The person must be able to speak and use language in a clear and crisp manner that is easy to understand. Intelligence, education, and the ability to grasp the world's trends are also important, as well as the courage to proceed without panicking when unexpected events occur during a program. But the most important thing is to have the ability to attract people, such as friendliness, which is loved by all kinds of people.

The basic job of announcers at television and radio stations is to read news scripts written by reporters on news programs. Sometimes the announcers themselves conduct interviews in the field and convey information they have gathered. In order to convey news correctly and clearly, it is necessary to have a wide range of knowledge, and it is also important to check the names of people and places in advance to avoid misreading. In sports programs, announcers are in charge of live coverage of games. In addition to correctly reporting the game and the play of the players, they also ask the commentator about points of interest and conduct interviews with the players and coaches after the game. In order to do so, they must study and understand the sports they are in charge of. Also, in variety shows such as talk shows and quiz shows, announcers often serve as hosts or assistants to the hosts to keep the programs running smoothly. In order to get the guests to talk, they should research the guests in advance and think about how to ask questions so that the guests can talk easily. In the case of live broadcasts, the air time is fixed, so they must also pay attention to the progress of the program. They may also narrate documentaries or host events sponsored by TV stations. Since announcers are employees of TV stations and radio stations, when they are not recording programs or doing other work, they also do clerical work such as answering the phone in the room of the announcement department to which they belong. Since local stations in particular are small in size, announcers may also work as reporters, cameramen, and even edit video footage. On the other hand, some announcers who become popular sometimes quit their jobs at TV or radio stations to become freelance or join entertainment production companies and work as TV personalities.

There are no special qualifications to become a TV or radio announcer. Usually, one must pass an entrance examination to become an employee of a broadcasting station. However, most stations require that their announcers have graduated from a four-year college or university. If you are serious about becoming an announcer, you should aim to go to college first. In addition, all stations hire only a few announcers, so competition is fierce. In the case of local stations, they do not always hire announcers every year. For this reason, many prospective announcers attend announcer schools or training schools from the time they are university students to prepare for the hiring examinations, including vocal training and accent training. In addition to announcing skills, students should also improve their ability to attract people through club activities and socializing with friends.

Many graduates of universities or announcer training schools register as freelance announcers with entertainment production companies instead of becoming employees of broadcasting stations. Some freelance announcers have become popular through steady activities such as weathercasters for program corners, and have started appearing on programs of various stations. With the increase in the number of programs broadcast not only on terrestrial TV but also on satellite broadcasting and the Internet, the number of cases where employee announcers are not enough and freelance announcers are being used is increasing. For those who want to work for various stations like a TV personality, becoming a freelance announcer may be a good choice. However, unlike announcers who work for a company, salaries and working conditions are not stable, so it is essential to make efforts to appeal one's individuality and ability to get more work.

NHK currently uses an artificially intelligent "AI announcer" to read out the news on some of its programs. The AI voice synthesizer reads out the transcripts typed by the reporter on a computer. The AI, which has learned how the announcer speaks, can produce a more natural sounding voice and speaking style. Commercial broadcasters have also developed AI announcers, which are used in Internet programs. However, the AI announcers are not yet as flexible and responsive as human announcers, so it is unlikely that AI announcers will take over the jobs of human announcers. In the future, however, the AI announcers may be able to handle monotonous information such as the late-night news, while the human announcers may be able to concentrate on important information such as emergency and disaster bulletins. This would allow the announcers, who have more time, to deepen the content of the news by, for example, using their conversational skills to focus on news coverage. In addition, announcers, who are the face of the program, now often play the role of newscasters and TV personalities, rather than simply hosting and facilitating the program. As a result, they are likely to take an increasingly active role in the creation of programs, such as being involved in the planning stages of a program.

It varies depending on whether it is NHK or a commercial broadcaster, a key station or a local station, a TV station or a radio station. The average annual salary is 4.12-5.3 million yen. For freelancers, it also depends on the amount of work. The average annual salary is 5.14-6.3 million yen.

Depends on the program you are in charge of. If you are in charge of a weekday program, you can take weekends and holidays off, but if you are in charge of a Saturday or Sunday program, you take weekdays off. In addition, depending on the broadcasting time of the programs for which they are in charge, they may work early morning or evening shifts. In addition, it is difficult to take long vacations such as the year-end and New Year holidays and Obon vacations according to the calendar. In the case of freelancers, vacations also vary depending on the programs they are in charge of.

Mainly studios and announcing rooms of TV and radio stations. For sports broadcasts, it is the stadium or game site. Sometimes, they cover the scene of an incident and give an on-the-spot report.

It's a chart that shows at a glance the main routes to getting a job as an announcer!