Akiko Wada announced the end of her long-running TV show “Akko ni Omakase! (TBS), Akiko Wada announced that the program would end in March 2026. Akiko Wada’s comments about Haika Kitaguchi, a women’s javelin thrower in the 2024 Paris Olympics, that she looked like a sea lion, and other “flames” became the topic of conversation, but the biggest reason for the termination was the slump in viewer ratings, according to a TV station source. However, the biggest reason for the end of the program is the slump in viewer ratings,” says a TV station insider. However, in recent years, it has often fallen below second place in the ratings. According to the person in charge of programming, “When we announced in January 2025 that we would continue the program after October, we heard that the program sponsors showed considerable reluctance. In fact, in January, it was decided that the continuation of “Akko ni Omakase! was unceremoniously decided in January, and we were negotiating with the programming department and sponsors to decide whether the program would continue until the end of this year or until the end of the current fiscal year. As a result, the decision was made to keep the program until the end of this fiscal year out of respect for its history and contribution to the program,” said one person involved with the program. The TV station official also said that there was a physical problem for Wada in continuing the live broadcast of the program. He acts as if he is in good health, but his body is in shambles. It is known that he has had eye surgery, but he has also had artificial joint surgery and suffers from Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease. There were days when he had to inhale oxygen in the back of the room to get ready for the show. In August, he informed Wada’s agency of his decision to end the program in March 2025, and received their approval. After the broadcast of the “40th Anniversary Special” on October 5, Wada himself was informed of the decision. After the broadcast, there was a small get-together, during which TBS executives informed Mr. Wada of the program’s termination at the end of March. Mr. Wada had been told in advance by his office that the program would end, and I was impressed to see him smile and say, ‘I’m really grateful that I was able to continue the program this long. After that, Mr. Wada told the program staff that he wanted to tell them about the end of the program with his own mouth, and it took about a month to get approval for this intention from all parties, which led to the recent announcement. In contrast to Wada, who accepted the termination of the program, his co-stars were shocked. “I heard that his partner Mine (Ryuta) was shocked after saying, ‘I see. He told Canning Takeyama and the other semi-regulars when he came to the site on October 26. The one who was most shocked was Takeyama. He is a good friend of mine in private, so I heard that he was very worried about Wada-san. Wada began, “Thanks to all of you, I have been able to continue the program for more than 40 years,” and then added, “I really wanted to continue the program for a little longer, but it will end in March. But please stay with us until the end of March! After he spoke, he did the V-sign, the program’s signature pose, to everyone. I recently heard from someone at the office that Mr. Wada said, “From now on, I can watch my favorite Shohei Otani’s games until the end,” and “I can drink deeply the night before. It seems that a weight has finally been lifted from his shoulders.
