TV stations rely on announcers for more than just news reading. Female announcers, in particular, represent their stations and are often as well known as the celebrity talent they present. So once in a while the stations treat them like the celebrities they are.

All the guests on this week's installment of the chat show "Jinsei ga Kawaru Ippunkan no Fuka-ii Hanashi" ("Deep and Wonderful Talk of a Minute That Changed a Life"; Nihon TV, Mon., 9 p.m.) are female announcers. And not just NTV's — the main guest is Toko Amamiya, a former TBS announcer who retired at the peak of her popularity to live in Paris. There she met and married a Japanese man and lived the jet-set lifestyle — until she divorced.

Then there's announcer Noa Iwamoto, who talks about a traumatic experience she had working at the Budokan two weeks ago during a marathon 24-Hour TV charity event. There are also portraits of Japanese women announcers working in Southeast Asia.