One of the more enduring TV formats is the Ano hito wa ima (Where are they now?) variety special, which tracks down celebrities of the past to find out what happened to them in the decades since they vanished from our collective consciousness. The hunt is more interesting than the capture, since the prey is usually living a typical middle-class existence with spouse and kids. The appeal is in seeing once-famous people brought down to "our" level, but most of the subjects were one-hit pop singers, child actors or someone who made a commercial that defined a certain year. In other words, their celebrity burns brighter in memory than it did in reality.
Some subjects have enjoyed second mini-careers through these specials, appearing on them repeatedly and telling the same stories of what their lives have been like since their respective heydays. Everybody knows where they are and what they're doing, but the producers still contrive an air of mystery because viewers want that thrill of rediscovery, an indispensable component of nostalgia.
Rarely, however, are their careers fully reignited. A recent exception is Natsuki Okamoto, a relic of the 1980-'90s bubble era, when she was a "race queen" for the Nissin Cup Noodle auto racing team. Race queens are models who wear revealing attire while representing team sponsors at race tracks and promotional events. Okamoto helped popularize the "high-leg" look: bathing suits cut to reveal all the thigh and hip, sometimes even a bit of crotch.