After the pandemic scandal, Ishida Junichi now runs a yakiniku restaurant

Ishida Junichi (70) was one of TV’s most notable actors, but during the Coronavirus pandemic, Ishida was infected with the coronavirus possibly at a golf tournament in Ibaraki Prefecture and then visited Okinawa where he gotten sick, but proceeded to head back home and possibly infected many people along the way.

In addition, media questioning why he was with another woman while in Ibaraki (Ishida said he didn’t know her and she was among the guests at the club). But it was reported that Ishida had dinner with a large number of people at a grilled meat restaurant in Tokyo on January 14th. During a time when Japan is under a State of Emergency. Ishida went out with three friends and joined two groups of acquaintances and admitted that the meal was for ten people.

Needless to say, Ishida was canceled by netizens and lost work.

Since 2023, he has been running a yakiniku restaurant in Chiba. ABEMA Entertainment recently interviewed the actor.

Here is an excerpt from that interview:

On the day of the interview, Ishida specified the meeting place as… Funabashi station where his restaurant is located. Ishida says that he commutes from his home in Tokyo by train for about an hour and a half.

Why did you open a store in Funabashi?
Ishida: Just passing by… Is Funabashi Senbero? There are quite a few very cheap, reasonably tasty, but extremely cheap restaurants where you can get drunk for 1,000 yen. Normally, it’s like that, but everyone is already drinking and getting drunk from 4 or 5 o’clock, and on weekends, around 3 o’clock. I thought that kind of place would be good.

So you did your own research?
Ishida: That’s right. The atmosphere around here is the Funabashi I have in mind. I’ve been coming to places like this. So I’ve been targeting this area since the beginning. There are high-rise apartment buildings around here that are still being built in front of the station. A high-end high-rise apartment building that even we couldn’t afford.

The reason for the sharp decline in the number of TV appearances…
Ishida: I can only imagine what went wrong. For example, I can’t help being told that I handled the coronavirus outbreak poorly, or that I went out. But it’s all fine to have my personality denied, but it’s a bit painful to have my life denied.

How is the situation with your entertainment work and TV?
Ishida: It’s decreased completely. My TV appearances have decreased considerably already. -How many commercials do you have? Ishida: From nine to one. Eight are gone.

How about regular TV appearances?
Ishida: I had some. All three are gone. It’s been four years, so they’re coming up again. I sold my golf membership, my car, my house, everything. But I can live without bothering anyone, so there’s no reason for anyone to criticize me for that.

This is a difficult question to ask, but has your income dropped a lot?
Ishida: It has dropped a lot. I thought that my income might be half of what I was making until recently, but I went to a demonstration. I went to a demonstration against the war. I told my wife, “My income may be cut in half, but I have to go no matter what.” She said, “Even if I tell you not to, you’re still going, right?”, so I said, “Yes, I’ll go.” I thought it would be cut in half, but it ended up being one-tenth.

Ishida opened a yakiniku restaurant to protect his family’s livelihood. Even at age 70, he continues to work at the restaurant energetically. Ishida: To be serious, I think the business is in a pretty good place. Right now, monthly sales are about 10 million yen. That would be really appreciated in today’s world.

Are you currently receiving any offers for acting?
Ishida: Yes, it’s not that hard. But if there’s no work, there’s no point in complaining about it, so I’ll create work myself. That’s why I’m going to make a movie. I’ve been writing movie scripts for a while now. I’ve written a lot of scripts, but I’m going to think of one that I can definitely make into a reality.

What about directing?
Ishida: I’m going to direct.

Screenwriter and director?
Ishida: I’m also producing. I was shooting in Korea until the day before yesterday, and I was writing the script on the bus and on the plane.