Former TBS Announcer Hiroko Ogura: The Moment That Made Me Take Journalism Seriously

“I’m used to filming while moving, but striking a pose for a photo shoot feels embarrassing. It makes me nervous.”

Freelance announcer Hiroko Ogura (50) says this with a shy smile. Ogura left TBS at the end of last year. Having worked on a wide range of programs such as Rank Ōkoku and Tetsuya Chikushi’s NEWS 23, she spoke for two hours about her 27-year career as a female announcer at TBS.

Ogura first became interested in the profession of a female announcer when she was in elementary school.

“The trigger was Oretachi Hyōkin-zoku (Fuji TV). What caught my eye were the female announcers interacting with talents in glamorous outfits. In other programs, they read the news and managed the stage as hosts. I thought they looked like they were having so much fun—it felt unfair!”

 

“I guess it’s fine since I’m paying the tuition myself.”

During her university years at Toyo Eiwa Jogakuin University, she attended an announcer school.

“The instructor was very strict with me. I would think, ‘It’s fine since I’m paying the tuition myself,’ and show up late or even bring my ski equipment to class because I was leaving for a trip the next day. Then I got scolded—’Are you even serious about this?’ That was a wake-up call. From then on, I made a firm decision. I started checking TV news programs every day and reading all the major newspapers. Thanks to that, even though I had never read a newspaper before, I learned to understand the flow of current events from multiple perspectives.”

After her hard work, she passed the TBS announcer exam. As a rookie, she was assigned to morning shows such as Ohayo Kujira and Hanamaru Market.

“It was tough! I had to be at work by 2 AM every day before dawn. It wasn’t waking up early that was the hard part—it was having to be asleep by 9 PM that I just couldn’t get used to.”

She often covered sports as well.

“In a show called Zakuretsu! Sports Power, I had a segment where I would ride in the passenger seat of a professional baseball player’s car and interview them on their way home from the stadium. There was no script—everything was on the spot. I once saw anpan (sweet bread) casually left in the car and said, ‘Oh, even athletes eat pastries!’—a rather naïve comment. Another time, I asked, ‘Were you nervous?’ and got snapped at with, ‘Of course I was!’ It was nerve-wracking, but I think it was great training for learning how to come up with questions on the fly in any situation.”

Through various challenges, Ogura grew into a seasoned announcer.

The FRIDAY March 14-21 double issue (released on February 28) and the premium FRIDAY GOLD edition feature a detailed account of how she met and married her husband, former soccer player Takeshi Mizuuchi, as well as the real reason she left TBS. It also includes rare photos from her early career and even a shot of her striking a folk dance pose—a skill she’s particularly proud of.

For more details and multiple photos, click here.

From the March 14-21, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY”