Host: Where did “Wish!” come from?
DAIGO: When I greet my senpai’s I usually say, “Wis!” It just naturally became, “Wish!”
Host: A pun?
DAIGO: Not really… it just became like that, naturally, like the way humans progress.
Host: Why do you speak so gaudily?
DAIGO: It’s really not gaudy to me. When I first said, “S’right,” in a variety show, people laughed. I didn’t really get what was so funny, but they laughed anyway. It’s not really something I consciously do.
Host: What were you like as a child?
DAIGO: As a child… which age? Childhood is kinda long.
Host: Gradeschool?
DAIGO: Pretty lively and naughty. Also had a sensitive nose. I kept a plastic bag where I put the sheets of tissue paper I blew my nose into. I was also in gradeschool when my grandpa became prime minister.
Host: By the way, how was your grandfather like?
DAIGO: He was fond of me. Something like, “Come here, come here” all the time. We played judo and sumo, so for me back then he was a grandpa that I really loved.
Host: Wow, a prime minister who did sumo.
DAIGO: Well normally, a grandpa lets his grandson win, right? But he played to win. He was the type who hates to lose.
Host: What kind of life did you live before you debuted?
DAIGO: I started being active in music when I was 19. I did part-time jobs while pursuing music.
Host: And what kind of jobs were those?
DAIGO: Shop assistant at a karaoke box and a supermarket.
Host: Your family was rich but you still did part-time jobs?
DAIGO: I didn’t really do part-time jobs that long. I had to rely on my parents. To be honest, up until my late twenties, I was still leeching off my parents
Host: Really?!
DAIGO: Yeah, I pretty much leeched off ’til the last minute.
Host: What is rock for you?
DAIGO: “The path I trod.” Well, grandpa’s maxim was also, “The path I trod.” In my case, the path I trod is rock… that’s what I think.
Host: Rip-off?
DAIGO: A rip-off? Oh, you mean, I copied my grandpa’s words? It’s more like I inherited them. (Laughs)
Host: What made you start pursuing rock?
DAIGO: When I was 15, I got to listen to BOØWY’s “MARIONETTE” and I thought it was really cool. For the 15 year old me, they were pretty cool… no questions asked. They made such an impact on me. Even now I still find them cool. They’re forever charismatic for me.
Host: Why did you keep silent about being Takeshita Noboru’s grandson back when you first debuted?
DAIGO: When I was 19, I thought of walking on my own feet. And while doing just that, Himuro Kyosuke-san wrote my debut song for me.
Host: Really? Is that because you’re the former PM’s grandson?
DAIGO: Exactly what you’d think, right? But I hated that. Actually, a cameraman introduced me to Himuro-san, and after meeting him, he told me that he wanted to help me out. It was only after I kept saying “Grandpa this grandpa that” on variety shows that Himuro-san found out.
Host: Wow! You should say this on TV more.
DAIGO: I’d really love to, but there aren’t many chances for me to say that… If you think about it, aren’t rock and politics on opposite sides? Originally, at least.
Host: So you had that dilemma?
DAIGO: I came to a point where not being able to continue music was much more difficult than the dilemma I had, so I thought it’s about time I went full power with grandpa’s name.
Host: Well I guess as a rocker you’d want to hide that. But exposing that was actually brave.
DAIGO: Yeah, it was like an armour that I kept protecting myself with. But when I took that off, it felt like a burden was taken off me and I started flying.
Host: You're actually earnest, aren’t you?
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