Since July of last year, Shiori Hosokawa has been in charge of the weather information corner on TV Asahi's flagship program "Hodo Station" (Monday to Friday, 9:54 p.m.). She has an unusual career history, having switched from being a systems engineer to being a weather forecaster. Nine months after entering the world of television, we asked Hosokawa to look back on the turning points in her life.
◇ Studying hard for the weather forecaster exam was "so fun it felt like relaxation"
After graduating from the Faculty of Science and Technology at Seikei University, Hosokawa got a job at a major electronics manufacturer. While working on systems development, data collection, and quality control, he aimed to become a weather forecaster and newscaster.
"I studied Materials and Life Sciences at university, but I also studied environmental studies quite a bit, so I was always interested in the environment and nature. This was also when I was a student, but when I was working part-time as an event staff member at a TV station, I saw a weather forecaster doing a live broadcast and became interested in him, which is what made me think about this job. When I thought about my future while working as a systems engineer, I decided that I wanted to do a job that I could immerse myself in, so I aimed to pass the weather forecaster exam."
However, the weather forecaster exam has a narrow gate, with a pass rate of about 5%. "On weekdays, I studied for about three hours during my commute, and on weekends, I studied all the time except during meals and when I slept," he said, as he studied for the exam.
"No matter how busy I was at work, the time I spent studying to become a weather forecaster was so interesting that it felt like a relaxation. People around me would say, 'It must be hard to get a qualification while working,' but I never thought it was difficult (laughs). The thought that I'd be happy if I could do this as a job was also a motivation for my studies."
However, he kept it a secret from his family, laughing, saying, "I thought it would be embarrassing if I couldn't pass, so I had a strange pride... I studied in secret all this time." Thanks to such intense study, he passed the exam on his third attempt. And last year, he joined the weather information company Weathernews.
Although he has made the switch from a different industry, he says that his experience as a systems engineer has come in handy.
"I think we have in common that we use a lot of difficult technical terms, but I think we are somewhat similar in that we try to explain things to customers in an easy-to-understand way. The job of a weather forecaster also involves analyzing and compiling weather information, so I think my previous work is useful when it comes to analyzing that kind of data."
◇ The words of newscaster Kensuke Okoshi are encouraging
After joining Weathernews, she was selected to be in charge of the weather information corner of "Hodo Station" from July 1st of last year. Until recently, she had no connection to the world of television. Although it was her goal to become a weather anchor, she was nervous about being suddenly cast in the role. Her first appearance was unforgettable. On the day, an active rainy season front caused heavy rainfall that could have triggered a warning, and she appeared on the program four times at short notice, urging viewers to be vigilant.
"The weather conditions were pretty bad, so I was determined to see it through to the end, but I received feedback that said, 'I could tell you were really nervous.' I reflected on that and it dragged on for quite a while."
At that time, I was encouraged by the words of the program's main anchor, Okoshi Kensuke.
"Okoshi-san told me, 'That was good the way it was. You'll be fine with that sense of tension.' I think he meant that he didn't want me to get too used to being on TV. Since then, because my job involves reporting on disasters and the like, I've come to the point where I feel it's best to appear on TV with a certain degree of tension."
Because it is an evening program, he goes to bed at 2 a.m. on weekdays and wakes up at 9 a.m. As soon as he wakes up, he checks out other weather presenters on morning information programs to learn how to communicate in an easy-to-understand and easy-to-listen-to way.
"Because we provide information that is potentially life-threatening, we try to find ways of expressing ourselves and tones of voice that will draw in people who are simply listening to the weather forecast."
He is so passionate about his work that he could say it was his calling. Even on his days off, he says, "I'm watching the weather around the world, or rather, the weather conditions around the globe. I check the flow of the westerly winds and make forecasts for the week."
He says that on Saturdays he changes his mood and does his hobby of gardening, but "for example, the time when tulips bloom varies greatly depending on how cold the winter is. Plants are very sensitive to the weather, or rather, they are very honest, so...I end up thinking about the weather (laughs)," so he is thinking about the weather 365 days a year.
What kind of weather forecaster do you want to be in the future? "I want to be a forecaster who can communicate weather information in an easy-to-understand way, so that people will be interested in it. I also want to be a forecaster who can convey the interesting aspects of weather," she said with a serious look in her eyes.
