TV Tokyo Corporation "Sinapushu" General Producer Kanako Iida

Continuing to support babies and changing the design of society

TV Tokyo Corporation "Sinapushu" General Producer　Kanako Iida(Iida Kanako)

■ Profile

Kanako Iida
Born in 1988, from Gunma Prefecture.
After graduating from the Department of French Literature, Faculty of Letters, University of Tokyo, he joined TV Tokyo in 2011.
She gave birth to her first child in 2018, returned to work in 2019, and immediately submitted a proposal for "Sina Pushyu."
Since then, he has not only been the overall director of the production side of "Sinapushu," but also the content general producer, including business development.
She gave birth to her second child in 2022. She is a mother of two.

The first commercial baby show that has become a hot topic as it helps babies stop cryingシナぷしゅ(Every Monday to Friday from 7:30 to 8:00 am, broadcast on six TV Tokyo affiliates). Why was "Sina Pushyu" born in an age when "Educational TV" was the only platform for programs aimed at young children? How did Iida, the creator and general producer, reconsider the nature of television while raising his children? We asked him about the thoughts behind the program and his thoughts on balancing work and childcare.

During my student days, I had a ton of part-time jobs. I was able to learn about my own characteristics through various experiences, such as working as a private tutor, a waitress at a family restaurant, and selling snacks before boarding the Shinkansen. For example, many people are in a hurry before boarding the Shinkansen, so "speed of service" is required. At family restaurants, some customers come every day, so "comfort" is required. By approaching different customers differently, I was able to learn about the working style and communication methods that suited me.

During my job hunting, I had doubts about the system in which companies select you based on your resume and interviews. I wanted to choose where I would work, so why should other people decide for me? Looking back, I was acting with a rather condescending attitude, thinking, "I'm happy to work here!" (laughs). With graduate school in mind, I applied to only three companies, and was offered a job at TV Tokyo.

■New options for video content for babies

I came up with the idea for "Sina Pushu" during my maternity leave and childcare leave for my first child. After I started raising my child, I noticed that for some reason I had a tendency to keep my baby away from TV. Not only me, but the mothers around me also had a vague impression that TV is bad for children's development. At the local childcare support center, mothers would frown and say with a guilty look, "I let my child watch TV for an hour yesterday..."

It was then that I first began to question my job. I wondered if television was a "harm" to the child-rearing generation. However, video content is essential for raising children in today's world, where many dual-income households exist and grandparents offer little support. Mothers are very lonely and spend a lot of their day relying on videos. What's more, I found it strange that NHK Educational TV was so dominant. While there are many options for content aimed at adults, content aimed at infants and young children was not on the timetables of the commercial broadcasters, and for a long time NHK Educational TV was the only option. Even though we refer to "babies" as a group, there are many different personalities, so it is very inconvenient to have only one option.

Meanwhile, homemade videos imitating NHK Educational TV and Anpanman were getting hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. As a parent, if you're going to show your child something, you want to show them quality content, not just imitation videos. I wanted to create a program for babies, increase the options, and officially distribute it. With this in mind, I submitted the idea for "Sina Pushu" immediately after returning from parental leave, and began producing the program.

While NHK Educational TV has a traditional style that never changes, "Sina Pushyu" has an "ever-changing, updated style." "Sina Pushyu" is completely different this year from last year. Each broadcast has 10 segments of short content of about 1 to 2 minutes, so we are constantly challenging ourselves with new content in a trial and error spirit.

■Towards a society where babies can live freely and comfortably

When producing our programs, we place great importance on a "sensory approach to babies." To ensure the content is not too difficult, we strive to create expressions that young babies can digest with all five senses. For example, 3-month-olds watch videos while lying down, so they view vertical videos from the side. When creating new segments, we also consider how they will appear from the side. Our character, "Pushupushu," embodies our wish for children to "live freely." Characters aimed at babies typically feature primary colors and large eyes. Instead, we wanted to represent a "free existence" that resembles the blank state inside a baby's mind. We allow viewers to color the black-and-white "Pushupushu" however they like, leaving the color and pattern up to the babies themselves. Being able to freely change its shape and form is, in a sense, "out of the box." We want children of the future to live freely and creatively. Our ambition is to gradually change the design of society with "Sinapushu." We recently took a step further and released a film. The word "baby" suddenly pops into the minds of people who don't normally have contact with children, wondering if babies these days even watch movies. This alone is a step towards gradual change in society. I hope that "Sina Pushu" will be useful in creating a society where babies can live more easily and where people can have hope for the future of Japan.

■ Design your own life

Now I work so hard that I can barely remember every day. (laughs) Even if we aim for gender equality, it's very difficult for women to chart a career. Even if my husband is supportive, it's difficult to achieve a 50/50 balance.

However, I now find the term "balance" itself difficult when it comes to work and child-rearing. Balancing means maintaining both, but on certain days one can suddenly collapse. I was in the middle of production on the film I was working on, "Sinapushu," when I gave birth to my second child. Of course, I wanted to raise my child, but my unwillingness to leave the work I was working on won out. In the end, I took the necessary maternity leave and returned to work with zero parental leave. It was extremely difficult, but I was able to pursue what I wanted to do. I don't know if this was the right answer, but I'm proud to say that I was able to explore a work style that suits me. I enjoy my work and am happy to have children. I would like to continue to design my own path in life.

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on August 23, 2023 by Yui Takemura, a fourth-year student at Senshu University