Sazae-san, the longest-running animated television show in the world, will begin airing reruns for the first time in 45 years. The show is one of several to have production affected by COVID-19 as shows like the Friends reunion have also been put on hold.
Speaking to Reuters, Fuji TV confirmed that Sazae-san reruns will begin next week. This is the first time that reruns of the anime, which has been shown on TV every Sunday since 1969, have been shown since 1975 when old episodes were shown for a month because of an oil price crisis. COVID-19 has affected the show's production schedule but it's unclear when new episodes of Sazae-san will begin to be shown on TV again.
Japan ranks 43rd on the list of countries with the most COVID-19 cases and just 646 deaths have been recorded in the country. However, a state of emergency was declared at the beginning of April and this has had an effect on Japan's economy. It was also announced that the Japanese game ratings board would close because of COVID-19, showing that anime production isn't the only part of the entertainment industry that has been affected.
However, Sazae-san's popularity is likely to endure while Fuji TV airs reruns. The show, which took the Guinness World Records for longest-running animated show from The Simpsons in 2013, has been able to get 10% of Japan's viewing audience watching. Some viewers have also joked that these reruns will allow them to win the games of Rock, Paper, Scissors which are shown at the end of each episode, suggesting that it won't stop fans from enjoying it.
Source: Reuters