NHK facts for kids

This page is about the Japanese broadcaster. For other uses, see NHK (disambiguation).

Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai
日本放送協会

Quick facts for kids
Japan Broadcasting Corporation
Logo since March 2020
NHK Broadcasting Center (headquarters)
Type	Radio, terrestrial television and satellite television broadcaster
Branding	NHK
Country	Japan
Availability	Nationwide and Worldwide
Founded	Tokyo Broadcasting Station founded 29 November 1924; merged into Japan Broadcasting Corporation on 6 August 1926
Motto	"まっすぐ、真剣。" ("Honest, seriousness")
Headquarters	NHK Broadcasting Center, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan (35°39′54″N 139°41′45″E / 35.66500°N 139.69583°E / 35.66500; 139.69583)
Broadcast area	Japan
Owner	Government of Japan (statutory corporation chartered under the Broadcasting Act of 1950)
Key people	Nobuo Inaba (president) Tatsuhiko Inoue (executive vice president)
Launch date	March 1925 (radio) November 1950 (February 1953) (television)
Former names	Tokyo/Osaka/Nagoya Broadcasting Station (1925–1926)
Picture format	1080i (HDTV) 2160p 4K UHD (NHK BS Premium 4K) 4320p 8K UHD (NHK BS8K)
Callsign meaning	Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai

The Japan Broadcasting Corporation (Japanese: 日本放送協会, Hepburn: Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai), also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.

NHK operates two terrestrial television channels (NHK General TV and NHK Educational TV), three satellite television channels (NHK BS; as well as two ultra-high-definition television channels, NHK BS Premium 4K and NHK BS8K), and three radio networks (NHK Radio 1, NHK Radio 2, and NHK FM).

NHK also provides an international broadcasting service, known as NHK World-Japan. NHK World-Japan is composed of NHK World TV, NHK World Premium, and the shortwave radio service Radio Japan (RJ). World Radio Japan also makes some of its programs available on the Internet.

NHK was the first broadcaster in the world to broadcast in high-definition (using multiple sub-Nyquist sampling encoding, also known as Hi-Vision) and in 8K.

History

NHK's earliest forerunner was the Tokyo Broadcasting Station (東京放送局), founded in 1924 under the leadership of Count Gotō Shinpei. Tokyo Broadcasting Station, along with separate organizations in Osaka and Nagoya, began radio broadcasts in 1925. The three stations merged under the first incarnation of NHK in August 1926. NHK was modelled on the BBC of the United Kingdom, and the merger and reorganisation was carried out under the auspices of the pre-war Ministry of Communications. NHK's second radio network began in 1931, and the third radio network (FM) began in 1937.

Radio broadcasting

NHK began shortwave broadcasting on an experimental basis in the 1930s, and began regular English- and Japanese-language shortwave broadcasts in 1935 under the name Radio Japan, initially aimed at ethnic Japanese listeners in Hawaii and the west coast of North America. By the late 1930s, NHK's overseas broadcasts were known as Radio Tokyo, which became an official name in 1941.

In November 1941, the Imperial Japanese Army nationalised all public news agencies and coordinated their efforts via the Information Liaison Confidential Committee. All published and broadcast news reports became official announcements of the Imperial Army General Headquarters in Tokyo for the duration of World War II. The famous Tokyo Rose wartime programs were broadcast by NHK. NHK also recorded and broadcast the Gyokuon-hōsō, the surrender speech made by Emperor Hirohito, in August 1945.

Following the war, in September 1945, the Allied occupation administration under General Douglas MacArthur banned all international broadcasting by NHK, and repurposed several NHK facilities and frequencies for use by the Far East Network (now American Forces Network). Japanese-American radio broadcaster Frank Shozo Baba joined NHK during this time and led an early post-war revamp of its programming. Radio Japan resumed overseas broadcasts in 1952.

A new Broadcasting Act [ja] was enacted in 1950, which made NHK a listener-supported independent corporation and simultaneously opened the market for commercial broadcasting in Japan. NHK started television broadcasting in 1953, followed by its educational TV channel in 1959 and color television broadcasts in 1960.

NHK opened the first stage of its current headquarters in Japan's capital city's special ward Shibuya as an international broadcasting center for the 1964 Summer Olympics, the first widely televised Olympic Games. The complex was gradually expanded through 1973, when it became the headquarters for NHK. The previous headquarters adjacent to Hibiya Park was redeveloped as the Hibiya City high-rise complex.

Satellite broadcasting

NHK began experimental satellite broadcasting with the NHK BS 1 channel in 1984, followed by NHK BS 2 in 1985. Both channels began regular broadcasts in 1989. In April 2011, BS 1 was rebranded while BS 2 channel ceased broadcasting and was replaced by "BS Premium" which broadcasts on the channel formerly used by BShi.

International satellite broadcasts to North America and Europe began in 1995, which led to the launch of NHK World in 1998. It became free-to-air over the Astra 19.2°E (Astra 1L) and Eurobird satellites in Europe in 2008.

Digital television

For more details, see Digital television transition in Japan

NHK began digital television broadcasting in December 2000 through BS Digital, followed by terrestrial digital TV broadcasts in three major metropolitan areas in 2003. NHK's digital television coverage gradually expanded to cover almost all of Japan by 24 July 2011, when analog transmissions were discontinued & ended (except in three prefectures that were heavily affected by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami – Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima – where it was discontinued on 31 March 2012).

Studies of Broadcasting

*Studies of Broadcasting*
Publication details
Abbreviated title (ISO 4)	Stud. Broadcast.
Discipline	Broadcasting science
Language	English
Publication history	1963–1999
Indexing
ISSN	0585-7325
OCLC no.	474034025

From 1963 to 1999, NHK published the journal Studies of broadcasting: an international annual of broadcasting science.

Organization

NHK is a dependent corporation chartered by the Japanese Broadcasting Act and primarily funded by license fees. NHK World broadcasting (for overseas viewers/listeners) is funded by the Japanese government. The annual budget of NHK is subject to review and approval by the Diet of Japan. The Diet also appoints the twelve-member board of governors (経営委員会 keiei iinkai) that oversees NHK.

NHK is managed on a full-time basis by an executive board (理事会, rijikai) consisting of a president, executive vice president and seven to ten managing directors who oversee the areas of NHK operations. The executive board reports to the board of governors.

Subsidiaries

NHK Enterprises, Inc. (NHKエンタープライズ, abbreviated NEP): Established on 1 April 2005.
NHK Educational Corporation (株式会社 NHKエデュケーショナル): Established on 30 May 1989.
NHK ART, Inc. (株式会社ＮＨＫアート): Established on 10 July 1961.
NHK Publishing, Inc. (NHK出版): Established on 1 April 1931.
Japan International Broadcasting Inc. (株式会社日本国際放送)/JIB: Established on 4 April 2008.
NHK International, Inc. (一般財団法人NHKインターナショナル): Established on 1 July 1980.
NHK Global Media Services, Inc. (株式会社NHKグローバルメディアサービス): Established on 1 April 2009, by merging NHK Joho Network, Inc. ((株)NHK情報ネットワーク) (established on 1 January 1989) and Japan Teletex Co. Ltd. (日本文字放送) (established in 1985).
NHK Cosmomedia America, Inc.: Created by merging Japan Network Group (Media International Corporation) and NHK Enterprises America, Inc. on 1 April 2010, but its licence was granted on 12 November 2008. The company's logo was filed on 23 March 2010, and registered on 13 December 2011.
NHK Cosmomedia (Europe) Limited: Created by merging JSTV (company founded on 8 November 1989) and NHK Enterprises Europe in April 2010.
NHK Technologies, Inc. (株式会社ＮＨＫテクノロジーズ): Established on 1 April 2019, by merging NHK Integrated Technology Inc. (株式会社ＮＨＫアイテック) and NHK Media Technology, Inc. (株式会社NHKメディアテクノロジー).
Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (株式会社　放送衛星システム)/B-SAT: Established on 13 April 1993.
NHK Engineering System, Inc. (一般財団法人ＮＨＫエンジニアリングシステム): Established on 22 December 1981.
NHK GAKUEN (学校法人 NHK学園): Established in 1962-10-01 (学校法人日本放送協会学園). It was renamed to the current name on 1 April 2018.
NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo (公益財団法人 NHK交響楽団): Established on 27 April 1942, as Japan Symphony Orchestra (財団法人日本交響楽団). On 1 August 1951, it was renamed to NHK Symphony Orchestra (財団法人NHK交響楽団). It became a public interest incorporated foundation, and was renamed to current name on 1 April 2010.
NHK Public Welfare Organization/NHK HEARTS (社会福祉法人NHK厚生文化事業団): Established on 31 August 1960.
NHK Promotions Inc. (株式会社NHKプロモーション)/(株式会社エヌエイチケイプロモーション): Established on 1 October 1977, as NHK Promote Service Inc. (株式会社NHKプロモートサービス). It was renamed to current name in October 1989.
NHK CULTURE CENTER (株式会社エヌエイチケイ文化センター)/(NHKカルチャー): Established on 1 December 1978.
NHK SERVICE CENTER, INC. (一般財団法人 NHK サービスセンター): Established on 28 February 1951.
NHK BUSINESS SERVICES INC. (NHK営業サービス株式会社): Established on 17 January 1990.
BS Conditional Access Systems Co., Ltd. (株式会社ビーエス・コンディショナルアクセスシステムズ)/B-CAS (ビーキャス): Established on 22 February 2000.
NHK Business Create Inc. (株式会社ＮＨＫビジネスクリエイト): Established on 1 April 2009, by merger (株式会社NHKオフィス企画), (株式会社NHK共同サービス).
NHK-Communications Training Institute (一般財団法人NHK放送研修センター): Established on 8 August 1985.

Former subsidiaries

NHK Integrated Technology Inc. (株式会社ＮＨＫアイテック): Established on 23 July 1969, as NHK Integrated Technology Inc. (全日本テレビサービス株式会社). It was merged into NHK Technologies, Inc. on 1 April 2019.
NHK Media Technology, Inc. (株式会社NHKメディアテクノロジー): Established in April 2008 by merging NHK Technical Service (株式会社NHKテクニカルサービス) (established 9 October 1984) and NHK Computer Service (株式会社NHKコンピューターサービス). It was merged into NHK Technologies, Inc. on 1 April 2019.

Services

Radio

It maintains three radio stations available nationwide:

NHK Radio 1 – Organized mainly on news, information, drama, and entertainment programs. Simultaneous broadcasting with BBC Radio 4 and LRA Radio Nacional is also conducted (24-hour broadcast).
NHK Radio 2 – Organized mainly on educational and liberal arts programs. Weather forecasts, stock market conditions, news in foreign languages, etc. are also broadcast (broadcast from 6:00 a.m. to late at night. Broadcast end times vary by day).
NHK-FM Broadcasting – Organizes various music programs, but mainly classical music. Simultaneous broadcasting with Radio 1 is also conducted (24-hour broadcasting).

All of them can also be tuned through the Internet, within the national territory.

Television

It manages two open signal channels through digital terrestrial television. Since Japan has a television network system, it schedules territorial disconnections in each of its centers. However, the NHK brand is common for the whole country.

NHK General TV (NHK-G) – Pioneer of television in Japan, it began its broadcasts on 1 February 1953. Its offer is general and public service.
NHK Educational TV (NHK-E) – Educational and cultural channel, designed especially for children. It has been broadcasting since 10 January 1959.

All of them can also be tuned through the Internet, within the national territory. It also has one exclusive satellite channel, as well as two in ultra high definition.

NHK BS (previously as NHK BS 1 and NHK BS Premium) – Specialized in information, international documentaries, sports broadcasts, cultural and entertainment programming. It was founded on 12 May 1984. Renamed as NHK BS on 1 December 2023.
NHK BS Premium 4K (previously as NHK BS Premium and NHK BS4K) – Cultural and entertainment programming in 4K. It was founded on 1 April 2011, and relaunched on 1 December 2023 (merger with NHK BS4K).
NHK BS8K – 8K programming, launched on 1 December 2018.

License fee

NHK is funded by reception fees (受信料, jushinryō), a system analogous to the license fee used in some English-speaking countries. The Broadcasting Act which governs NHK's funding stipulates anyone with equipment able to receive NHK must pay. The fee is standardized, with discounts for office workers and students who commute, as well a discount for residents of Okinawa prefecture. For viewers making annual payments by credit card with no special discounts, the reception fee is 13,600 yen per year for terrestrial reception only, and 24,090 yen per year for both terrestrial and broadcast satellite reception.

However, the Broadcasting Act specifies no punitive actions for nonpayment; as a result, after a rash of NHK-related scandals including an accounting one, the number of people who had not paid the license fee surpassed one million watchers. This incident sparked debate over the fairness of the fee system. In 2006, the NHK opted to take legal action against those most flagrantly in violation of the law.

This fee and how it is charged is unpopular with some citizens. This led to the formation of the NHK Party (NHK党, NHK tō), also known as N-Koku (N国), a single-issue political party, which has protested this fee with representatives in the upper house.

TV programming

NHK broadcasts a variety of programming.

News

NHK offers local, national, and world news reports. NHK News 7 airs daily and is broadcast bilingually with both Japanese and English audio tracks on NHK General TV and NHK's international channels TV Japan and NHK World Premium. The flagship news program News Watch 9 is also bilingual and also airs on NHK General TV and the international channels and NHK World Premium. World News, a program which airs bulletins from international broadcasters interpreted in Japanese, is aired on NHK BS1 with Catch! Sekai no Top News in the morning and International News Report at night, with the latter also airing on NHK World Premium. News on NHK BS1 is aired at 50 minutes past the hour except during live sport events.

NHK also offers news for the deaf (which airs on NHK Educational TV), regional news (which airs on NHK General TV) and children's news. Newsline is an English-language newscast designed for foreign viewers and airs on NHK World.

In his book Broadcasting Politics in Japan: NHK and Television News, Ellis S. Krauss states: 'In the 1960s and 1970s, external critics of NHK news were complaining about the strict neutrality, the lack of criticism of the government, and the 'self-regulation in covering events'. Krauss claims that little had changed by the 1980s and 1990s. After the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, NHK was criticised for underplaying the dangers from radioactive contamination.

Emergency reporting

Under the Broadcasting Act, NHK is under the obligation to broadcast early warning emergency reporting in times of natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis. Their national network of seismometers in cooperation with the Japan Meteorological Agency makes NHK capable of delivering earthquake early warnings seconds after detection, as well as a more detailed report with Shindo intensity measurements within two-to-three minutes after the quake. They also broadcast air attack warnings in the event of war, using the J-Alert system.

All warnings are broadcast in Japanese, with tsunami warnings also delivered in four foreign languages: English, Mandarin Chinese, Korean and Portuguese (Japan has small Chinese, Korean and Brazilian populations). The warnings were broadcast in these languages during the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

Sports

NHK broadcasts sumo wrestling, baseball games, Olympic Games, soccer games, and a range of other sports. Their broadcast of the last two days of October 1952's autumn sumo tournament became the first ever televised sports broadcast in Japan.

Music

The NHK Symphony Orchestra, financially sponsored by NHK, was formerly (until 1951) the Japanese Symphony Orchestra. Its website details the orchestra's history and ongoing concert programme. Since 1953, NHK has broadcast the Kōhaku Uta Gassen song contest on New Year's Eve, ending shortly before midnight in PIX System.

Drama

A sentimental morning show, a weekly jidaigeki and a year-long show, the Taiga drama, spearhead the network's fiction offerings.

NHK is also making efforts at broadcasting dramas made in foreign countries as overseas drama (海外ドラマ, Kaigai Dorama).

Children

The longest running children's show in Japan, Okaasan to Issho (おかあさんといっしょ, With Mother), started broadcasting in 1959 and still airs to this day Monday to Friday at 17:36–18:00 JST, Sunday at 17:30–17:54 JST, with rebroadcasts Tuesday to Sunday at 5:00–5:24 JST on NHK World Premium.

Employee and internal issues

Insider trading ban

In 2007, three employees of NHK were fined and fired for insider trading. They had profited by trading shares based on exclusive NHK knowledge.

On 11 July 2008, NHK introduced a ban prohibiting stock trading by employees, numbering around 5,700, who had access to its internal news information management system. The employees were required to pledge in writing that they would not trade in stocks, and were required to gain approval from senior staff in order to sell shares they already held. NHK banned short-term stock trading completed in periods of six months or less for all other employees.

The ban did not extend to employees' families, nor did NHK request any reports on their transactions.

Overwork death

On 24 July 2013, a reporter at NHK Metropolitan Broadcasting Center died of congestive heart failure. In May 2014, the Shibuya Labor Standards Inspection Office of the Tokyo Labor Bureau certified it as a karōshi (overwork death). Although NHK did not report on this matter, it was announced in October 2017. Ryōichi Ueda, the chairman of NHK, visited the reporter's parents' home and apologized to them.

On-air issues

Black Lives Matter video

On 10 June 2020, NHK apologized and took down an 80-second video about the Black Lives Matter movement and George Floyd protests that was criticized for its "crude" animation of protesters and its focus on economic inequality rather than police brutality. An official statement signed by Yuichi Tabata, head of NHK's International News Division, was released through NHK's official website.

Olympics documentary claims

On 9 January 2022, NHK issued an apology over false allegations made in Director Naomi Kawase's Tokyo Olympics documentary. Kawase was selected by the IOC in 2018 to cover Japanese reactions to the event and later during the COVID-19 pandemic. Footage and captions in the documentary alleged that protesters were being paid money to attend anti-Olympics rallies. One of the men interviewed later stated he was "unsure" if he had actually attended any anti-Olympics rallies. NHK Osaka cited "editorial oversights" and "deficiencies in research," issuing an apology. Some anti-Olympic activists demanded that the documentary should be removed. Some activists were concerned that the misinformation was spread by NHK to silence those who opposed the Tokyo Olympics during the pandemic. NHK denied that the footage was deliberately fabricated to mislead the public. On 13 January 2022, the NHK Osaka director Terunobu Maeda apologized during a press conference, admitting that the captions "should not have been included." Once again, he denied that the incident was a fabrication.

COVID-19

In December 2023, Japan's Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization (BPO) concluded that NHK had breached broadcasting ethics in its "News Watch 9" program, where people believed to have died from COVID-19 vaccine injury were treated as if they had died from COVID-19. Regarding the incident as an inappropriate way of reporting, NHK stated that it would take measures to avoid the repetition of the misconduct.