Imai Sakura is a weather forecaster who serves as the weather Caster on TV Asahi's morning information program "Good! Morning." It's been about two years since she started appearing on the program, and she's quickly becoming a "morning face," but in fact, her previous job was as an apparel store clerk. She passed the difficult weather forecaster exam, which has a pass rate of about 5%, on her first try. Imai, who was unemployed for about six months, told us why she decided to become a weather forecaster and why she's recently taken on the popular challenge of gravure modeling.
◇A turning point in Gunma, where I was assigned
Imai became fascinated with the weather when he was in elementary school. His family had strict rules and the TV programs he could watch were limited, but he liked the weather segment on morning information programs. "As a child, the news was often difficult to understand, but I could understand the weather segment, so naturally I would watch that segment all the time," he recalls.
During her job search, she considered the television industry, but decided to work in the apparel industry, as she wanted to work in fashion, which she loved. She was assigned to Gunma Prefecture, where she also worked as an assistant store manager, and this experience was a turning point for her.
"Gunma is hot in the summer, so customer traffic slows down during the day and then suddenly picks up in the evening. So I planned to focus on work during the day and increase the number of people on the sales floor in the evening. Also, because there is a big difference in temperature between day and night, warm loungewear sells earlier than in other regions, so I thought about product placement. Then I thought, 'Huh? This is connected to the weather.' That's when I realized once again that I was interested in the weather."
Although she decided that she wanted to work in the weather, those around her opposed her idea. They said things like, "You've worked so hard to get into the company," and "Even if you get a qualification, there's no guarantee you'll get a job." Still, she decided, "If I were to die tomorrow, I'd definitely regret not studying to become a weather forecaster. So I'll give it a try."
"I'm not the type of person who can do two things at the same time," she said, and quit her job to concentrate on her studies while "unemployed." She studied hard, spending 12 hours a day at her desk, and passed the exam on the first try six months after she quit her job. On the day of the exam, she was prepared to fail, but received word that she had passed during a break at her part-time job, which she had started to take in order to earn money for courses for the next exam. "I thought a miracle had happened (laughs)!" she said.
After that, she joined the weather forecasting company Weather Map and will appear as a Caster on "Good! Morning" from October 2023. The live broadcast scene is a continuous "serious challenge". "Once, when a typhoon occurred, I was suddenly asked 10 minutes before (my appearance) to provide commentary, 'Can you do it?' I realized that live broadcasting is about responding to sudden disasters and heavy rain." She is gaining experience every day amidst a tense atmosphere.
◇I want more people to watch the weather on TV
One particularly memorable event from the past two years was that the Saturday edition of "Good! Morning," which began in 2024, was to be released on her birthday. It was spring, and she was also able to introduce the cherry blossom, which is the same as her name, "Sakura," so she said with a smile, "I was really happy." She exuded a sense of fulfillment, saying, "There are many difficult things, but I'm able to work in a field that I'm interested in, and before I go to bed I think to myself, 'Today was another happy day.'"
Since last year, she has also tried her hand at gravure modeling in the manga magazine "Young Magazine" (Kodansha) and the weekly magazine "FLASH" (Kobunsha). "I was approached about it, so I decided to give it a try," she revealed.
"I love my job as a weather Caster and am proud of it. Nowadays, you can see the weather through apps and the web, but television's strength is in conveying information in an easy-to-understand way. I accept any job I'm given, not just gravure modeling, with the hope that more people will watch the weather segment on television."
This is only his third year as a weather forecaster. "All my seniors have been doing this for 20 years. I still have a lot to learn," he says humbly. However, he also says he is interested in the relationship between his favorite animals and the weather. "There is a theory that the recent bear damage is due to a poor acorn harvest caused by the heat. I would like to learn more about the impact that weather has on animals."
"I want to continue taking on new challenges to convey the weather." He continues to take on new challenges while facing the sky. (MANTAN/Kanamaki Kenichiro)
