He graduated from Columbia College in 1982 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in East Asian studies, earning magna cum laude distinctions. He went onto the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and earned a Master of Science degree with a concentration in business reporting.
He currently serves on the board of directors for the Japan Society and the United States.-Japan Council. He also was decorated with AAJA"s ELP Outstanding Award for Leadership in 2004. He received an honorable mention in 1997 from the Asian American Journalists Association for his special report on the Asian American campaign financing scandal.
Katayama was one of five writers including former Senate Majority Leader and United States. Ambassador Mike Mansfield who penned the book, Japan: A Living Portrait, published in 1994.
He has won numerous awards for his work in print, television and video journalism. He has won the National Journalism Award several times from the Asian American Journalists Association: in 2013 for his report on the science behind the knuckleball, in 1993 for his humorous report on a family of executives competing in the food industry, and in 1997, an honorable mention for his special report on the Asian American campaign financing scandal. In 2007, the show he anchored, Reuters Technology Week, was a Webby Award honoree. In April 2000, Katayama"s report on broadband technology was cited when Moneyline won a Maxwell Media Award.
