“Men Stop Functioning” — Female Veteran Celebrity Accused Of Sexism

A female veteran celebrity has sparked controversy over alleged discrimination against men due to remarks she made about twilight divorces on a broadcast.

The Japanese women’s weekly magazine Josei Jishin recently reported that Kuniko Yamada, a comedian, made the remarks during an appearance on a Kansai TV program.

The episode discussed statistics on twilight divorces. The program introduced that in 2025, the number of divorces nationwide in Japan reached 179,073, and divorces among couples married 20 years or more accounted for 24.2%, the highest ratio ever recorded.

Yamada, who has been married for 26 years, said, “At first, he was a man. As you get older, women remain lively, but men stop functioning. They are just objects now.” She added, “If there’s no consideration, then aren’t they no longer needed?”

When host announcer Ryoji Ishii asked if she still thought that way, Yamada replied, “I still do. And it’s not going to change now. We’re already adults.” When asked if she was thinking about divorce, she said, “That won’t happen. I actually want to become a widow as soon as possible.”

When Ishii expressed concern that her husband might see, Yamada responded, “My husband is very healthy. This morning, he even saw me off at Tokyo Station. He just has nothing else to do.” Co-guest Toru Hashimoto chimed in, saying, “Saying that much shows how close you really are.”

After the broadcast, online criticism flooded in, accusing her of discrimination against men. Netizens said things like, “If someone said women stopped functioning and were just objects when they got older, they would be harshly criticized,” and “Isn’t this complete discrimination against men?”

Some viewed the comments as a joke. Josei Jishin cited a web media writer who suggested that because Yamada prefaced with “if there’s no consideration,” she probably expressed her relationship with her husband somewhat humorously. However, they noted that her generalization about “men” and the strong language could easily be perceived as discriminatory against men.

Yamada married the CEO of a video production company in 2000 and has been regarded as one of Japan’s quintessential showbiz couples. She gained popularity in the 1980s and hosted several programs bearing her name.

From 1988 to 1995, she topped NHK’s favorite entertainer survey for both men and women for eight consecutive years. Although her TV appearances diminished for a while, she regained prominence in 2022 as a judge on the M-1 Grand Prix.