Case Study: FM Wakayama achieves continuous, broadcast-quality AI announcements for emergencies and news with Amazon Web Services (Amazon Polly)

FM Wakayama - Customer Case Study

FM Wakayama, the nonprofit operator of Banana FM serving about 500,000 people around Wakayama City, runs with a lean, sponsor-funded team and must deliver high-quality regional news and round‑the‑clock emergency updates without keeping staff on permanent call. The station needed an affordable, broadcast‑level text‑to‑speech solution that sounded human and could provide timely, updated information during disasters and off‑hours.

FM Wakayama built "Nanako," an AI announcer by integrating Amazon Polly (and Amazon Cognito) with its Ontime Player and Da Capo systems, completing development in roughly a month. Polly’s natural voice and fast response enabled real‑time, updated Japanese (and English) broadcasts; during Typhoon 18 Nanako provided five hours of continuous, updated alerts. The solution lowered staffing strain, improved disaster responsiveness, won listener acceptance, and cost only a few hundred yen per year.

FM Wakayama

Seiji Yamaguchi

Cross-Media Station Director