Television personalities in Japan

[citation needed] Often, tarento, whether men or women, have notoriously short career spans (around one or two years) and their earning capabilities are not as high as popularly imagined.

Part of the money given up by the tarento is to pay for initial support the agencies gave them in terms of free housing, financial stipends, and promotion of that person.

[5] Additional elements of a tarento's character may include their origins and other careers (e.g., author/illustrator Lily Franky), intelligence (e.g., Masaru Hamaguchi, a comedian who once misspelled his own name on a televised test), hobbies and skills (many female celebrities are known for how well or poorly they can cook, from the former members of Pink Lady on the high end of the continuum to race queen Yinling on the low end) or appearance (many non-Japanese talents such as Bobby Ologun use their looks to this effect).

In the United States and European countries, Takeshi Kitano is recognized as a prominent director, but is still evaluated as a "multi-talent" in Japan and still appears on Japanese talk shows in a humorous context.

Owarai tarento are generally former comedians, often in manzai (type of stand up), who, after becoming famous, make appearances on variety television programs that are comedic in nature.

Some owarai tarento become MCs (Masters of Ceremony) in later stages of their career, where they direct the flow of a program and often the most important individuals for the show.

Sometimes, Tarento are given prominent air time on TV and are promoted heavily due to their association or relationship to an established celebrity or politician, and not because they possess any discernible skills for entertaining audiences.

Additionally, Tarento, both male and female, may be discovered and be given considerable exposure due to their perceived physical beauty and endowments, but the way they are promoted is different from being strictly a fashion model.

This is because they spend time making music CDs, star vehicles, and television appearances that capitalize on their physical beauty or on-screen charisma.

In the 1991 documentary "The Japanese Version", veteran foreign personality, Dave Spector, stated, "[I'm] doing things like the lowest bozo, circus kind of stuff.

Native Japanese speakers consider their language to be especially difficult to learn due to the depth of ritual expressions, methods of referring to the self and others, and indirect and empathetic speech.

[10][11] Occasionally, people will become tarento as a result of a directional shift in their career due to a loss of popularity and relevance in their original field.

Some examples include Kiriko Isono, who debuted as part of a singing trio and made a name for herself based on a rapid wit and willingness to put herself down for a laugh; Mari Yaguchi, the third leader of Morning Musume who left the group in 2005 due to a scandal but has continued to appear on variety shows and Japanese television drama since leaving;[12] the late Ai Iijima, a former porn starlet;[13] and Yūsuke Santamaria, who fronted several bands before moving into acting and being a tarento.