Veteran broadcast journalist Ron Mizutani will return to his news anchor and reporter roles at KHON-TV after being away from the television news business for a year.

Mizutani left KHON last March to join Communications Pacific Inc., a public relations company. He had worked for the station for nearly 28 years.

His last day at CommPac will be March 29.

"Reporting has been a part of my professional life for nearly three decades and continues to be a passion," Mizutani said in a statement.

"It hit me hard on Dec. 17, the day Sen. (Daniel) Inouye died. I was overwhelmed with emotion and I felt this intense desire to tell Sen. Inouye’s life story. It was on that day that I said to myself, ‘I tried something new and enjoyed my experience, but I’m a reporter. I need to follow my heart.’"

It is the second time that he is returning to the station after a short stint in public relations. He left in August 2007 to become vice president of corporate communications at Hawaiian Telcom, but resigned in January 2008. He returned to KHON in March of that year.

In 2004, Honolulu Star-Bulletin columnist Kalani Simpson reported that Mizutani had considered leaving KHON for the Honolulu Police Department, but that sportscaster Les Keiter (now deceased) persuaded Mizutani to stay.

His departure from CommPac follows the recent appointment of Na Leo Pilimehana co-founder Nalani Choy as a vice president. Choy’s work will focus primarily on marketing and community building, similar to the work Mizutani had done for the firm.

KHON News Director Lori Silva looks "forward to his return," and new Vice President and General Manager Kristina Lockwood praised Mizutani’s "knowledge, poise and leadership," saying his return "exemplifies our commitment to serving our community with the utmost dedication to journalism."

"You should see all the emails," Lockwood said, "about how excited (people) are to have him back."

CommPac CEO Kitty Lagareta wished Mizutani well in her announcement to staff members. "As someone who always encourages people to follow their passion in life, I can only congratulate Ron on finding renewed clarity about his passion for the news business," she said. "Ron has done absolutely outstanding work during his time with us, and he’s a true professional in every sense."

Mizutani’s on-air anchor times will be determined after a review of the February Nielsen ratings, due out later this month, Lockwood said.

Mizutani also writes the "Currents" column in MidWeek.