Free Announcer Aika Kanda, “Aika Himura’s Determination This Year

I was blessed with many jobs this past year. I was even awarded first place in the “2023 Breakthrough Talent” ranking, and everyone around me congratulated me. I am just a 43-year-old woman with no outstanding talent, and I have lost my NHK announcing ability. My mother said to me, “How do you keep working? What do you need Aika for now? But she is right, and I go to work with a sense of gratitude.

Thanks to the many jobs I have received, my income has increased. Saving money is important, but I also want to be in an environment where I can see what the world is like from there. I also tried to put myself in an environment that I had longed to live in, and I bought clothes that I had longed to wear, thinking “how nice it would be if I could take them home with me ……”. I spent the past year deciding to use my income for my “longing.

I am sure that such a day-to-day life would make you think, “It must be so easy to live. I, too, thought that I would realize my longing, my heart would be fulfilled, and all would be well. However, four months into the Fuji TV program “Pokapoka,” something unusual happened. （I was getting frustrated!) I was so frustrated!

My week at that time was like this. On weekdays, I made breakfast in a hurry, left home, and broadcast “Poka Poka” live until after noon. After that, I went to the taping of another program before I had time to eat lunch, and returned home at night. I didn’t have the energy to cook dinner or heat up the lunch box I brought backstage, so I ate it cold and went to bed. I work on Saturday and Sunday, writing manuscripts and illustrations for a series of articles in between. Then my body began to crave for sleep and I noticed that another week had started again at …….

Thanks to this, I was able to win the aforementioned No. 1 ranking, but I could no longer vacuum the house, which I had always done once a week, and the whole house was covered in dust. My husband walked barefoot on the dust without complaining about the situation. In the past, I would have thought (I want my husband to work in a good environment. I have to clean up!) ), I would have thought to myself, “Why can’t he at least vacuum?　He could have at least vacuumed!) ), I became angry.

I also began to notice other small things, such as not putting the scissors back where I had used them, or leaving the gargle kit on the sink in a mess. Until now, I have been able to compensate for this, but because of this “why me? But because of this, we started to fight more and more.

(If things continue as they are, the marriage will collapse.) Feeling a sense of crisis, I asked my husband to do a few things around the house. Then he vacuumed and wiped the sink, and my burden began to lessen. But for some reason, the irritability did not subside.

After much agonizing, I asked my gynecologist if I had started menopause, but she said, “Not yet. (Then why?) I confronted myself for about two months, and I found out that I was going through menopause. After confronting herself for about two months, the crux of the problem became clear.

A Sense of Responsibility as a Wife

I grew up in a family where my mother was a housewife. My father was a workaholic and never took care of the house. My mother did all the housework and childcare so that my father could work comfortably. She had three children. Even from my perspective as a young girl, it seemed like a lot of work. However, I have never seen how other mothers do things, so even now, I don’t know what other “wives” look like. Therefore, I naturally followed my mother’s way. Even though it was easier for my husband to help me, I felt guilty about it, and I was angry and frustrated with myself for not fulfilling my ″responsibility as a wife″ in my mind.

Once I’ve analyzed this, the next step is to choose between filling that sense of responsibility or changing myself to be OK with not being able to fulfill it. For the former, you have to adjust your workload. For the latter, I have no choice but to change my way of life, which is to “throw myself into everything I do. Frankly speaking, I would love to choose the latter and continue to take all the jobs I have been doing while skipping housework and earning a good income. But this fall, I have made the decision to choose the former.

My income and opportunities will be reduced. However, I will give my all to the jobs I accept, and I will also give my all to my life as “Aika Himura,” which will last longer than the jobs I accept. I have started a new version of my way of life. It was a big decision for me, as I have always prioritized work above all else.

If the year 2024 is the year that people say, “I haven’t seen you on TV lately,” I can say, “I’m a family oriented person! I’m a family oriented person! Let’s see what kind of year it will be.

Born in 1980 in Kanagawa Prefecture. After graduating from Gakushuin University with a degree in mathematics, she joined NHK as an announcer in 2003, and left in 2012 to become a freelance announcer. Since then, she has been active mainly in variety shows, and currently makes regular appearances as the main MC of the daytime TV program “Poka Poka” (Fuji Television Network).

From the January 5 and 12, 2024 issues of FRIDAY