Daniel Kahl (Born on March 30 1960 in Monrovia, California) is an American born tv personality and news reporter in Japan. He is also well known for speaking in the northern dialect (Yamagata-ben) of Japanese fluently.
Along with George Williams, he is one of the co-hosts of Your Japanese Kitchen on NHK World.
Early Life[]
Born in Southern California to parents of German descent, he developed an interest in Japanese culture after having several Japanese-American friends and studying karate, having been influenced by the popularity of Bruce Lee at the time.
During high school, he was able to become an exchange student, going to school in Naha. He had hoped to continue his studies in karate, but due to a lack of a karate team at his school, he ended taking Judo instead.
He later returned as a college exchange student, studying at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka for 4 months, followed by 6 months spent in Kyoto and Sado Island before returning back to the US. He eventually graduated from University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA.
Later on, he moved around Japan and lived in the rural countrysides. Without help from a class or instructors, he learned Japanese by conversing with the locals in his area, which influenced the way he developed his ability to speak Japanese. He eventually got a job as a teaching assistant director with the Ministry of Education in Yamagata Prefecture, and taught English to junior high school students for 3 years. He would eventually meet his wife at the same school where she also taught English.
After they decided to retire from teaching, they moved to Tokyo to start a translation/interpretation business. He was responisble for translating the Ninja Gaiden video game series in the early 90's.
Television / Acting Career[]
He began his television career in Japan as a news reporter, covering human interest stories in Japan.
In 1991, he landed a role as Major Spielberg in Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah. He eventually landed roles on tv shows, such as Sekai Fushigi Hakken!, Dondo Bare and Nodame Cantabile SP.
Since 2008, he has been one of the co-hosts of Your Japanese Kitchen on NHK World.
Currently, he has been reporting in the Fukushima area since the incident in 2011 to help stop the hysteria and misinformation that has been speading regarding the radiation. He has also been aiding the people over there by bringing in necessary supplies, food and fishing equpiment.
External Link[]
Interview (mostly about his role in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah)