Hiro Morita

Hiroshi Morita (森田 博士, Morita Hiroshi, born 7 August 1967), 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 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.

Morita joined NHK in 1994 and was for a time an announcer on NHK World-Japan's international news program NHK Newsline.

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. 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.