FM Yokohama x Magcal.net Collaboration Project No. 2 "Yuichi Fujita"

-Please tell us what made you become a radio reporter.

Before the main event, Fujita interviewed the people taking part in the Mikihiki procession. Around 500 people pulled the rope attached to a cart carrying the "kasagi" (about 10 meters long and weighing 1.5 tons) that is the top part of the torii gate, shouting "Wasshoi!" and other chants.

When I was in high school and started to worry about my future, my parents told me that in the coming age, I should have a skill, whatever it was. I was vaguely thinking about what I should learn, and as I had been loud and talkative since childhood, I had an idea that I could make talking my job. Yes, not a skill in my hands, but a job with my mouth. When I talked to a friend about how I could get such a job, he brought out an audition magazine and showed it to me. After graduating from high school and going to university, I joined an agency and passed my first audition, where I was a reporter for FM Yokohama's morning live program "THE BREEZE."

-Do you remember the first time you appeared as a reporter?

Just before the report, they are waiting for the host to make a call.

My first report was on October 1, 1996, near the ticket gates of JR Kannai Station. At that time, I had to ask people walking by to request songs that they wanted to play on the radio. Now I can tell who is likely to talk and who is likely to make a request, but at that time, I asked more than 10 people and it was no use. It was the 8am rush hour, and I think my voice was timid and weak. The live broadcast was approaching, and I was crying because I thought I would be fired if I couldn't get a request. I kept asking desperately, and when I finally got a request from the 13th woman, I thought, "I'm saved!" The woman told me, "Actually, I've changed jobs and I'm on my way to a new workplace," and we had a conversation that left a strong impression on me, saying, "Today is my first day, too. Let's do our best."

-Have you met anyone else during your reporting so far who made an impression on you?

The report, full of realism, began as the reporter checked his notes.

I think it was around Harajuku in Totsuka, but a mother came to see me, whose son loves listening to the radio and is especially looking forward to the street corner report segment. Her son has a disability and cannot leave his room. He is bedridden, so she asked me to go and see him instead. Every day, while listening to my report, we spread out a map together and said things like, "Fujita-kun is here today, and there is a big park here," and she told me that she could feel the scenery through my voice. If my report can help people who cannot go to the place to feel like they have been there, and expand their world even a little, then I think it will be worth it.
Also, I think it was around Hadano or Shibusawa, but a blind woman came to see me alone, using a cane. She asked me, "I can't see your photos or autographs, so can I record your voice?" It was the first time I'd ever been asked if it was OK to record my voice, so it made a strong impression on me. I was so grateful that she had taken the trouble to come and see me alone, despite being blind.

・You have been working as a street corner reporter for FM Yokohama for over 20 years. How do you feel when you take the microphone?

Being asked to sign a sticker

Yes, I debuted when I was 23, so next year will be my 22nd anniversary. The only time I took a break was in January this year, when I had the flu.
Of course, if you do it every day, there will be days when you feel unwell or depressed and feel like "I might not be able to deliver a good broadcast today." But that's irrelevant to the listeners. I appear at 9am, so I hope I can make my first words so that the listeners will feel motivated to do their best today. If there are people listening and waiting for me, I have to do it. If there are no listeners, no matter how good I say it, it's meaningless. If I think that there is even one person listening on the other side of the microphone, I feel like I can do my best.

-Have you ever thought about quitting?

Responding to photos

I don't want to quit now, but looking back, there was one time when I seriously thought about my purpose in life. That was during the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. At that time, the atmosphere in the world was changing, and many people were struggling to survive. When the future was dark and uncertain, I thought a lot about whether I should be doing this. After all, reporting is not an essential part of life. Everyone can live a normal life without me reporting. If it's not something that's indispensable, I wondered deeply if there was any point in me continuing.
I wondered whether it was OK for me to say "Hi, it's Fujita!" on the radio like I always do, and whether it was OK for me to be on the show, but the show went on as usual. When I heard later that listeners had said they were relieved to hear my voice, I felt that it was OK for me to do this. I hope that I can deliver my reports as usual, become a part of the listeners' daily lives, and become a place where they can find peace of mind, even if just a little.

・Mr. Fujita, you have reported on the entire Kanagawa prefecture and are heading to different areas every day. Do you do any research beforehand and prepare for what you are going to say?

(He is being asked to sign a backpack.)

Sometimes the places I go to are decided beforehand, but most of the time I decide based on information provided by listeners or after I go there. When I actually go to a place, I try to find the local scenery and things that I find interesting, and then try to convey them in words that even small children can easily imagine.
For example, there is a small bench made from a tree stump inside JR Ninomiya Station. Many people may pass by without even noticing it. However, to me, a tree stump bench is unusual, and there is even a cushion laid on top of the stump, so I thought it was interesting. I am reporting on how interesting it looks, what it feels like to actually sit on it, and other things in the hope that it will help people visualize the scene, make it easy to understand, and pique their interest the next time they get off at this station.

-Is there anything you pay attention to or keep in mind as a reporter?

The pillar erection ceremony. From the left, the chief priest Akihisa Kusayama, the presenter Miho Kitajima, and the reporter Fujita. The large torii gate was constructed using wood from a 300-year-old cedar tree cut down in the Tsujimura forest in Odawara.

Until last year, I was working with Kitajima Miho, who was a personality on the live broadcast program "THE BREEZE" for a long time. Kitajima has more experience in the broadcasting industry than I do, and she is a wonderful person who casually draws out what I wanted to say. I really learned a lot from her, such as how to ask questions to the other person, how to choose words, and how to express things.
Currently, at FM Yokohama, I am hosting a program with personalities who are my juniors, so I feel that it is now my turn to be in that position.
For example, on a very pleasant, sunny day, you would say "It's a refreshing day" or "It's a refreshing day." In addition, the reading of "Japan" is "Nihon" or "Nippon," and "8 times" is "Hakkai" or "Hachikai." The impression you give to the other person when you speak is completely different depending on whether you know the meaning of each word or not. First of all, you need to take responsibility for how you speak. I want to be able to use each word properly and communicate using beautiful Japanese.

-Finally, please tell us about your future prospects.

Well, I don't have anything in particular. I get asked that a lot, but if I say I don't, everyone says I have no ambition. I don't have any big ambitions, like wanting to be the central personality of the show or changing the world. If I were to use a baseball analogy, I wouldn't aim for a home run, but would be happy to keep bunting steadily. My ideal would be to steadily and steadily do my daily broadcasts day by day. I don't really want my reports to be at the center of everyone's lives. I think there are people in all different situations, but I hope that my voice can help them to be a little more positive and do their best each day.
From now on, if there is even one person who is waiting for me, I would like to continue as I am for as long as I can.

Yuichi Fujita's "Street Corner Report"
Fujita's reports on FM Yokohama's "Lovely Day♡" will be at 9:15/10:00/11:05.
Check out the street corner reports on "Fujita Yuichi Blog"!
http://blog.fmyokohama.jp/machikado/

Lovely Day♡ Monday to Friday 9:00 to 12:00 Personality (Monday to Thursday) Kondo Sayaka, (Friday) Hana