Ayako Kato, the Birth of Her First Child: “Behind the Celebrity Marriage” and “Timing of Her Return to Active Duty,” Pushed by Her Peers

On New Year’s Eve last year, freelance announcer Ayako Kato, aka “Katopan,” reported the birth of her first child on her Instagram. Along with a photo of her holding the child in her arms,

I am happy to announce that I gave birth to my first child on December 29th! It is a healthy girl!　The baby did her best to come out of the womb.

The baby is a healthy baby girl!

Most celebrities these days don’t even reveal the birth date or gender of their children, so I was a bit surprised to see Katopan’s birth report. I think she must have been very happy.

Currently, there is a rush of female announcers, including those who have left Fuji Television, giving birth. Last March, Yurika Mita, a.k.a. Mitapan, gave birth. In August of the same year, Yutaka Yamazaki gave birth. In January of this year, Yumi Nagashima also gave birth.

In June 2009, she married a sergeant of a supermarket chain, and in order to take care of her pregnancy, she left “Live News It! which she was the main anchor of, in September 2009 to take care of her pregnancy.

All three are really close, and Ms. Kato often meets their children, who have all married before her and have become mothers and fathers. In fact, many of Ms. Kato’s classmates, including those at local stations, are married to celebrities,” said a female staff member at Fuji Television.

Former TBS announcer Erina Masuda and former TV Asahi announcer Yue Takeuchi, as well as former Tokai TV announcer Saho Narushima and former Nagoya TV announcer Natsuko Shiojiri are famous among her peers at other stations.