Jun Miura and Hajime Anzai, two middle-aged illustrators who host the late-night talk show "Warau Yogakuten" on NHK's BS Premium channel, are often joined by an unusual assistant. Her name is Sabrina Sayin, and she came to the show from Turkey, with a two-year stint in a Japanese idol group along the way.
Sayin, 28, is one of the assistant TV personalities from overseas who take turns helping the talk show.
On the program, which starts at 12:15 a.m every Sunday, Sayin has humorous conversations with Miura and Anzai about video clips of Western musical numbers.
Gaining acceptance
Sayin is from the southern part of Turkey facing the Mediterranean. In her teenage years, she was fascinated by the Japanese TV anime series "Sailor Moon."
While enjoying Japanese anime, she encountered Japan's idol culture and was deeply impressed with it.
"The idols are beaming. They sing songs, dance and perform. It was a culture that doesn't exist in Turkey," she said.
By the time she turned 20, she had already decided to live in Japan in the future.
"I wanted to be an idol at any cost, and firmly believed I would be able to do it," she said. Sayin speaks fluent Japanese, including tricky honorifics, which she taught herself by studying anime dialogue.
Sayin came to Japan in 2011. While staying with a host family and living in a shared house, she contacted entertainment agencies and applied for auditions. But it was not easy.
"Because there were few cases in which foreigners became idols [in Japan], it took longer for me to be accepted [in the industry]," she said.
Despite the hardship, in 2015 she was picked up as a member of Hajirai Rescue JPN, an idol group in which she worked with Japanese members.
"I worked hard, so my dream actually came true. About three times a week, I sang songs and danced in front of the group's fans. Ultimately, I was glad," she said.
Her group released a CD and she left last year after about two years.
Sayin is currently interested in becoming an actress.
"I want to live in Japan forever. I hope to play a role like a bridge between [Japan and] Turkey," she said.
She also studies Japanese tea ceremony and is interested in the Bon odori festival dance.
Though the number of foreigners who visit Japan has been rapidly increasing, she said: "I don't like so much a trend of only increasing the number of foreign tourists and being influenced too much by foreign culture. There are things that I want Japanese people to preserve, and I hope such things will not change."
Sayin expresses sincerity and politeness to those around her. As she loves Japan, she cares more about the future of Japanese traditions that even Japanese tend to forget.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
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