Waseda WeeklyWaseda Weekly

1. Devoting myself to student club activities

-What kind of student life did you have during your university days?

Looking back, I did a lot of different things. I was in School of Culture, Media and Society, Media and Society, so I studied media, was active in the Broadcasting Research Club (an official student club, hereafter referred to as Broadcasting Research Club) and student club that made a free magazine, and even did things like pretending to be an emcee at events outside of school.

--It was around that time that you were doing activities that led to your current job.

That's right. Since I was a child, I had always wanted to be an announcer, so I think it was natural that I ended up doing that kind of work.

But actually, I gave up once. I joined the Broadcasting Research Club and tried to train as an announcer, but it wasn't for me at all. So I quit the Institute after six months and devoted myself to working on a free magazine.

ENJI (official student club) was student club that made a free magazine with the concept of "Bring back Waseda with fashion". We took snapshots of fashionable students on campus, borrowed clothes from second-hand shops near the university, and modeled them ourselves. I was in charge of editing, so for example, I interviewed instructors from fashion-related vocational schools, compiled them into articles, created pages in Illustrator, and submitted them.

--You were pretty active in that field.

Thinking about it now, I think it may have been there that I developed the basics of interviewing. When I was interviewing, I was always careful about what questions to ask and how to ask them so that they would turn into an article, so I feel like that unintentionally led to my current job.

2. Taking a leave of absence to go abroad

--Is there anything else you wish you had done during your university days?

I acted based on what I wanted to do, not what the people around me were doing. Actually, I didn't want to just follow the flow of those around me and start job hunting, and I also had a dream of living abroad, so I took a leave of absence and went abroad for a while.

When and to which country did you go?

When I was in my third year of university, I took a year off and went to Singapore. There, I worked as an intern at a company during the day and worked part-time at a local restaurant at night. When I went there, I realized that changing jobs is common in Singapore, and the job hunting process is not uniform like in Japan, but rather varies widely. I realized that things that are not common in Japan are common overseas.

In Japan, students tend to think about how to spend their student life in order to find a job, but I think university is a precious grace period to think about how you want to live your life. I think going to Singapore was a great opportunity for me to think about that.

3. Aiming to become a news announcer

-After returning to Japan, did you mainly apply to TV stations during your job search?

Through my activities at ENJI, I realized that I like jobs that involve hands-on work and footwork, so I applied to a variety of industries without being limited to TV stations. However, I couldn't give up my dream of becoming an announcer. I took the announcer exam and ended up with Fuji Television.

--What made you want to become an announcer in the first place?

It all started with a comment from my mother. When I was watching TV as an elementary school student, my mother said, "Announcers are quick-witted and brighten up the atmosphere. They're wonderful." I thought she would be happy if I became an announcer.

--I think we often forget those childhood dreams as we grow up, but what do you think was the reason you continued to aim for them?

I have had the experience of speaking in front of people at key moments in my life. For example, when I was in junior high school, I would write the MC's content and speak before the songs at the brass band concerts I was in, and I also gave speeches at the closing ceremonies.

​I've always loved expressing myself in my own words. When I was looking for a job, I looked back on my life and realized that I really wanted to express something in words.

--After actually becoming an announcer, did you feel a gap between your ideal and reality?

I had a glamorous image of being an announcer, but in reality it's a down-to-earth job, and you spend a lot of time steadily preparing, and as an office worker, there are a lot of daily chores. On the other hand, because it's a job that puts you in the public eye, you have to ensure the quality of your communication skills as an announcer. I thought that was a tough job.

4. I worked seriously on my thesis.

--You said you studied media at university, but what exactly did you study?

In my seminar paper, I used Fuji Television as a subject, analyzed the daily schedule of the programs broadcast, and actually went to Fuji Television to investigate what kind of television station it was. At that time, I never thought that I would actually join the company, so I wrote critical things like, "These days, announcers are becoming more and more like celebrities." I never thought I would end up on that side (laughs).

--This is exactly what I think would be useful for my current job.

That's right. Because I was thinking about the media from a critical perspective during my university days, I still question the way the media is. I even look at the script in front of me, wondering if it's really like that, if it's correct. Thanks to that, I feel like my daily work doesn't become a routine. After I joined the company, that perspective also gave me the opportunity to think about the kind of announcer I want to be.

-Was there any announcer you looked up to?

There wasn't anyone in particular, but for my graduation thesis I researched Hiroshi Kume, a Waseda alumni. Kume was the first person to bring entertainment elements to news programs on "News Station" (TV Asahi affiliate), and he changed the way news programs were made.

What was the conclusion of your graduate thesis?

Kume-san described himself as "not a journalist, but a presenter" when commenting on the news. I think that by looking at the news from a perspective closer to that of the viewers, he was able to break it down and convey it in an easy-to-understand way.

However, as you continue to work in that position, you accumulate knowledge, so you can't remain a pure viewer. So in my thesis, I concluded that Kume-san is a person who embodies the difficulty of standing between journalism and entertainment. And this is exactly the conflict I'm facing right now.

How do you deal with that conflict?

I'm torn between two rocks, struggling. I'm still a novice, so I can't compare myself to Kume-san, but when I reread my thesis this time, it overlapped so much with my current situation that I was scared, thinking that I had predicted the future (laughs). In the end, I think that the structure of commercial news programs and the dilemmas that announcers face haven't changed at all.

--Finally, please give a message to Waseda students.

When I look back on my life, I think, "I'm glad I did it this way," but in the end, it's all about hindsight. People around me say all sorts of things, and there are so many books that tell you, "You should do this."

However, I think that none of them are right, and none of them are right. That's why I think it's important to take the time to think deeply and face what you value and how you want to live. I hope that you will immerse yourself in something that you truly love. If you immerse yourself in something, you will naturally start studying and deepen your knowledge.