Mori Kasumi: “I Botched My Fuji TV Dream Job While They Hired a Tokyo University ‘Genius

Mori Kasumi, a freelance Japanese announcer and former TV Tokyo presenter, recently revealed that Fuji TV was her “first choice” employer when she was job‑hunting, and that she made a series of major mistakes during the final interview there. She also said that at the time Fuji TV seemed to be “looking for an intelligent person,” referring to the fact that a University of Tokyo graduate ultimately received the announcer position she was competing for.​

Who Mori Kasumi Is

• Mori Kasumi is a former TV Tokyo announcer who joined the network in 2019 and left in 2023 to become a freelance talent and presenter.

• In 2024 she gained significant visibility through variety programs, MC work, and the release of her first photobook, and was selected as a “Face of the Year” in a Yahoo! Japan search trend ranking.​

What She Said About Fuji TV

• In a recent talk appearance, she recounted that Fuji TV was the station she most wanted to join and that she advanced to the final round of the announcer recruitment process but ultimately failed.

• She described committing multiple blunders in that last interview and joked that the station “must have been looking for an intelligent person,” noting that a University of Tokyo graduate candidate was hired instead.​

Meaning of “Series of Big Mistakes”

• The expression “series of big mistakes” in Japanese talent talk usually refers to things like misstating prepared answers, slipping up on etiquette, or giving off a wrong impression under pressure, rather than a single fatal error.​

• By framing it humorously, Mori turns a painful setback into a self‑deprecating story that fits the variety‑show style where announcers and talents often share failure episodes to appear more relatable.​

Emphasis on “Intelligent Person”

• Fuji TV and other major broadcasters are known for recruiting announcers with strong academic backgrounds, and hiring a University of Tokyo graduate for such a position fits that pattern of emphasizing elite education credentials.​

• Mori’s comment that they were “looking for an intelligent person” contrasts her own path—coming from Tokyo Woman’s Christian University and building a career through on‑air performance and personality—against the image of a textbook “elite” announcer.

How It Fits Her Current Image

• Sharing this episode now reinforces Mori’s current persona as a versatile, slightly self‑mocking variety presence who is willing to talk frankly about failures like job‑hunt defeats and even personal quirks.​

• The story also underlines how missing out on Fuji TV did not end her ambitions; instead, she broke out via TV Tokyo, then as a freelancer, showing a career pattern where a failed “first choice” led to a broader range of work and higher public recognition.