I started out as a talent registered at a voice-over agency, but later went independent and started freelancing, mainly doing narration.

I had zero business contacts from my time with the agency, so I worked hard to make a living and managed to bring my average monthly income from voice work to just under 300,000 yen one average over one year.

Struggling to make ends meet, I was constantly on the move, sometimes meeting more than 100 people in a week.

During that time, I met many mothers with underage children, and they would often say to me in a cheerful tone,

"My kid is going to a voice actor training school!"

I would usually reply with a smile, "Oh, I see." But because I knew that only 10% of the people in the industry could make a living, I felt inwardly that it was probably a waste of time. I couldn't in good conscience let them know that, despite it being the industry in which I was making my living.

Honestly, I felt that the situation was untenable, and something had to give.

With each repeated such incidence, my determination to create an industry where at least 50% of hard-working people can earn at least enough to make a living became stronger and stronger.

With this in mind, I set out to create a system where the players, or talent, work independently as true business owners, by collaborating rather than competing, while better serving society and making it easier to fulfill our functions. The Free Narrators Union was established on November 17, 2017 with this idea in mind, initially with just 7 partners.

On the player side, talent can easily find a space where they can leverage their strengths, and for the production side, it's easy and stress-free to find the right voice for the project at the right time.

My current philosophy is to create a mutually beneficial environment, and ultimately establish a three-way win-win situation for the voice industry, the video industry, and extending further into the wider world of all creatives. That is the core mission of the Free Narrators Union.

Recently, we began to receive requests for casting consultation in various genres other than narration, and we also pitch projects to outside entertainment agencies and casting companies with whom we have good relationships, cooperatively participating in the casting process.

We have formed numerous business partners throughout the Free Narrators Union, as each member brings their own connections to the table, and if we can provide mutual benefits to each other, we are working on forming deeper partnerships. (I myself consider video production creators to be colleagues who work together to create the same final projects, so I personally take on video production projects on consignment and coordinate with fellow production companies that meet the needs of the project. We are considering further enhancement of this system through combining these services.)

We are able to collaborate with companies across industries, because we believe this leads to further mutual development. As long as any particular company or individual is willing to work with us, we see no reason we should refuse to do so.

If you or an entity you know might be interested in bringing vitality to the world of voice or creative work, or would like to explore an alliance or joint venture, please feel free to contact us.

Of course, we are also always happy to consult with those who need a certain voice right now.
Let's create something amazing, together!