KUMAMOTO (Kyodo) News reporters tend to be young because of all the hard work involved.
But that isn't the case at Internet broadcaster Amakusa TV in Amakusa, Kumamoto Prefecture, where a pair of news reporters, one 105 years old and the other 92, are covering the local scene.
After founding Amakusa TV in 2001, Hiroaki Kaneko, 51, who used to work at an advertising firm in Tokyo, hired Shino Mori, 105, and Tsurue Kurokawa, 92, to attract viewers in the higher age bracket.
"With their abundant experience and knowledge, I wanted them to cover issues that elderly people will be interested in," Kaneko said.
The two appear almost every week, speaking in the Amakusa dialect to introduce local tourist spots and cuisine.
Among their stories that have been popular with locals, Mori reported on a boiled and seasoned octopus dish while Kurokawa did a spot in which she tasted salt-boiled star fish.
The two even interviewed Prime Minister Taro Aso when he was in Amakusa during an election campaign.
"I was nervous," Mori recalled. "He had a cute face."
When Mori was asked to become a reporter in 2004, she was in the hospital for a stroke.
The pair have been featured on TV programs in Germany, South Korea, Spain, France and the Middle East.
