Miho Tanaka, 42, has been a model for 27 years, having made her debut in the second year of junior high school. She has been active in fashion magazines such as “Seventeen,” “non-no,” and “MORE,” and has appeared on the cover more than 70 times. In 2012, she married Junichi Inamoto, a former member of the Japanese national soccer team, and is now the mother of two boys, ages 6 and 4. We interviewed Ms. Tanaka about the origins of her career and her “one-parent operation” in raising her children. (Continued from Part 1 of 2) ◆◆◆
In the midst of raising two children, ages 6 and 4, she says, “I’m sure I’ll collapse someday.
–I am in the midst of raising my two children. You are in the middle of raising two children. Miho Tanaka (hereafter, Tanaka): Yes, I am chasing my two boys, ages 6 and 4, around every day (laughs). –(Laughs.) – What was your schedule like up to this point today (the interview took place at the end of September)? Tanaka: Today, I woke up at 6:00 a.m., made lunch, dropped the kids off after 7:00 a.m., and cleaned up the swimming pool that we used during the summer. –I had to clean up the pool after I sent the kids off after 7:00 a.m. I know that kind of thing. Tanaka I also take out the trash, do all the dishes, and go shopping at the drugstore. And while I was doing that, I put on my makeup, and here I am. –Tanaka: Do you and your husband, Junichi Inamoto, take the children to school in the morning? Tanaka Yes, that’s right. I retired last year, and now I am a youth coach, so I am not here at night, but my husband is here in the morning, so we walk them to the bus stop together. –But in the morning, my husband is there, so we walk them to the bus stop together. Tanaka: I really do it every day, thinking, “I’m going to collapse someday.
I wondered if I would be able to appear on TV.” When I was in the fourth grade, I was scouted and started my entertainment career.
–Tanaka: Your life now revolves around raising your children. Tanaka When I was in the fourth grade of elementary school, I was approached by someone from an office on my way home from playing at Seibuen Yuenchi (Seibuen Amusement Park). –Did you always have an interest in the entertainment industry? Tanaka No, not really. I think I just kind of started out thinking, “I wonder if I can be on TV. My parents were like, “We won’t do anything like a stage mom, and we won’t get involved at all, so if you can do it on your own, do it.