up), who, after becoming famous, make appearances on variety television programs that are comedic in nature.

Owarai tarento have different genres and cast-types on television programs. In variety shows, they are generally cast to create comedic effect and to keep conversation flowing. Some owarai tarento become MCs (Masters of Ceremony) in later stages of their career, where they direct the flow of a program and often the most important individuals for the show. The MCs are usually those with exceptional conversational abilities and reaction, as they hold an important role.

See list of Japanese comedians.

Sometimes, Tarento are given prominent air time on TV and are promoted heavily due to their association or relationship to an established celebrity or politician, and not because they possess any discernible skills for entertaining audiences. One of the bigger examples of this phenomenon is Kazushige Nagashima, the son of the legendary Yomiuri Giants player and manager Shigeo Nagashima. After failing to become a successful baseball player, he turned to the entertainment circuit and used his father's name to make inroads. The son of controversial Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara, Yoshizumi Ishihara, has also achieved a measure of exposure due to nepotism as well as Kotaro Koizumi, son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.[8]

Additionally, Tarento, both male and female, may be discovered and be given considerable exposure due to their perceived physical beauty and endowments, but the way they are promoted is different from being strictly a fashion model. This is because they spend time making music CDs, star vehicles, and television appearances that capitalize on their physical beauty or on screen charisma. These people are occasionally referred to as obaka-aidoru or "dumb idols". Many of the men that fall into this category come from Johnny & Associates, a male talent agency which is the backbone of the music and television industry.[9]

A gaikokujin tarento (外国人タレント), also known as gaijin tarento (外人タレント) and abbreviated gaitare, is a foreign celebrity active exclusively or almost exclusively in Japan. The phrase literally means "foreign talent". Having at least a conversational level Japanese, combined with foreign looks as well as a standout personality, they are often chosen because they meet the Japanese stereotypes of foreigners (for example, the notion that Americans generally look rugged and have blond hair and blue eyes). Gaikokujin tarento are seen as curiosities by the Japanese, just as other tarento, and are cast differently depending on their ethnicities. A veteran foreign personality, Dave Spector, stated, "[I'm] doing things like the lowest bozo, circus kind of stuff. But it doesn't bother me at all. A lot of times the foreigners on TV, models and what-not, are compared to pandas. They use that term here — pandas — because they're cuddly, you can go and have fun with them, and throw a marshmallow and that's about it. And you don't get involved any deeper than that. But...since I'm making half a million dollars a year, I'm very happy to be a panda."

Gaijin tarento largely inspire interest in the Japanese viewer due to their use of the Japanese language, a feat considered especially remarkable by the Japanese. Native Japanese speakers consider their language to be especially difficult to learn due to the depth of ritual expressions, methods of referring to the self and others, and indirect and empathetic speech. These skills are viewed as unlikely and impressive in a nonnative Japanese speaker. Thus the main attraction of gaijin tarento is not their talent or fame but their clown-like clumsy use of the Japanese language, which serves to further define the Japanese as 'those who can speak Japanese.' Gaijin tarento is overall an objectification of foreigners that reinforces the separateness of Japaneseness.[10] [11]