Mariko Oi
is a Japanese bilingual reporter and presenter based in Singapore who has worked for the BBC since 2006, when she became the network's first Japanese reporter. As of 2021, she is the Asia Business correspondent. Oi has covered major breaking news in Asia such as 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Barack Obama's visit to Hiroshima, 2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit, 2019 Japanese imperial transition, 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, 2019 Rugby World Cup, COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 Summer Olympics and Assassination of Shinzo Abe. In 2013 and 2016, Oi spent 6 months in New York as a business correspondent where she reported from New York Stock Exchange. She also spent 6 months in London in 2014, presenting news bulletins and reporting on major stories for BBC News Channel and BBC World News. Oi was nominated for the Nikkei Woman of the Year award in 2009. She was recognised by Newsweek Japan as one of the most respected Japanese nationals in 2023. She began her career with brief stints as an intern at Reuters in New York and an Asia Pacific producer for Bloomberg Television stationed from Tokyo. She moved to Singapore in 2006 when she joined the BBC. Early life and education
Oi is from the Setagaya ward of Tokyo. Her father works in transport. She attended the Sacred Heart School in Tokyo and then studied abroad at Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne where she lived with a host family and learned English. Interested in history, she wrote an article in 2013 criticising the Japanese education system for sanitising its imperial history. She began her studies at Keio University before transferring to RMIT University in Australia, graduating with a Bachelor of Communications in Journalism in 2004. She participated in RMITV and interned with the ABC during university. References

Living people
1981 births
BBC newsreaders and journalists
Japanese expatriates in Singapore
Japanese reporters and correspondents
Japanese television journalists
Japanese women journalists
Japanese women television presenters
Keio University alumni
People educated at the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne
People from Setagaya
RMIT University alumni
RMITV alumni
Journalists from Tokyo