On Sept. 4, the new presenters for Nippon TV's nightly news show, "News Zero," were introduced at a press conference in Tokyo. It's not unusual for TV stations to revamp current affairs shows, but the new version of "News Zero," which premiered Oct. 1, has attracted more than the usual measure of attention because of its new anchorperson.
Yumiko Udo was an announcer at NHK for 27 years before resigning in spring. Numerous media outlets competed for her services, with Nippon TV eventually winning. The network hired her for "News Zero" and then decided to replace most of the show's roster, predominantly with young women.
When it was Udo's turn to comment at the news conference, she focused on age differences. Udo is 49, while the regular guest on the show, one of the few holdovers from the previous version, Sho Sakurai of boy band Arashi, is in his 30s. The other female presenters are in their 20s and, as Udo described them, "very fresh."
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