Freelance Announcer Aika Kanda: “The Difficult Balance with the Person I Admire”

My Idol, Leo

In early July, Leonardo DiCaprio was photographed by the paparazzi riding a shared bike in Manhattan, New York. It was broad daylight, and he was with his Italian model girlfriend.

Leo was wearing a plain white T-shirt and shorts, sneakers with white socks, a cap, and sunglasses. This is exactly what I consider “THE American” outfit.Whether in New York, Hawaii, or even when I see American tourists in Japan, I often think, “Isn’t this the most common outfit American men wear?” So, as someone who loves America, when I see Japanese men dressed this way, I think, “He has a global perspective!”“He’s confident and lets his inner qualities shine!”—and I find him “so cool♡.” That’s why I frequently make my husband dress that way, too.

I’ve always… yes, ever since the day I saw the movie *Titanic*, I’ve believed that Leo is the coolest man in the world. I was 17 at the time. It was the first movie I saw at the theater with my first boyfriend, and at first, I was just nervous about being in the dark with him.But as the story unfolded, I became completely captivated by Leonardo DiCaprio—from the balance of his face and body to his sweet smile, the color of his eyes, and the sheen of his hair—thinking, “He’s so cool♡”… and when I glanced sideways at my real-life boyfriend’s flat face and black hair while reaching for popcorn, my feelings for him nearly vanished.

But there was a silver lining. I was able to start looking at certain comments in a positive light—like when a boy in elementary school asked me, “Is Kanda half-Japanese?!” or when a kogal in Shibuya’s Center Street muttered under her breath in middle school, “You’re not Japanese.”

What’s more, the man I chose to marry is amazing. I didn’t marry him because I liked his face, but I did sense a foreign-looking quality in his facial features.When I fed my husband’s face into a smartphone app that suggests “This celebrity looks just like you!”, Leo himself appeared. Never before had I felt such confidence in my skills as a journalist—I thought, “How about that! I have an eye for seeing people’s true nature!”

I’ve digressed quite a bit, but anyway, I was absolutely thrilled by the fact that the man I consider the coolest in the world was riding a bike—the same bike-sharing service I use—through New York City, the city I love most in the world, dressed in the quintessentially American outfit I adore.Since I go to New York often, my heart started racing at the thought, “Maybe we’ll run into each other someday while we’re both riding bikes!” and I began to wonder, “What would I do if I actually met him?”

I don’t want to be disappointed!

First, I’d say, “Wow! Oh my gosh!” Then I’d ask, “Are you Leo?” to confirm it’s really them. The problem is what comes next. What should I do after that?

I sometimes get asked, “If you could ask your idol, ◯◯, just one question, what would you ask?” Since it’s part of my job, I give an answer, but to be honest, I don’t really want to ask anything.

I’m the type who wants the people I admire to remain just that—idols—and I don’t want them to intrude into the real world.It’s fine if they’re a completely fictional character—even one where I’d have to say, “Actually, he doesn’t even exist!” The reason is that I don’t want to be disappointed. In my mind, I’ve built up my own image of them—thinking they must be neat and tidy, or a true gentleman. If they differ even slightly from that, I’ll think, “This isn’t what I expected,” and not only will I lose interest, but I’m afraid I might even end up disliking them.

Leo-sama is the only person in my life whom I’ve consistently found cool for such a long time. I absolutely don’t want to end up disliking him. But still, I think I’d want to shake his hand after confirming it’s really him. His hand would surely be just the right size—not too big and not too small—soft with no rough patches, and moisturized thanks to high-end hand cream. Yet, I’d probably sense a masculine strength in the way he grips my hand.

What should I do? What if his hand is smaller or bigger than I imagined, or if his grip is so strong it hurts, or so weak it makes no sense, or if his fingers have calluses or are rough and dry?Forget *Titanic*, forget *Catch Me If You Can*, forget *The Great Gatsby*! They’re all just second-best in my book—I wish Tom Cruise would remake them all! I just hope I don’t end up thinking that.

Aika Kanda / Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1980.After graduating from the Department of Mathematics in the Faculty of Science at Gakushuin University, she joined NHK as an announcer in 2003. She left NHK in 2012 to become a freelance announcer. Since then, she has been active primarily in variety shows and currently appears regularly as the main MC on the daytime series “Poka Poka” (Fuji TV network).

★ Her first book , *Where Does the ‘Royal Road’ Lead? *, a compilation of this series , is now on sale to great acclaim!

From the September 4, 2026 issue of *FRIDAY*