NHK

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 broadcasts by NHK.[4] NHK also 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 (放送法, Hōsō Hō) was enacted in 1950, which made NHK a listener-supported independent corporation and simultaneously opened the market for commercial broadcasting in Japan.[8] NHK started television broadcasting in the same year, followed by its educational TV channel in 1959 and color television broadcasts in 1960.

NHK opened the first stage of its current headquarters in the special ward of Japan's capital city 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.

NHK began satellite broadcasting with the NHK BS 1 channel in 1984, followed by NHK BS 2 in 1985.[9] 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.[10]

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 (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

Discipline	Broadcasting science
Language	English
Publication details
History	1963–1999
Standard abbreviations ISO 4 (alt) · Bluebook (alt1 · alt2) NLM (alt) · MathSciNet (alt )
ISO 4	Stud. Broadcast.
Indexing CODEN · JSTOR (alt) · LCCN (alt) MIAR · NLM (alt) · Scopus
ISSN	0585-7325
OCLC no.	474034025

From 1963 to 1999, NHK published the journal Studies of broadcasting: an international annual of broadcasting science.[11]

• NHK Enterprises, Inc. (NHKエンタープライズ): Established in 2005-04-01.
• NHK Educational Corporation (株式会社 NHKエデュケーショナル): Established in 1989-05-30.
• NHK ART,inc. (株式会社ＮＨＫアート): Established in 1961-07-10.
• NHK Publishing, Inc. (NHK出版): Established in 1931-04-01.
• Japan International Broadcasting Inc. (株式会社日本国際放送)/JIB: Established in 2008-04-04.
• NHK International, Inc. (一般財団法人NHKインターナショナル): Established in 1980-07-01.
• NHK Global Media Services, Inc. (株式会社NHKグローバルメディアサービス): Established in 2009-04-01 by merging NHK Joho Network, Inc. ((株)NHK情報ネットワーク) (established in 1989-01-01) and Japan Teletex Co. Ltd. (日本文字放送) (established in 1985).[13]
• NHK Cosmomedia America, Inc.: Created by merging Japan Network Group (Media International Corporation) and NHK Enterprises America, Inc. in 2010-04-01,[14] but its licence was granted in 2008-11-12.[15] The company's logo was filed in 2010-03-23 and registered in 2011-12-13.[16]
• NHK Cosmomedia (Europe) Limited: Founded in 1989-11-08 as JSTV.[17] In April 2010, it was renamed to NHK Cosmomedia (Europe) Limited.
• NHK Technologies, Inc. (株式会社ＮＨＫテクノロジーズ): Established in 2019-04-01 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).[18]
• Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (株式会社　放送衛星システム)/B-SAT: Established in 1993-04-13.
• NHK Engineering System, Inc. (一般財団法人ＮＨＫエンジニアリングシステム): Established in 1981-12-22.
• 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 in 2018-04-01.[19]
• NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo (公益財団法人 NHK交響楽団): Established in 1942-04-27 as Japan Symphony Orchestra (財団法人日本交響楽団). In 1951-08-01, 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 currant name in 2010-04-01.[20][21]
• NHK Public Welfare Organization/NHK HEARTS (社会福祉法人NHK厚生文化事業団): Established in 1960-08-31.
• 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 in 1977-10-01 as NHK Promote Service Inc. (株式会社NHKプロモートサービス). It was renamed to currant name in 1989–10.
• 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 in 1978-12-01.
• NHK SERVICE CENTER,INC. (一般財団法人 NHK サービスセンター): Established in 1951-02-28.
• NHK BUSINESS SERVICES INC. (NHK営業サービス株式会社): Established in 1990-01-17.
• 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 in 2000-02-22.
• NHK Business Create Inc. (株式会社 ＮＨＫビジネスクリエイト): Established in 2009-04-01 by merger (株式会社NHKオフィス企画), (株式会社NHK共同サービス).[22]
• NHK-Communications Training Institute (一般財団法人NHK放送研修センター): Established in 1985-08-08.

• NHK Integrated Technology Inc. (株式会社ＮＨＫアイテック): Established in 1969-07-23 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. in 2019-04-01.
• NHK Media Technology, Inc. (株式会社NHKメディアテクノロジー): Established in 2008-04 by merging NHK Technical Service (株式会社NHKテクニカルサービス) (est. 1984-10-09) 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. in 2019-04-01.

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 is aired on NHK BS 1 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 BS 1 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 government, and the 'self-regulation in covering events'. Krauss claims that little had changed by the 1980s and 1990s.[29] After the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, NHK was criticised for underplaying the dangers from radioactive contamination.[30][31]

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 in just two-to-three minutes after the quake. They also broadcast air attack warnings in the event of war, using the J-Alert system.[32]

All warnings are broadcast in five languages: English, Mandarin, Korean and Portuguese (Japan has small Chinese, Korean and Brazilian populations), as well as Japanese. The warnings were broadcast in these languages during the 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.[33]

NHK broadcasts sumo wrestling, baseball games, Olympic Games, soccer games, and a range of other sports.

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.[34] Since 1953, NHK has broadcast the Kōhaku Uta Gassen song contest on New Year's Eve, ending shortly before midnight.

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).

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[35] and still airs to this day Monday-Friday 17:36-18:00 JST, Sunday 17:30-17:54 JST with rebroadcasts Tuesday-Sunday 5:00-5:24 JST on NHK World Premium.[36]

In 2007, three employees of NHK were fined and fired for insider trading. They had profited by trading shares based on exclusive NHK knowledge.[37]

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.[38]

The ban did not extend to employees' families, nor did NHK request any reports on their transactions.[37]

NHK has occasionally faced various criticisms for its treatment of Japan's wartime history.[39]

Katsuto Momii (籾井勝人), the 21st head of NHK, caused controversy[40][41] by discussing Japan's actions in World War II at his first news conference after being appointed on 20 December 2013. It was reported Momii said NHK should support the Japanese government in its territorial dispute with China and South Korea.[42] He also caused controversy by what some describe as the playing down of the comfort women issue in World War II, according to the Taipei Times, stating "[South] Korea's statements that Japan is the only nation that forced this are puzzling. 'Give us money, compensate us', they say, but since all of this was resolved by the Japan-Korea peace treaty, why are they reviving this issue? It's strange."[43] It was subsequently reported by The Japan Times that on his first day at NHK Momii asked members of the executive team to hand in their resignation on the grounds they had all been appointed by his predecessor.[44]

At the end of April 2014, a number of civil society groups protested against Katsuto Momii's continuing tenure as director-general of NHK.[45] One of the groups, the Viewers' Community to Observe and Encourage NHK (NHKを監視・激励する視聴者コミュニティ), issued a public letter asking for the resignation of Momii on the grounds the remarks he made at his inaugural press conference were explosive. The letter stated that if Momii did not resign by the end of April that its members would freeze their payments of the licence fee for half a year.[46]

On 17 October 2014, The Times claimed to have received internal NHK documents which banned any reference to the Rape of Nanking, to Japan's use of wartime sex slaves during World War II, and to its territorial dispute with China in its English-language broadcasting.[47]

On 24 July 2013, a reporter at NHK Metropolitan Broadcasting Center died of congestive heart failure. In May 2014, 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.[48][49][50][51]

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.[52][53][54]

An official statement was released through NHK's official website signed by Yuichi Tabata, head of NHK's International News Division.[55]

• 
  NHK Broadcasting Museum
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  NHK Osaka
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  Old Company logo (1926-1942)
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  NHK logo (1962-1995)
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  Old logo, used from 1995 until March 2020
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  Alternate old logo

• Johnston, Eric. (7 July 2009). "NHK a fount of info, a lot of it from the government". The Japan Times, p. 3.
• Seidensticker, Edward. (1990). Tokyo Rising: The City Since the Great Earthquake New York: Knopf. ISBN 0-394-54360-2.