NHK Nagano announcer Inai Sayaka drew widespread praise for going on air bare-faced and bespectacled about 10 minutes after a strong earthquake struck western Shizuoka Prefecture just past 1 a.m. on November 8, a reminder of how much of NHK's standing rests on its disaster broadcasts.
The quake registered a maximum intensity of upper 5 in Aichi Prefecture, the first such reading there in 29 years. Inai delivered the bulletin from NHK's Nagano station. She wore glasses, appeared to have no makeup on, and her long hair hung loose and slightly disheveled.
It was not the first time she had stood before the camera in that state during an emergency. In April, when a quake with a maximum intensity of upper 5 struck northern Nagano on a Saturday afternoon, she was in the studio in about 10 minutes. "When the earthquake hit, I was at home in Nagano city," she said, slightly out of breath, as she described conditions on the ground.
NHK staff are encouraged to come into work and put out information within their means when a disaster strikes, a sports newspaper reporter said. Inai appears to have followed that policy, heading to the station after receiving the earthquake early warning. Viewers were quick to applaud. "A model announcer," one wrote on social media. Another posted, "Amazing. True professionalism." A third said, "This deserves respect."
From Sophia University to Nagano
Inai joined NHK in fiscal 2024, and Nagano is her first posting. Her official profile lists disaster prevention and minorities as the themes she focuses on. "In disaster prevention, I have worked on radio production and events on volcanic disaster prevention," she said in the profile.
She was already well known on campus. Inai studied law at Sophia University's Faculty of Law, where she was active in a student group campaigning for gender equality. Recruited directly by its founding members over her interest in gender issues, she later became a co-representative.
"She negotiated persistently with the university, including over making sanitary products available free of charge," a person who knew her at the time said. "She had glamorous, almost idol-like looks and the presence of an opinion leader. Plenty of people on campus knew who she was."