Japanese music program gives international flair to WQHS

College junior Jun Ishidoya adjusted her headphones and pressed several buttons, lighting up the "On the Air" sign above the door. Thanking her listeners for tuning in, she announced that it was conversation time and introduced her guest for the week. Ishidoya is the host of the new weekly radio show "Ri-Ku-E-Su-To" on WQHS, the Penn radio station heard on Resnet's Channel 2. Airing every Sunday from noon to 2 p.m., the show -- whose name translates to "request" -- specializes in Japanese pop, rock, R&B; and dance music and features a special guest to discuss the week's topic. "I'm playing it because I want people to listen, I want to serve the community and I want to have fun," Ishidoya said. Born in the Netherlands, Ishidoya moved to Ridgewood, N.J., at the age of six. In 1996, she enrolled in Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y, eventually transferring to Penn after her freshman year. Ishidoya said she found Penn to be "very conservative" compared to the liberal atmosphere at Vassar. Doing the weekly show "liberates me," Ishidoya explained. "[I can] talk about whatever I want." Also, the show "fits my personality," continued the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies major, who is also a residential advisor in Ware College House. The first hour of each show features Japanese music. The second hour features a special guest knowledgeable in the week's topics, which touch on a variety of subjects and are "not necessarily" related to Japanese subjects. Ishidoya tries to pick topics that will catch listeners' attention. As long as she refrains from using profanity, the student-run station lets her talk about anything she wants. This explains the show's often frank discussions. Last Sunday's topic focused on "qualities that girls look for in guys, and vice versa" and featured the expertise of "Mr. Spock." All guests on the show are anonymous. Other subjects for Sunday's show included interracial relationships, drugs and alcohol and whether or not "size matters" for either men or women. The previous week, Ishidoya focused on long-distance relationships with "Dr. Charles" as the show's guest. Ishidoya said she got the idea for the show from a friend of her older sister, a disc jockey for a popular radio show in Japan. "[It] hit me what I want to do in life," she added. "[I] like to entertain and serve the community." According to College sophomore Kevin McCaffrey, the program director at WQHS, Ishidoya's show is likely the first Japanese radio program at Penn. Ishidoya applied shortly after winter break to host her own show. The station was enthusiastic about her proposal because it "helps to provide the variety that every true college station should have," McCaffrey said. The broadcast is in English because Ishidoya "want[s] people to listen," and anything said in Japanese would have to be translated anyway. Ishidoya must provide her own music, as the station does not have a collection of Japanese music. She borrows from friends or searches through stores for her own collection. The show, which has only been on the air for two weeks, is already sparking reaction, as indicated by the number of flashing red lights on the station phone. Frequent technical problems do not discourage Ishidoya, who hopes to expand her listenership by bringing a wider variety of guests onto the show. For example, she hopes to have a karate master and some of Penn's own performing groups as her guests in the future.