Japan's Oldest TV Presenters

[Mulboyne]

Asahi: Experienced announcers boost station's ratings
Their average age is 93. They are three women, TV announcers based on "Japan's Treasure Islands"--the lush, green Amakusa Archipelago in Kumamoto Prefecture. Their unconventional charm is the mainstay of Amakusa TV, an Internet broadcast outlet featuring mainly local content...The three star announcers are Tsurue (Tsuru-chan) Kurokawa, 91; Shino (Shino-chan) Mori, 104; and Mitsue (Mitchan) Nagata, 84...Tsuru-chan is standing by for the filming of a program commercial. She sports a pink wig, apparently in keeping with the commercial's space station motif. Catching sight of herself in a screen monitor, she gasps, "Look at that monster!" "She's like a girl of 20," comments Hiroaki Kaneko, the president of Amakusa TV, from behind the camera...She does a spot called "Tsuru's Voice," commenting on national and international affairs. When Amakusa city spent 800 million yen on the demolition and reconstruction of the Amakusa Christian Hall, a Christian history museum, her indignation knew no bounds. "Those graves they're savaging date back 400 years," she said. "Women, children, 1,300 people who sacrificed themselves (for Christianity) lie buried there. Has the mayor gone out of his mind? This is like the Taliban, or Pol Pot! A curse on him and his descendents!"...more...

There are quite a few clips of Amakusa TV on YouTube or you can register online to watch the channel. The station also has an American woman called Ursie who does some features with Tsuru-chan, some of you can see via the company's website.

[Mulboyne]

Japan Times: Pair of Internet reporters don't let age slow them down

News reporters tend to be young because of all the hard work involved. But that isn't the case at Internet broadcaster Amakusa TV in Amakusa, Kumamoto Prefecture, where a pair of news reporters, one 105 years old and the other 92, are covering the local scene. After founding Amakusa TV in 2001, Hiroaki Kaneko, 51, who used to work at an advertising firm in Tokyo, hired Shino Mori, 105, and Tsurue Kurokawa, 92, to attract viewers in the higher age bracket. "With their abundant experience and knowledge, I wanted them to cover issues that elderly people will be interested in," Kaneko said. The two appear almost every week, speaking in the Amakusa dialect to introduce local tourist spots and cuisine. Among their stories that have been popular with locals, Mori reported on a boiled and seasoned octopus dish while Kurokawa did a spot in which she tasted salt-boiled star fish. The two even interviewed Prime Minister Taro Aso when he was in Amakusa during an election campaign. "I was nervous," Mori recalled. "He had a cute face." When Mori was asked to become a reporter in 2004, she was in the hospital for a stroke. The pair have been featured on TV programs in Germany, South Korea, Spain, France and the Middle East.