By Chris Betros and Satomi Honda

Prime time
NHK anchor Yuko Aoyama finds herself in a big new world

MARIE WANIBE

After working as a sports announcer for a decade on NHK, Yuko Aoyama found herself on a much bigger stage when she became co-anchor of the network’s primetime program News Watch 9. “I have to cover everything going on, and I’ve realized that I really don’t know much,” she says. “It’s opened my eyes to so much about the world that I didn’t know before, and made me a more inquisitive person.”

Born in Hiroshima, Aoyama studied sports science at Tsukuba University in Ibaraki. After graduating in 1995, she started working at NHK as an announcer for both general news and sports. She covered the Nagano Olympics in 1998 and the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony last year, and has been co-anchoring News Watch 9 with Goro Taguchi since April 2008.

Aoyama’s bright demeanor has helped make the program popular with viewers. “Sometimes we receive as many as 100 phone calls after the show,” she says. “Some people call in for requests to cover specific issues, as well as to point out that the reporting was biased. Others may call in asking about the clothes I wore during the program. So it really varies. It’s not like viewers are going to believe everything that we tell them. They’ve all got their own opinion and they’re not afraid to speak up and critique us.”

Aoyama says her parents are her best critics. “They voice their opinions on the contents of the program and which parts were unclear to them. They also talk about my gestures, my way of wording things, and the way I talk. I always look over News Watch 9 after it’s finished and evaluate how I did—although I end up forgetting the points I need to improve on before I get to apply them.”

One thing Aoyama would like to see more of are inspirational news items. “When I was a sports announcer, I could report on stories like baseball players hitting a home run, but when it comes to news, so much is about accidents and depressing incidents that occurred during the day. There have been nights when I went the entire hour without smiling. I wish that rather than simply reporting what goes on, we could throw in some positive advice or words of wisdom here that could potentially help lift the negativity surrounding our society today.”

Preparation for the program starts early, with Aoyama arriving at the NHK studios around 1pm. “We have our first editorial meeting at 1:30pm. During the planning, I try to voice my opinion on how the program should be structured, but a lot of the material ends up changing before we go on air. For much of the time before the show starts, I watch news programs and start practicing. My day doesn’t usually end until about 1am.”

That’s why most of Aoyama’s free time is in the mornings. “I’m at home, so I get to eat a relaxing breakfast and watch TV. I like to cook, listen to music and watch DVDs. I also play golf on the weekends, and go to tea ceremony lessons once a month.”

Looking back on all the famous people she has interviewed, Aoyama says Nobel-winning novelist Kenzaburo Oe was one of the most memorable. “He had his own vision of life and a great imagination," she recalls. "He made me realize that we should be prepared for the future by constantly looking ahead and making predictions."

During her days as a sports announcer, Aoyama met renowned athletes as well. “Baseball coaches Sadaharu Oh and Shigeo Nagashima were two who made a lasting impression,” she says. “I could see how their success… [was] the product of extremely hard work and passion toward their sport.”
And who in the world would she most like to interview? “My response used to be Tiger Woods, but now I’d say US President Obama,” she replies. “Obama has a solid view of the future and has proposed various plans to accomplish his goals, regardless of how difficult they may seem. I wish we could have such a powerful figure in Japan.”

News Watch 9 can be seen Mon-Fri at 9pm on NHK channel 1.

Chris Betros is the editor of Japan Today (www.japantoday.com)