A trained star: The Australian singer who became the voice of the shinkansen

Japan Times

27-06-2025

If you live in Japan or have visited, chances are you know Donna Burke — or more specifically, her voice. The effervescent Australian voice actress, singer and entrepreneur invokes a soothing tone as she announces upcoming stops and safety announcements to those traveling by shinkansen.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the shinkansen. This is the Nozomi Super Express bound for Tokyo."
As salarymen tuck into bentos and cans of chūhai, and exhausted skiers watch the countryside disappear outside their windows, the shinkansen announcement voices invoke a sense of affection.
'I think with the shinkansen, pretty much everyone's experienced it,' Burke said, of the fondness and familiarity that people have toward Japan's most famous public transport. When footage or photos of Burke and her colleagues performing announcements go viral online, the comments reflect this closeness: 'their voices are more familiar than my own mother' being a common refrain.
For Burke, becoming the 'voice' of such a large Japanese institution wasn't part of some grand plan. As a busy actor, she was in the swing of attending auditions and in 2002, after the original 'voice' left the country to return to Canada, the hunt for a new JR voice was on.
At the audition in Tokyo back then, a lengthy queue of women vied for the role.
'The requirements were they had to be living long-term in Japan, and they had to be able to speak in a British accent,' she said.
But in actuality, it was less about accent and more about intonation, Burke explained, seamlessly slipping into her famous shinkansen voice.
'I didn't hear anything for more than six months. I just assumed I didn't get it,' she said, but when she found out she had secured the role, she could scarcely believe it.
Burke has been doing the voice for some of Japan's busiest routes ever since — the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu shinkansen lines.
'Last year was the 60th anniversary. I'm 60 and I've been doing it for 20 years, a third of my life,' she said.
Donna Burke's shinkansen work has served as something of a verbal business card, leading to voice roles for prominent game franchises. |
Bloomberg
Since her childhood, Burke dreamed of performing. Growing up in Perth in the 1970s, she wasn't exactly encouraged to pursue her dreams of a 'risky' career. But she was determined when she started working after she graduated from school and invested in her talents by paying for a good singing teacher.
Eventually Burke became a teacher herself. After a stint in the U.K., she arrived in Japan in her 30s in 1996, where her career gained traction relatively quickly — despite what was then quite a hurdle.
'Being Australian, no one ever picks our voices for anything,' she said, noting that prior to Hollywood being conquered by a wave of high profile Australian actors, there was a negative perception toward Australian accents. At times, she would masquerade as British or American in auditions.
Burke's ability to seamlessly slip into other accents and to adopt different voices is one of her strengths, said fellow voice actor and longtime friend Chris Wells.
'Donna has a fantastic ear, so she is a wonderful mimic,' he said, noting this as an important skill in the line of voice work.
Her shinkansen work has served as something of a verbal business card, and Burke has built a career that encompasses voice work for prominent game franchises including Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy and Silent Hill.
She also often performs at mammoth concerts backed with orchestras, which she describes as a 'thrilling experience.'
'The organic level of cooperation, with 70 musicians behind you, it's just the most wonderful, amazing experience. I can't get over how good it is. I want to keep doing that,' she said.
In November this year she will perform multiple Metal Gear in Concert shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London, backed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.
Donna Burke often performs at mammoth concerts backed with orchestras, which she describes as a 'thrilling experience.' |
Courtesy of Dagmusic Y.K.
Wells said Burke's career in major video game franchises opened up a whole other avenue for her.
'That means that she has a fan base that a regular narrator doesn't have, because we're 'invisible,'' he said. 'She has people that know her. And if she'll go to a conference, or when she's doing her concerts, people line up to see her.'
For Burke, being backstage before a big event is when it really sinks in that she has achieved her childhood dreams.
'I've got my dress on, my hair, I'm hyping myself up, and then I have tears of joy backstage before I go on — I can't believe it. When I was a little kid, I always wanted to be on stage, so it's just a full moment of 'my dream has come true,'' she said.
For Burke, the future is driven by her passion to perform and pursue things that energize her.
'Life's short. I don't want to earn a million dollars. I want to work with great people and keep learning, so the process is really fun and enjoyable, and the outcome for the fans is really enjoyable,' she said.
'I've only got a limited amount of time, and I want to play big,' she said of the creative projects on the cards for the future. 'I feel like life is just beginning.'