Free Announcer Aika Kanda “Celebrating the Expiration of Her Term as Vice President of the Mansion!

Work of the Board of Directors

I have been serving as vice president of the management association of the condominium in which I live, and just a few days ago, my one-year term expired. I was able to successfully complete my term. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the board members who worked together with me to solve problems in the condominium.

This is the second time in five years that I have served on the board. The last time was also as vice chairman of the board. The current condominium, which we purchased upon our marriage, is the first home we have both owned in our lives. I had lived in a condominium in the past, so I knew that condominiums had a board of directors, but I was unaware of the actual organization.

In my third year of living in the condominium, I received a notice requesting me to become a board member for the first time. Since each unit takes a turn to become a board member, even if I decline the offer, I will be asked to serve again next year anyway. In that case, I agreed! I agreed.

The board of directors consisted of four members: a president, a vice president, and two board members. The three members other than myself were male heads of households. I was the only female who was a proxy for the head of the household. But don’t worry, I had nine years of experience working as a member of a large organization. The problems in a small condominium would be, at most, noise and pet odor problems. （I was ready for anything.) I was ready for it.

However, the reality of the problem was this: …….

The cleaning company that cleans the common areas, could they be asked to clean the balconies, which are common areas but each unit has the right to use exclusively, with the management fee? Consideration of the request.

The fire alarm in the mechanical parking lot has been going off early in the morning for some reason, and we need to find out the cause and alert the resident who is the source of the problem to prevent it from happening again.

A child fell and hit his head on a protrusion at the entrance of an elevator, which required several stitches, so we responded to a parent’s request to have the protrusion itself removed.

All of these problems were considerably heavier than we had imagined. The discussions were protracted, and each board meeting lasted two hours.

The best thing is for all residents to be able to live comfortably, but if we responded to only one person’s request, it would be seen as eco-favoritism, and it would be like “he who says it wins. If we don’t respond to a request, we need to explain why we can’t do so. I was at a loss as to what to do. I was at my wit’s end. I was unable to offer any solution, but the three gentlemen in the board of directors proceeded to argue vigorously.

Encountering Ideas I Never Had

The three words that I frequently heard during this process were “deal with self-inflicted damage,” “thoroughly inform rental tenants,” and “let’s get an iMitsu. All of these words were almost unheard of in my life so far. Even though I had experienced being a member of an organization, I did not have the sense of making decisions with budgetary concerns in mind, or the perspective that it is important that the conclusion be fair to all, which is taken for granted by people who have worked in general business for decades.

With that experience under my belt, I grew up a bit and took on the challenge of being vice-chairman for the second time. As usual, the discussions were led by three older men with a wealth of social experience, but compared to before, I was able to include them in the discussions and the other board members were able to look me in the eye and talk to me. And this term, too, I was trained by many unexpected problems and requests that arose. Incidentally, to give you an easy-to-understand result of this term’s board meeting, we installed a security camera at the entrance where the reception desk is located, in light of the recent problems with harassment. Also, in order to allow more residents to use the delivery boxes, a “long-term use prevention policy″ was established. The bottom line is that there were some problems that required such measures.

There are so many different people in the world. Even in a small condominium with only a few dozen units occupied, there are so many problems and requests per year. When it is my turn to serve on the board of directors of a condominium, I tend to think, “Wow, what a hassle,” and want to run away. However, when I take on the responsibility with determination, I am often surprised at the ideas that I do not have. I learned a lot and unexpectedly had a lot of fun. For those of you who are fed up with the routine, I encourage you to give it a try. I recommend it.

Aika Kanda was 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 “FRIDAY” March 13 and 20, 2026