Description: The tai-meshi incident on a Japanese talk show was really about an unfulfilled wish to share plain white rice. Here is the story behind Shoko Aida, Shoko Haida and Shinya Ueda.
Shoko Aida's eight-year “grudge” was not a serious feud. She took her friend Shoko Haida to a restaurant famous for white rice freshly cooked in an earthenware pot. Haida wanted tai-meshi, rice cooked with sea bream, instead. Aida agreed but never forgot the plain rice she had hoped to show her friend.
The episode and the people
The story aired on Nippon TV's Ueda to Onna ga Hoeru Yoru at 9 p.m. Japan time on October 21, 2026, during an episode about friendships across age groups. Aida formerly belonged to pop duo Wink; Haida was a singer on NHK's children's program Okaasan to Issho. The friends are nine years apart. Both are named Shoko and call each other “Sho-chan,” prompting host Shinya Ueda to joke that one should change nicknames.
What happened eight years earlier?
Aida wanted to lift the pot lid and reveal the restaurant's steaming, glossy white rice. But Haida requested tai-meshi, a seasoned fish-and-rice dish rather than the plain rice Aida had in mind. Aida said she deferred because she was the older friend. The disappointment was about losing that particular shared experience, not about the fish dish tasting bad.
Why was it funny?
An “eight-year grudge” sounds like a major offense. The reveal was simply a dinner order. Aida politely said yes at the time, then carried the tiny disappointment for eight years before telling the story on television. Ueda jokingly advised Haida to end the friendship; that was a punchline, not a real breakup. Haida also described Aida's recurring gag: pretending lemon juice had hit her eye whenever someone squeezed lemon over fried chicken. Ueda questioned whether anyone laughed; Aida insisted the gag was one of her joys.
Conclusion
The culprit was not the fish. It was a bowl of beautiful white rice that never got its moment. This explanation uses the official episode listing and Japanese reporting rather than claiming to have viewed the complete video.
References (4)
- TVer, October 21 episode: https://tver.jp/episodes/ep224jkn1x
- Hulu episode: https://www.hulu.jp/watch/100278343
- entax, October 22, 2026: https://www.entax.news/entertainment/202610220930.html
- Sponichi, October 22, 2026: https://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/32629322/
