TV Japan
TV Japan is a 24-hour Japanese-language television channel geared towards the Japanese diaspora in the USA and Canada. It is the North American carrier of the NHK World Premium service. The channel is owned by NHK CosmoMedia America Inc., a subsidiary of NHK Enterprises, the commercial arm of Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), Japan's national public broadcaster. It is available on many cable providers in the United States and Canada, and through U.S. satellite provider DirecTV.
 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Northern America |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | Japanese English (via SAP) |
| Picture format | 480i SDTV (widescreen) 1080i HDTV |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | NHK Cosmomedia America Inc. |
| History | |
| Launched | April 1, 1991 |
| Links | |
| Website | TV Japan |
| Availability | |
| Cable | |
| Rogers Cable (Canada) | Channel 829 (SD) |
| Shaw Cable (Canada) | Channel 514 (SD) |
| Charter Spectrum (United States) | Channel 1500 |
| Comcast (United States) | Channel 3180 |
| Cox (United States) | Check local listings |
| Optimum (United States) | Channel 1157 (SD) |
| RCN Cable (United States) | Channel 504 |
| Verizon FiOS (United States) | Channel 1770 (SD) Channel 1769 (HD) |
| Dish Network (United States) | Channel 9989 (HD) Channel 9990 (SD) |
| Satellite | |
| DirecTV (United States) | Channel 2040 (HD) |
| IPTV | |
| Bell Fibe (Canada) | Channel 745 (HD) |
| MTS (Canada) | Channel 526 (SD) Channel 1526 (HD) |
| Optik TV (Canada) | Channel 2921 (HD) |
| AT&T U-verse (United States) | Channel 3680 (SD) Channel 3681 (HD) |
| CenturyLink (United States) | Channel 3680 (SD) |
While there are a handful of local and regional channels in the United States with primarily Japanese programming, TV Japan is the only such channel available nationwide in both the U.S. and Canada.
Programming
TV Japan airs various programs from Japan including news coverage from NHK, dramas, movies, children's programs, and entertainment shows. Programming is provided mainly by NHK, but some entertainment programs originate from commercial Japanese broadcasters including TBS, Nippon TV, TV Tokyo, Fuji Television and TV Asahi. Some programming is subtitled or dubbed into English, while NHK's main news programs are available with English translation on SAP, with the original Japanese presentation on the main audio channel. TV Japan also features extensive sports coverage including coverage of the Grand Sumo tournaments (with English commentary on SAP), Nippon Professional Baseball games and J-League soccer matches.
Free previews
TV Japan typically provides a free preview through most carrying service providers for approximately two weeks in April each year.[1]
In response to the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit the Northern area of Japan on the afternoon of March 11, 2011 cable and satellite TV providers across the United States and Canada provided a free-to-air broadcast giving viewers who may have friends and family in Japan with the latest news and information via a live simulcast from parent NHK.
References
- "テレビジャパン" [TV Japan]. TVJapan.net (in Japanese). Retrieved June 9, 2019.
