The first radio broadcast in Japan began on March 22, 1925. In 2025, the 100th anniversary of the event, on Saturday, March 15th, NHK Sapporo Broadcasting Station's announcer Kotaro Kamikado will be broadcasting a monthly radio program called "Something from Hokkaido" live here in Hokkaido. The program will feature guests who are not usually on the air, including personalities from four commercial broadcasting stations in Hokkaido, and will air "100 minutes celebrating 100 years of Japanese radio in Hokkaido."

NHK Radio 1's "Something from Hokkaido" live broadcast will be held at Kokonosukino

"Something in Hokkaido," broadcast once a month on NHK Radio 1, is hosted by NHK announcer Kandou Kotaro. In this program, Kandou searches for "something" in Hokkaido in 179 cities and towns in the prefecture, which are submitted by listeners.

On this day, the live broadcast was from the open radio studio "MID.αSTUDIO" on the first floor of Kokonosukino! Many radio fans gathered at the venue even before the broadcast. As they waited anxiously for it to begin... The broadcast began at 1:05 pm. A noisy sound source from the 25th anniversary of the opening of NHK Sapporo was played. It was a compilation of NHK radio sound sources from 1953.

The live broadcast of "Something from Hokkaido" began with the opening jingle. The audience erupted in applause and cheers.

Spectators were seen holding homemade fans.

At the opening, a 13-year-old boy who came to watch from Obihiro, who goes by the radio name "Mumei", was called into the studio by Kamikado and joined the show. He was in charge of calling out the special feature corner "Quiz Hyakunen Manten". The listeners gave Mumei a warm round of applause. This kind of generosity is the charm of the radio show.

Next is the regular segment. This is an audio recording of Kamikado's report on Nishiokoppe Village, which celebrated its 100th anniversary this year. We will play audio recordings of street interviews on the theme of "Where do people in Nishiokoppe Village feel happy?" Here, we will also have a "dog interview" that is familiar to listeners. We will talk to Ron, a chihuahua-dachshund mix.

Kamikado-san: "Is Nishiokoppe a nice place? Do you feel that prices are high?" Ron: "Woof! Woof!! Woof!!!"

The audience got excited as the interview soundtrack played (laughs). As the conversation got lively, the number of spectators steadily increased. Someone was even seen holding a handmade fan with Kamikado's face printed on it...!

The person in the front wearing green is NHK announcer Kotaro Kamikado. Waving in the background is Ayaka Suzuki from FM Hokkaido.

Radio broadcasting in Hokkaido began at 11:00 am on June 5, 1928. What should we do in the lead-up to the "100th Anniversary of Radio in Hokkaido" in June 2028, three years from now? From 2:05 pm, we will hold a "Planning Meeting" to discuss the topic with our guests.

First to appear in the studio were Ayaka Suzuki from FM Hokkaido (AIR-G') and Yamata from FM NORTH WAVE. Fans of each personality gathered to welcome them with applause. First, they gave 100-second self-introductions. Suzuki played a special jingle that packed in the 43 years of AIR-G', while Yamata, accompanied by the soothing sound of the "Sazanami Drum," talked about his favorite sauna and his own band, HAMBURGER BOYS.

In the middle is Yamata-san from FM NORTH WAVE

As Hokkaido's broadcasting reaches its 100th anniversary, the discussion will be light-hearted, with various suggestions from listeners being read out.

Yamata: "I hope to give more children the opportunity to send in requests to radio shows and have them aired."

Suzuki: "It's rare that I get to meet everyone from each station. I'd like to have more opportunities like this and plan fun things with everyone."

Each of them has a suggestion for the future of radio. Listeners have also sent in various messages, such as "I wish they would broadcast it at ski resorts," and "I hope the radio show will continue to be one that connects the personalities and listeners."

Kamikado-san: "I think it's a good idea to steadily expand these connections. How can we join forces as stations to expand them?"

Suzuki-san: "Isn't this a drinking party?"

Suzuki's comment was met with thunderous applause from the audience!

We would be broadcasting in various parts of Hokkaido and having a drinking party with our listeners there... This was a really exciting idea. The fun time passed by in an instant.

In the middle is STV announcer Yoji Kimura, who is well known to all Hokkaido residents. On the right is Ayumi Yamane from HBC Radio.

The next guest appeared. First, Ayumi Yamane, who is well known for her HBC radio show "Car Navigation Radio Gogo Ichiban!", gave a 100-second greeting. She introduced herself with a lively attitude, playing the original Car Navigation Radio song "Radio is Magical Frequency," which was created together with the listeners and is full of love for radio.

Furthermore, announcer Kimura Yoji, who had just finished broadcasting STV Radio's "Gokigen Yoji" two hours earlier, is a well-known TV announcer who once shared an episode of taking the NHK entrance exam but ended up with a disappointing result. "I screamed in my head, 'Remember that! NHK!!' but now, 43 years later, I'm appearing on NHK Sapporo's live program," he said with a touching laugh.

The venue was filled with a warm atmosphere from start to finish.

Yamane-san said, "I feel more comfortable talking on radio and it's easier to be myself. I'm not good with cameras..." and blurted out something even though there was a TV camera right in front of me. His hasty correction drew laughter.

You can almost feel the groove in the venue as everyone gets excited and united, but before you know it, there are only two minutes left of the broadcast...! The fun time has flown by in an instant.

Kimura: "So many smiles are being spread like this, and maybe the mission of radio is to make people laugh."

At the end of the program, we will summarize the past two hours. What will we do to celebrate 100 years of radio in Hokkaido?

Kamikado-san: "In the previous part, we were going to broadcast in various places in Hokkaido, and in the evening we decided to have a drinking party with the listeners..."

Yamane: "I want to do it!" (immediate response) Kimura: "Isn't that good?" (immediate reply)

After about 50 minutes of discussion, the host and the audience all raised their hands in approval. It's true that in the past, commercial broadcasters often had tour events planned for their programs. It felt like everyone was united in their hearts for Hokkaido's 100th anniversary of radio.

Kamikado: "Since this is NHK, please make sure the drinking party doesn't involve sponsors (laughs)."

The closing talk was surrounded by loud cheers. Over 100 listeners gathered from start to finish, and it was a very lively broadcast. The time flew by, and I was reminded that radio is a special medium that can feel the connection between people, even though it doesn't have a visual image.

This broadcast can be enjoyed on the catch-up streaming service of "Radiru★Radiru" until Saturday, March 22nd.

After the public live broadcast, filled with love for radio, we asked radio listeners about their thoughts on radio.

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