What I want to cherish, for my own amusement, is "raw words" — Hiroshi Kume

Radio's job is to focus the lens of imagination

I contracted tuberculosis soon after joining TBS, so my first real job as an announcer was on "Saturday Wide Radio TOKYO," which started in 1970, three years after I joined. I went to various places to do live reports, but my only worry was whether I'd get scolded by the main personality, Rokusuke Ei. I was always on edge, but there's one report I still remember vividly, one I think went surprisingly well.

It was during a segment where I had about a minute before the time announcement to sketch the scene of Tokyo. I was at Dogenzaka in Shibuya. It was autumn. Amid the street bustling with young people dressed in flashy outfits, I noticed something lying on the ground and said: "Among the fallen leaves and trash blown together on the sidewalk, there lies a broken heel from a high-heeled shoe." Radio may lack visuals, but listeners conjure images from the words broadcasters speak. That broadcast became the moment I realized my role was to find one or two focal points on-site to help listeners focus their imaginative lens.

During the "News Station" era, I struggled to maintain my physique.

On the other hand, television relies entirely on visuals, making words sometimes completely unnecessary. I realized this profoundly watching regulars Kimichi Hagimoto and Jiro Sakagami on "Pittashi Kan Kan," the first TV program where I truly succeeded. Jiro would just say things like "Hee" or "Fuu." That alone carried the entire 30-minute show. Announcers who started in radio and moved to TV tend to talk too much. They feel anxious and uncomfortable with any silence. I was one of them, but after the show started, I deliberately cut back drastically on how much I spoke. Sometimes I'd just stare intently until the guest appeared and sat down next to me. That way, the guest's presence really came through.

Even during my time on "News Station," I prioritized my own appearance first. I borrowed suits worn by models in fashion shows, which made maintaining my physique incredibly difficult. My stylist gave me detailed instructions on hairstyle, tie, dress shirt, and even which pen to use. Though, to be honest, that stylist was actually my wife (laughs).

Words without substance won't reach the listener's heart

Whether on radio or TV, I've never consciously imagined a typical listener or viewer. Even if I try to picture them, it's just an extension of myself. I believe I should judge based on whether I find it interesting. Ultimately, it comes down to my own eye for discerning what's truly engaging. That's what I've always believed in.

On my current radio show, "Kume Hiroshi: It's Radio, After All," we have guests who are like craftsmen appearing live for 30 minutes. Guests are given a list of questions beforehand, and I might exchange a word or two in the green room, but we don't have any specific prior discussion. That's because I want to prioritize the "fun" that emerges during the show itself. So, I ask things I don't think the guest expects to be asked.

This approach was the same during my time at News Station. Since reading news scripts aloud during rehearsals dulls their freshness, I always read them silently. I stuck to this for 18 and a half years. Even when big-name guests like politicians appeared, I often asked questions they hadn't anticipated. This would sometimes elicit genuine, unfiltered responses – raw, unpolished words thought up on the spot, rather than rehearsed lines. That's how people are, isn't it?

This is especially true for people like me whose livelihood depends on speaking. Words spoken without genuine feeling behind them won't reach the listener. Even something as simple as describing a color like "red" requires having experienced that "red" yourself. Sometimes you struggle to find the right words or get tongue-tied. Isn't that precisely what makes them "living words" spoken by a human being?

Writer Hiroyuki Itsuki (December 2013, "Kume Hiroshi's 100-Year Story of Japan")

At the end of last year and the beginning of this year, I served as the main host for the BS commercial network's five-station joint special program "Kume Hiroshi's 100-Year Story of Japan." We plan to do it again at the end of this year and the beginning of next year. The previous series covered the past 100 years up to today. This time, while the 100-year span remains the same, we're adding a focus on the future, hence the main title "Messages to the Future." Each TV station has a different theme; for example, one is "beauty." But when you use a word like "beauty," it needs substance to back it up. There are as many types of beauty as there are people. I'm looking forward to it.

BS Commercial Broadcasters' 5-Station Joint Special Program "Hiroshi Kume's Messages to the Future ~ A Century of Japan's Story~" airs from 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM on: December 28th: BS Nippon TV "Bestsellers" December 29th: BS Fuji "Population" December 30th: BS Asahi "Exams" January 2nd: BS Japan "Fools" January 3rd: BS-TBS "Beautiful Women"