Massive TV Ratings For Celebrity Wedding Party
On Wednesday night, the wedding party of actress Norika Fujiwara and comedian Tomonori Jinnai was shown live on the NTV network. According to the media, the party cost as much as 500 million yen (4.1 million US dollars):
According to the NTV network, it was among the most expensive receptions ever televised. The event was held in the Heian no Ma reception room at the Hotel Okura Kobe and was attended by about 600 guests. As always there was no irony intended as Norika’s father walked her in a white dress with an 8m-long veil down the “virgin road”. Seeing the dress for the first time, Jinnai said, “She’s more beautiful than I ever imagined. 100 times! She looks like something out of this world!” There were videotaped messages from stars including Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz (34), Miyazaki Prefecture governor and former comedian Higashikokubaru Hideo (49) and top Yoshimoto comedy duo Downtown. Singer Go Hiromi (51) had 14 backing dancers for his performance of “Oyome Samba”, a popular choice for wedding receptions.
Other guests at the reception included Hiroyuki Sakai, who Americans might recognize from the TV series Iron Chef. Sakai provided the television audience with commentary on the ultra-expensive dishes being served that night:
Video Research has reported that TV ratings for the wedding were a whopping 40 percent in the Kansai area and 24.7 percent in Kanto. I guess such ratings are to be expected when the most popular actress in a country makes the rare decision televise her wedding reception…
[If you're interested in their wedding, Japan Probe reported on it back in February.]
