Freelance Announcer Aika Kanda: “Things that have not changed over the years and make me angry

It’s supposed to be a good time to evolve.

It has become completely cold and it is the season to wear sweaters. I am very careful about the sweaters I wear this time of year. I usually take down and wear sweaters that I bought on sale in February or March and never put on sleeves until autumn, in other words, ″new″ sweaters. I wear them because they are clean, free of pilling, and I am not embarrassed when people see them.

I wonder how you are dealing with the furballs on your sweaters. I have a lot of pilling on my cuffs and sides where it rubs when I move, and on my waist and abdomen where it rubs against my bag, with no upper limit. The price is pretty good, but the pilling occurs after only a few wears, let alone one season. I heard that cashmere, which is said to be finer and warmer than wool, is less likely to develop pilling. Even if it is a little more expensive, if it lasts longer than wool, it might be a good deal!　There were years when I only bought cashmere sweaters. But hair is still hair. After wearing it a few times, it would develop a furball.

In a world where everything is evolving and becoming more convenient, why don’t we ever get rid of sweater pilling? Are there people who would be happier with hairballs?　No, it can’t be. Wool and cashmere are animal hair.　Well, I can understand that. But can’t something be done chemically to them when they are made into woolen yarn to do something about it?

And by the way, wool ball removers have not evolved at all. When a hairball becomes noticeable, I make an effort to remove it with a wool ball remover. But I can’t see them clearly, so I end up putting the blade in too deep and making a hole. This has happened many times since I was a child. It has been decades since I was able to adjust the depth of the cutter. This spring, I accidentally pressed it too hard into a sweater and made a hole. Already!　How long are you going to keep doing this feeling with the fluff remover!” I snapped aloud.

I was so angry that I couldn’t stop thinking about the things that should evolve, but somehow never do. In my mind, the ultimate example is the umbrella. Umbrellas have been around since the days of period dramas, or even longer, and they still work the same way they do today. The only thing that has changed is the materials used. People are so bothered about carrying around umbrellas, and because of that, they sometimes leave them somewhere, so why hasn’t the way umbrellas are used changed?

When you press a button on a small, portable remote control, a thin, transparent barrier is quickly erected over your head. The barrier has sensors attached to it and follows your movements. Then, when you press the button on the remote control again, the barrier disappears and the remote control goes back into your bag. …… Such an umbrella would not be difficult to carry around, and you would not lose it. With today’s technology, I think it could be done.

I want just the right one.

On the other hand, it is the smartphone that has evolved so much that it is hard to keep up. It is truly amazing that so many countless functions are packed into such a thin and small device. However, as a mechanically inept person, I am sure that I am not able to use even 1/20 of these functions. The fact that I have to pay for the remaining 19/20 of the functions is what makes it so hard for me to buy. I have thought about using a smart phone that targets the elderly. But the data capacity was small, the number of phone numbers that could be registered was small, and so on. That would make it difficult to use. I think it would be great if the functions and capacities could be customized, and the price would change accordingly.

Let me say more now that I’ve come this far. In fact, I wish the Internet would disappear entirely from this world!　I wish the Internet would disappear entirely. The Internet has made it possible for me to enjoy my favorite trips abroad to a greater extent and to do proper research before going to work. However, even when I did not have the Internet, every day was not inconvenient, and I enjoyed myself very much. When I say it like this, young people might say, “There it is! But as the Internet has spread to the general public, we have more information and more choices, we have more worries, we learn things we don’t need to know, and we get hurt more often.

Some things have not evolved at all, and some things have evolved too much. I am dissatisfied with both. （I feel that I am a conservative person who has been educated by NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation).

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 appears regularly as the main MC of the daytime TV program “Poka Poka” (Fuji Television Network).

Her first book, ” Where are you going on the road called Royal Road? is now on sale by popular demand!

From the December 12, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY