Japanese superstar Kanna Hashimoto, despite being 26, still rocks that ageless "baby face" charm. Lately, she's been absolutely crushing it, starring in movies, TV dramas, and even showcasing her hosting chops, all while maintaining her sky-high popularity.
Yesterday (January 1st), she appeared on Fuji TV's quiz show "Quiz $ Millionaire" (クイズ＄ミリオネア) and absolutely stunned everyone! She blazed through every round, successfully snagging the 10 million yen grand prize, making her the first challenger to win the top prize since the show's revamp. Naturally, she became the hottest topic across Japanese social media.
"Quiz $ Millionaire" (クイズ＄ミリオネア) was once a massive hit, famously known for the late host Monta Mino's iconic catchphrase, "Final Answer?" It aired regularly on Fuji TV from 2000 to 2007, and thanks to massive fan support, continued as special episodes until 2013, cementing its status as a classic quiz show for many.
Now, after a 13-year hiatus, the show has made a triumphant return with Arashi's Kazunari Ninomiya taking over as host. And who better to kick things off as the first challenger of the revived series than Kanna Hashimoto herself?
Before the competition, Kanna Hashimoto, ever the confident challenger, expressed her determination to deliver a stellar performance.
Her answering streak was incredibly smooth, breezing all the way to the 5 million yen question. Then, she decided to go for broke and tackle the ultimate 10 million yen prize! The final question was: "Before Tokyo became the most populous prefecture in 1897, which prefecture held the top spot?" The options were: "Niigata Prefecture," "Aichi Prefecture," "Hiroshima Prefecture," and "Kumamoto Prefecture."
Hashimoto wisely used her "Phone-A-Friend" lifeline, which gives her 30 seconds to call for help. She dialed up Xu Fengfan from the boy group INI, her co-star in the Fuji TV drama "Yandoku!", and actor Ryohei Otani. But even with a rapid-fire explanation of the question and options within the tight 30-second window, their responses were pretty vague, like "Niigata?" or "Isn't Kyushu more populated?" — no definitive answers there!
In the end, Hashimoto went with "Niigata Prefecture." The moment the answer card flipped over to reveal "10 Million Yen," her eyes practically popped out! Even host Kazunari Ninomiya couldn't help but exclaim, "I thought her eyeballs were going to fall out!"
▼ The moment she won on the show.
Even Kanna Hashimoto herself probably didn't expect to be the first challenger post-revamp to bag the 10 million yen prize! It just goes to show that Hashimoto isn't just killing it in her career; she's absolutely crushing it on quiz shows too, starting the New Year with an unstoppable winning streak!
▼ She also posted on X, admitting she was super nervous during filming, but... seriously, she's just that good!