My Experience as a Foreign Talent in Japan: What It’s Like to be on NHK’s Cool Japan

If you watch Japanese TV, you’ve probably noticed that foreigners are a common sight. You’ve probably thought, “Hey, I can do that,” and are currently researching on how to be a foreign talent in Japan. If that’s the case, then read on. I wrote this post so that others can have an idea of what it’s like before they dive in.

The good news is, it’s fairly easy to be a foreign talent on Japanese TV. There’s a constant need for them, and sometimes it’s as easy as signing up. Making a career out of it, however, is a more difficult thing to accomplish.

To be clear, I belong to the group that appears on TV more or less as a hobby. I don’t have, nor do I want, a career in the Japanese entertainment industry. I only appear on one show, and I’ve been doing it for around 8 years at the time of writing and l also intend to keep doing it so long as the show will have me.

NHK’s Cool Japan

The show that I’m talking about is NHK’s Cool Japan. The show focuses on Japan’s unique aspects from the perspective of foreigners. It’s available in Japan as a cable show on NHK BS1. The cable channel NHK World also broadcasts the show worldwide.

Shoji Kokami and Mari Sekine are the hosts of the show. They facilitate the topic discussion with eight to ten foreign cast members, whose job is to represent their country and share how similar or different Japan is. A university professor is also invited to comment.

As for format, the show usually has three VTR segments where the foreign cast members go on location to interview Japanese people about the theme and then dive deeper into a single topic. Discussions follow each VTR, and this is where foreign guests usually say whether they think the aspect of Japan in focus is cool or not from their perspective. The professor then closes the segment with academic insight.

How I Joined Cool Japan

My life in Japan began as a research student at the University of Tokyo, and in one of the Japanese language lessons I took, the teacher showed a clip of Cool Japan. This piqued my interest so I looked the show up and found out that they were consistently recruiting foreign cast members. I put in an application and got an invite to the audition.

Audition

I honestly don’t remember much about the audition–it was such a long time ago! I remember sitting with a bunch of the show’s directors and answering basic questions about myself. Afterward, they took a profile photo and I started doing the show from there.

How You can Join the Show

Cool Japan is consistently looking for foreign cast members. You can sign up for the show through this form, and a coordinator should get in touch with you afterward.

What Shooting is Like

Location Shoots

As I mentioned in the preceding section, the show consists of 3 VTR segments that are watched and discussed in the studio. These VTRs are shot beforehand as location shoots.

Locations vary according to the topic. Some take place in Tokyo within half a day, others take you to further prefectures and can stretch up to two days or more. The most I’ve heard is four, but this was an extreme case where the crew was at the mercy of the weather.

The schedule of the shoot depends first and foremost on the shots needed for the program. If the segment features a shop, the coordinators consider the availability of the shop personnel first. The show, after all, is about Japan, not the foreign talent, so it’s best not to have assumptions that foreign talents are the priority.

Cast members are chosen based on how suitable they are for the topic as well as their availability. For example, ever since I did the shoot about a lady keeping picture diaries in Fukushima, the show asks me to do segments that border on the somewhat philosophical, somewhat emotional. Which is funny, because I’m a goof half the time, but I don’t get to show this side of me on TV. Heck, I don’t even get to show this side of me much on my own YouTube channel.

You don’t really need Japanese skills when doing any part of the show as translators are always on hand. In fact, foreign cast members must always speak in English whenever the camera is rolling. This part of the shoot is always awkward for me, because I have to say my questions in English, which the translator then has to translate into Japanese while the camera shifts from me to the interviewee, who then has to respond in Japanese. As a result, conversations don’t really come out as natural, but good editing makes it seem so.

Studio Shoots

Studio shoots are probably the most relaxed, because they run on a fixed schedule. They’re the easiest to fit in with the other things going on in your life.

Participants usually receive a brief of what the discussion flow will be. To prepare for it, I usually think about the subject at hand and what I can contribute. I end up saying whatever comes to mind during the discussion, though. It’s a combination of mild prep and spontaneity.

Why I Do the Show: Pros of Being a Foreign Talent in Japan

The simple answer is that I get paid to do something that’s fun. There are horror stories about being a foreign talent in Japan, and in the many years I’ve been doing the show, I’ve never really experienced any.

I think this is largely because the show itself has a high degree of integrity. The show seeks more to educate than entertain, which leaves out the unnecessary fabrication of details that regular Japanese TV is notorious for. (I was once asked to audition for a different show where the director kept trying to paint me as an anime otaku, which I wasn’t. Thank heavens that didn’t pull through.)

Personally, I love Cool Japan’s episodes because they dive really deep into aspects of Japanese culture. Doing the episode that featured the Missing Post Office in Kagawa Prefecture was an honor—when we were filming the studio part, even the translator cried because it moved them so much. In fact, the Missing Post Office charmed me so much that I ended up going back when I went on my Shikoku trip and making my own video.

The segment where we went to Yamanashi to interview the people who invented the raindrop cake (mizu sengen mochi) was also a very rewarding experience because I got to talk to people dedicated to their jobs. The owner of that shop is also one entertaining obasan, probably the coolest I’ve met in life so far.

I also find inspiration in Cool Japan’s crew members. The directors, cameramen, light and sound technicians, translators and ADs I’ve worked with have all inspired me in some way. I can say that I’ve found all of them to be earnest and sincere, each working on their own goal.

Tips on Being a Foreign Talent in Japan

I feel like I’m not in the position to be giving any tips as again, this is not my career—I love travel marketing way too much to devote myself to anything else—but here are a few tips from a hobbyist like me.

First, watch Japanese TV. What kind of shows do you want to be featured in? Do foreigners appear on that show? Is that the kind of foreign talent in Japan you want to be portrayed as?

Next, figure out if you want to do this seriously or casually. If you want to make a career out of Japanese entertainment, I actually think taking the “foreign cast” route would be detrimental, as you’d most likely be boxed in saigen dramas. As an entertainer in Japan, you are essentially performing for the Japanese audience, so you have to be familiar with what that audience likes and appear to them in the same manner as Japanese entertainers do. That means understanding and being able to express yourself in Japanese and signing up with a Japanese talent agency for Japanese talents. It’s a hard path, but not impossible. Atsugiri Jason and Bobby Ologun have done it after all, with varying degrees of success.

Finally, whichever path you choose, don’t forget to enjoy. I personally think things are only worth doing if they add to our happiness, and no job or circumstance is an exception.