, known professionally as Hiro Morita, is a Japanese English-language announcer for
NHK and a presenter on
Japan Sumo Association's English-language YouTube channel, ''Sumo Prime Time''.
Born in
Tokyo, Morita moved to
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
when he was a teenager
due to his father's job transfer. He graduated
Ohio State University and was later hired by NHK as a producer, but later became an English-language announcer.
His beginnings in the broadcast industry was unusual as he directly asked NHK producer Shigeno Tateno to give him a chance with no previous experience.
NHK newsline
Morita joined NHK in 1994 and was for a time an announcer on
NHK World-Japan's international news program ''
NHK Newsline
NHK Newsline (stylized as NHK NEWSLiNE, formerly and also simply known as Newsline) ( ja, NHKニュースライン ''NHK Nyūsurain'') is a foreign news program aired on NHK's international broadcasting service NHK World TV. This program broadcast ...
''.
Sumo
Sumo commentary and highlights
Morita is also known for hosting programs related to professional sumo on NHK World-Japan. He has been a play-by-play announcer since 1999, and since 2016 he has covered sumo tournament news, previews and highlights as host of the program ''GRAND SUMO''.
Since 2022 he has hosted ''DOSUKOI Sumo Salon'', a program that presents parts of sumo history and statistics related to the sport.
Sumo Prime Time
In August 2022, the
Japan Sumo Association launched an English-language YouTube channel called ''Sumo Prime Time'' in hopes of drawing a larger international audience to
sumo
is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...
.
Launched at the initiative of Morita, the channel provides basic sumo explanations such as ''
rikishi'' routine or training and ''
kimarite'' moves. It also provides exclusive interviews of ''
elders'' and ''rikishi'', generally the winner of the previous tournament and popular figures of the sport.
References
External links
Hiroshi Morita page at DiMORA
Sumo Prime Time YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morita, Hiro
Japanese television presenters
Living people
1968 births
Mass media people from Tokyo
Japanese announcers
Japanese television personalities
Japanese YouTubers
Ohio State University alumni
Sumo people