ジェーン・スー 生活は踊る · Society & Culture
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Jane Su explains why she deliberately avoids learning the details of her industry peers' romantic lives, and how office romances inevitably get noticed by the people around them despite everyone's best efforts to hide them. The chat rounds out with anticipation for next week's guest episode and a surprising confession: she has almost never been photographed.
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What this episode answers
Why does Jane Su deliberately avoid asking for specifics about industry peers' romantic rumors?
She avoids asking for specifics because once she learns specific names, that's just more she has to protect and keep hidden, and she believes deliberately not asking about things people are trying not to say is itself an important part of being considerate.
Why does information about other companies end up flowing to her simply because she's in the same industry?
Because she works in the same industry as everyone else, stories about other companies end up flowing entirely to her too, like the folktale of the king with donkey ears — she can't tell other industry insiders even when she wants to, so it all becomes something she can't say.
Even when an office romance is hidden at first, why does it eventually become obvious to the people around it?
Even though both people try to hide it at first, it gets noticed by those around them through atmosphere, small gestures, the way eyes move, and even coincidences like both bringing up the same movie on the same day — people pick up on far more than verbal communication.
What mindset does she try to keep so she doesn't become a hub for gossip?
She tries to avoid becoming a hub for information at all costs, and her approach to rumors is to say "I don't know," let it end there in her own mind, and simply avoid holding onto the information.
Is it really true she's never been photographed, and what was the one time that came closest?
Yes, she says she's never been photographed, not once; the closest it ever came was while she was wearing a helmet in preparation for motorcycle commentary at a marathon broadcast, which everyone laughed would have been useless as a news photo.
Deliberately not asking about industry peers' love lives
The conversation opens with a topic related to someone from Gerigori's cohort, though who exactly is never named. Su describes her stance as "trying not to know too much in detail." Her reasoning: once you learn specific names, you end up with that much more you have to protect and that much more you have to keep hidden. She shares the view that deliberately not asking about things people are trying not to say is, in itself, an important part of being considerate.
The trouble with information piling up simply because you're in the same industry
Su also talks about a downside of working in the same industry as everyone else: even stories about other companies end up flowing entirely to her. It's like the folktale of the king with donkey ears — even when she wants to tell someone, she can't tell other industry insiders, so everything becomes something she can't say. She concludes that becoming a hub for information is something to avoid at all costs, and that the best approach to rumors about people is to say "I don't know," let it end there in her own mind, and simply avoid holding onto the information at all.
Looking forward to next week's guest episode
The talk shifts to next week's guest episode. With a break coming up after a run of episodes, and after a stretch of episodes featuring guests close to her in generation, Su says she's looking forward to seeing how next week's guest reacts. The conversation also touches on a senior colleague she works with on Sunday Japon, referred to as "Mainichi-chan," underscoring once again just how close-knit the relationships within the industry can be.
Signs of office romance that come through no matter how well hidden
Asked about her own experience with office romance, Su says "I have, in the past," while staying vague about whether it was ever discovered. She analyzes that even though both people try to hide it at first, it eventually gets noticed by the people around them anyway — not through anything said outright, but through atmosphere, small gestures, the way eyes move, and even coincidences like both people happening to bring up the same movie on the same day. Her observation that people pick up on a surprising amount of information beyond verbal communication stands out as a key point.
Never been photographed, save for one borderline moment
To close, when asked whether she's ever been photographed before, Su answers flatly: "Never, not once." The one time that came closest, she says, was while wearing a helmet in preparation for motorcycle commentary at a marathon broadcast — and everyone laughs at how useless that would have been as a news photo. The conversation gets a laugh imagining her eating alone at a beef bowl chain, and wraps up with Su asking that if she's ever genuinely photographed in the future, she wants to be the first to report it on the show.
Takeaways
- Su deliberately avoids learning the details of industry peers' romantic rumors, since knowing specifics only adds to what she'd have to protect or keep secret.
- She explains that office romances get noticed by people around them through nonverbal cues, even when both people try to hide it.
- She says she has almost never been photographed, with the closest call being while wearing a helmet during preparation for marathon motorcycle commentary.
This article is edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. It is not an official summary — please listen to the episode itself.