Maki Hiwara: Appointed as the First Female President of Nippon Broadcasting System

Thank you. I was only notified shortly before the announcement, so I was surprised myself.

This year, the era changed from Heisei to Reiwa, and it is also one year before the Olympics, so many things are happening in the world.

In the media, terms like "digital shift" or "paradigm shift" have accelerated over the last 10 or even 5 years. The business models of existing media, known as the "Four Mass Media" (newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV), cannot survive without changing. Social structures and rules are also changing. I feel it is a challenge to respond to all of this.

In terms of radio, the creation of the radiko device in 2010 and the adaptation of AM radio stations to Wide FM (FM supplementary broadcasting) were major evolutions. Also, with smart speakers appearing in the world, I believe audio media will be highly valued in the future society as it is eyes-free and hands-free.

Thanks to radiko, the fact that young people are listening to the radio again is a huge deal. However, since we commercial broadcasters have always relied on an advertising model, I believe we must find another pillar of revenue.

That's true. Because we are more nimble, there may be parts where we are ahead. In 2010, radio stations united to create the radiko platform, and recently NHK has also joined. While simultaneous TV streaming is a hot topic now, the fact that we did it ahead of time might be very significant.

Broadcasting is a licensed business, and we broadcast using airwaves that are the shared property of the citizens, so we have a responsibility and many things we must do. Naturally, it is a 24/7 service, so if we don't change our mindset regarding work-style reform, the old ways won't keep up.

Many Showa-era values still remain. New values from the Heisei and now the Reiwa era are also emerging, and I think we are in a period where values and things from three eras coexist. It might be a turning point, but rather than leaning extremely to one side, I think it's an era to maintain a good balance and create new things from various values.

It's an easy topic to pick up, so it's often mentioned, but it's difficult to answer when asked "What do you think?" (laughs). It might be a requirement of the times, or perhaps just a matter of timing.

However, in Japan, while the promotion of women is in the newspapers every day, the fact that it's being talked about so much means there is still a long way to go.

I think this industry has operated without discrimination in that regard. However, there are strong conservative parts, and it's rare to see women in meetings at the department manager level or above.

However, I sometimes think that today's era might actually be harder to work in because things like sexual harassment and power harassment are more easily featured. If I can be of help for women's advancement, I want to actively give advice to my juniors.

That's right. The late-night program "All Night Nippon" is more famous than the company name Nippon Broadcasting System, and we've been doing it under this title for over 50 years. It started in 1967 as a "liberated zone for youth," and I think the reason it grew into a brand is that we continued it.

One mission of this program is to produce the stars of each era. It's been very active and interesting lately. The main "All Night Nippon" from 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM features Masaki Suda, Gen Hoshino, Nogizaka46, Takashi Okamura who has been doing it for a long time, Sanshiro on Fridays, and Audrey on Saturdays.

And the 3:00 AM slot, which used to be called "All Night Nippon Part 2" and is now "All Night Nippon 0 (Zero)," is also popular. A big factor is that with the "Time Free" function on radiko, people can listen even if they aren't awake late at night.

What's interesting is that on Wednesdays, a person named Nobuyuki Sakuma from TV Tokyo is speaking. He is a producer of comedy shows like "Goddotan" at TV Tokyo, but he was pushed by Yasushi Akimoto to start this April. He became popular in no time, and tickets for the upcoming program event sold out instantly.

In my time, even if middle and high school students listened to "All Night," they would graduate from it once they became university students or working adults. But thanks to radiko, everyone continues to listen now.

In that way, people in their 20s are all continuing to listen. I believe late-night radio content is very meaningful for the younger generation.

Exactly. Originally, radio stations operated on a time axis. The aesthetic of the programming task was what to fit into which time slot. That was, in a way, the fun of a broadcasting station.

However, with digitalization and the appearance of various devices, time is no longer a factor. It might be the listeners who are now creating the timetables. I think everyone now selects and arranges what they need for themselves, regardless of whether it's TV, radio, the internet, or YouTube.

Yes. That's why content is important, and we are talking within the company about revisiting "Content First."

I think there are three points: first, let's do something interesting. Second, let's do something new. And third, let's do something we can be proud of. I believe it all comes down to these three.

This year is the 65th anniversary of the station, and I want to cherish what our predecessors created during that time. One is "All Night Nippon," which is an undeniable legacy of the company. Among other programs, "Show Up Nighter" has also surpassed 50 years.

Then there is the "Radio Charity Music-thon." This is a 24-hour charity program held every Christmas, now in its 45th year. One in five audible traffic signals for the visually impaired in the Tokyo metropolitan area was created through Nippon Broadcasting's charity. The first personality for this program was Kinichi Hagimoto, and Nippon TV's "24-Hour TV: Love Saves the Earth" was based on that.

I believe we must create the next things based on such proud legacies. Since it is also a social contribution, it's necessary for us to take pride in that brand.

And the strongest point of radio is that the devotees of a program's personality become enthusiastic fans, which then becomes a movement.

Yes. Someone like Audrey fills the Budokan for a program event. It's 12,000 people plus 10,000 via live viewing. The audience all looks very happy.

Program events are increasing a lot now. I believe this creates a good ecosystem that goes beyond just radio broadcasting.

During university, I was just having tea with friends all the time (laughs). For clubs, I was greedy at first and joined the camera club, the film club, and also the tennis club. I was quite serious about tennis.

Due to my parents' work, I went to England when I was five, came back around the fifth grade of elementary school, and then went to Paris from the third year of junior high.

Yes. I came back to Japan to enter university and entered Keio. I thought about staying over there, but many of my relatives were Keio people, and they told me, "You should definitely go to Keio because you'll be friends for life" (laughs).

In fact, it was a very fun student life. The era was certainly generous, or rather, filled with bright signs.

I was in the Department of Philosophy, majoring in Aesthetics and Art History, studying Western Art History. Fashionable, isn't it? (laughs). What was great was being able to go to art exhibitions frequently. My seminar was with Professor Shuji Yashiro, who specialized in Rembrandt. Some of the more social people would gather from various universities to hold parties.

There might have been more freedom than now. Today, starting with personal information, rules are complicated, while the convenience of the internet is high, so I feel like we are living in a contradiction. Everyone wants to collect big data for business, right? Back then, we didn't even have mobile phones.

Keio is definitely unique. For instance, getting to know someone like Ikegami-kun (laughs).

This Keio system is well-made (laughs). In the mass media, it's not common for just Keio people to gather. But through the Rengo Mita-kai system, when it was 10, 20, or 30 years after graduation, I was asked to "help out," and I was treated very kindly by seniors who were 20 years older.

Normally, you would never meet someone 10 years older or 20 years younger during your student days. I think that's amazing. It really is a good school.

At the time, there were mass media seminars, and I went with a vague feeling that "mass media might be okay," and it was decided quite early (laughs).

But I actually liked radio quite a bit when I was a child. I wrote postcards and even had them read. In that sense, I have experienced the deep relationship between radio and listeners.

You don't really do radio unless you like it (laughs).

The internet looks interactive, but it feels a bit different. It's a bit more objective. With radio, there is always someone you are facing. It becomes one-on-one. Of course, there is a large audience behind them, but the relationship is close to one-on-one.

There aren't many media like that, are there? So it's probably necessary to spread that goodness.

Whether it's a desire for recognition or a certain need to be cared for. That's probably why people are returning to radio once again.

Of course, there is that, but as I said earlier, we cannot rely solely on the traditional advertising model, so different business developments are also necessary.

There's even a saying, "Nippon Broadcasting, which also does radio," because we handle various businesses. Within that, it would be good if the broadcasting format of radio can continue into the next era.

We are investing in quite interesting areas. We acquired a web media company called grape and invested in a company called HIROTSU Bio Science. We also invested in Audioburst, an Israeli company with audio search technology, and abasaku, a video production company.

Recently, we've also been investing in movies, such as "The Great War of Archimedes," which was released recently.

As a mission assigned to radio, there is a role during disasters and other emergencies. The government also emphasizes that, but it doesn't happen every day. Moreover, if functions that can supplement those areas emerge through 5G communication, things might change.

I think the challenge is how to mesh our position as a licensed broadcaster entrusted with broadcasting with our development as a corporation.