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'NHK' (日本放送協会, 'Nihon Hōsō Kyōkai'), or Japan Broadcasting Corporation, is Japan's public broadcaster. Today it operates two terrestrial television services (NHK General TV and NHK Educational TV), three satellite services (NHK BS-1, NHK BS-2, and NHK Hi-Vision – High-definition TV), and three radio networks (NHK Radio 1, NHK Radio 2, and NHK FM). For audiences overseas it provides services called NHK World. "NHK World" is composed of NHK World TV, NHK World Premium, shortwave and internet radio NHK World Radio Japan, and the Internet.
NHK's shortwave service was known as 'Radio Tokyo' in 1930s and 1940s.

Contents

History

TV Programming

NHK domestic television stations (NHK E / Radio 2)

Notable programs

Japanese broadcasting networks

See also

External links

History

NHK was founded in 1926, modelled on the BBC radio company of the United Kingdom. A second radio network was started in 1931 and a shortwave service broadcasting to listeners overseas began in 1935.
In November 1941, the Imperial Japanese Army nationalised all public news agencies and coordinated their efforts through the Information Liaison Confidential Committee, which included representatives from the Army, the Navy, the Foreign Ministry, the Government Information Office, the Cabinet Information Bureau, the Home Ministry, the Ministry of Greater East Asia, the Transportation Ministry, the Domei News Agency and the NHK. Thereafter, all published and broadcast news reports became official announcements of the Imperial Army General Headquarters in Tokyo for the duration of World War II.
NHK started television broadcasts in 1953. It aired its first color television broadcast in 1960. Although the network first introduced commercial broadcasts to Japan, nowadays NHK is paid for by viewer fees. Under the "Hōsō Hō" (Broadcasting Act), residents of Japan who own a TV are obliged to pay a fee of approximately ¥1,345 per month (discounted to ¥14,910 per year) for color TV, and ¥2,290 per month (discounted to ¥25,520/year) for satellite broadcasts. (Prices quoted include 5% consumption tax.) However, the act does not stipulate any punishment for failure of payment. There are currently around 1 million households nationwide that are refusing to pay their NHK fees, and the government is considering a tougher approach to extracting payment, including legal prosecution and demand of back-payment. The recent rash of scandals involving NHK executives found to be misusing and embezzling funds among other things, has not helped their cause, and the number of refusals across the country has spiked dramatically with each new scandal coming to light.(see television license)
'NHK World TV' started broadcasts in 1995. The entire NHK network moved to digital broadcasting in 2000.

TV Programming

NHK General TV broadcasts a variety of programming. The following are noteworthy:

★ 'News'- Local, national, and world news reports. NHK is one of the few international broadcasters to maintain reporting bureaus in Afghanistan and Iraq. NHK News 7 offers bilingual broadcasts on NHK General TV, NHK World TV and NHK World Premium. NHK also offers news for the deaf, regional news and children's news. News Today 30 Minutes is the new name of NHK NEWSWATCH which ran for 6 years. It is an English newscast designed for foreign viewers.

★ 'Emergency Reporting'- Under the Broadcast 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 and skip-back cameras makes NHK capable of delivering the news in just 2-3 minutes after the quake. Their skip-back cameras are equipped with a back-up power supply in case the electricity is cut-off and are able to rewind fast to show the first moment of the shaking.

★ 'Education'- Education programmes are watched nation-wide at primary schools. "Tensai Terebikun MAX" (better known as TTK) is a one-of-a-kind educational show combining education with a bit of entertainment. TTK is currently hosted by the Yasuda Big Circus and a cast of 24 children ranging from ages 8 to 13.

★ 'Weather'- Weather in detail, nationwide, and international for travellers.

★ 'Sports'- NHK broadcasts the six annual Grand Sumo tournaments, high-school baseball championships from Koshien Stadium, Olympic Games, National Sports Festival of Japan, and a range of other sports. NHK also broadcasts Boston Red Sox games when Daisuke Matsuzaka pitches.

★ 'News analysis'- The network carries in-depth reports on current topics, political debate, and similar programming.

★ 'Music'- The annual ''Kōhaku Uta Gassen'' on New Year's Eve is the highlight. The weekly schedule includes an amateur hour, and prime-time shows for all ages.

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

★ 'Documentaries'- NHK has become known for its documentary series, first popularized by the miniseries ''Legacy for the Future'', and "The Silk Road."

★ 'Children'- The longest running children's show in Japan, "Okaasan to Issho", still airs up to this day on NHK-ETV.

★ 'Other'- Cooking, comedy, exercise, etc.

★
== NHK domestic television stations (NHK G / Radio 1 / NHK-FM) ==
Main articles: NHK General TV

NHK domestic television stations (NHK E / Radio 2)

Jurisdiction	Broadcasting station	Call sign (NHK E / Radio 2)	Broadcasting area (Prefectures)
Kanto･Koshinetsu	'Broadcasting Center (Tokyo)'	'JOAB-(D)TV' / 'JOAB'	Tokyo
	Yokohama		Kanagawa
	Saitama		Saitama
	Chiba		Chiba
	Maebashi		Gunma
	Mito		Ibaraki
	Utsunomiya		Tochigi
	Nagano	JONB-(D)TV / JONB	Nagano
	Niigata	JOQB-(D)TV / JOQB	Niigata
	Kofu	JOKC-(D)TV / JOKC	Yamanashi
Kansai	'Osaka'	'JOBB-(D)TV' / 'JOBB'	Osaka
	Kobe		Hyogo
	Kyoto		Kyoto
	Nara		Nara
	Ohtsu		Shiga
	Wakayama		Wakayama
Tokai･Hokuriku	'Nagoya'	'JOCB-(D)TV' / 'JOCB'	Aichi
	Gifu		Gifu
	Tsu		Mie
	Fukui	JOFC-(D)TV / JOFC	Fukui
	Kanazawa	JOJB-(D)TV / JOJB	Ishikawa
	Shizuoka	JOPB-(D)TV / JOPB	Shizuoka
	Toyama	JOIC-(D)TV / JOIC	Toyama
Chugoku	'Hiroshima'	'JOFB-(D)TV' / 'JOFB'	Hiroshima
	Okayama	JOKB-(D)TV / JOKB	Okayama
	Matsue	JOTB-(D)TV / JOTB	Shimane
	Tottori	JOLC-(D)TV / JOLC	Tottori
	Yamaguchi	JOUC-(D)TV / JOUC	Yamaguchi
Tohoku	'Sendai'	'JOHB-(D)TV' / 'JOHB'	Miyagi
	Akita	JOUB-(D)TV / JOUB	Akita
	Aomori	JOTC-(D)TV / JOTC	Aomori
	Fukushima	JOFD-(D)TV / JOFD	Fukushima
	Morioka	JOQC-(D)TV / JOQC	Iwate
	Yamagata	JOJC-(D)TV / JOJC	Yamagata
Hokkaido	'Sapporo'	'JOIB-(D)TV' / 'JOIB'	Ishikari･Shiribeshi･Sorachi Subprefecture
	Hakodate	JOVB-(D)TV / JOVB	Oshima･Hiyama Subprefecture
	Asahikawa	JOCC-(D)TV / JOCC	Kamikawa･Rumoi･Soya Subprefecture
	Obihiro	JOOC-(D)TV / JOOC	Tokachi Subprefecture
	Kushiro	JOPC-(D)TV / JOPC	Kushiro･Nemuro Subprefecture
	Kitami	JOKD-(D)TV / JOKD	Abashiri Subprefecture
	Muroran	JOIZ-(D)TV / JOIZ	Iburi･Hidaka Subprefecture
Kyūshū･Okinawa	'Fukuoka'	'JOLB-(D)TV' / 'JOLB'	Fukuoka (Fukuoka area etc.)
	Kitakyūshū	JOSB-(D)TV / JOSB	Fukuoka (Kitakyūshū area etc.)
	Kagoshima	JOHC-(D)TV / JOHC	Kagoshima
	Kumamoto	JOGB-(D)TV / JOGB	Kumamoto
	Miyazaki	JOMC-(D)TV / JOMC	Miyazaki
	Nagasaki	JOAC-(D)TV / JOAC	Nagasaki
	Oita	JOID-(D)TV / JOID	Oita
	Okinawa	JOAD-(D)TV / JOAD	Okinawa
	Saga	JOSD-(D)TV / JOSD	Saga
Shikoku	'Matsuyama'	'JOZB-(D)TV' / 'JOZB'	Ehime
	Takamatsu	JOHD-(D)TV / JOHD	Kagawa
	Kochi	JORB-(D)TV / JORB	Kochi
	Tokushima	JOXB-(D)TV / JOXB	Tokushima
--	NHK BS1	--	Japanese whole area (Broadcasting Satellite)
	NHK BS2	--
	NHK BShi	--

Notable programs

★ ''BuBu ChaCha'' ★ ''Cardcaptor Sakura'' (1998-2000) ★ ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (1996-2002) ★ ''Eigo de Shabera Night'' (2002-ongoing) ★ ''Futatsu no Spica'' ★ ''Future Boy Conan'' (1978) ★ ''J-Melo'' ★ ''Kōhaku Uta Gassen'' ★ ''Kyo Kara Maoh!'' ★ ''MAJOR'' ★ ''Minna no Uta'' (1961-ongoing) ★ ''Morizzo and Kiccoro'' (2005 Aichi World Expo season) ★ ''Mujin Wakusei Survive''

★ '' (1990-1991) ★ ''Oshin'' (1983-1984) ★ ''Planetes'' ★ ''Shibawanko no Wa no Kokoro'' ★ ''Snow Princess'' ★ ''Sports Kyoushitsu'' ★ ''Ten Minutes Box'' ★ ''Tsubasa Chronicle'' ★ ''Visions of Light'' ★ ''Without a Trace'' ★ ''Zettai Shonen'' ("Absolute Boy") (2004-2005) ★ ''Yat Anshin Uchuu Ryokou'' (1996-1998)

Japanese broadcasting networks

★ Commercial broadcasting (TV) ★ ★ NNN (Nippon News Network) ★ ★ ANN (All-Nippon News Network) ★ ★ JNN (Japan News Network) ★ ★ TXN (TV Tokyo Network) ★ ★ FNN (Fuji News Network) ★ ★ UHF (Independent UHF Station)

★ Commercial broadcasting (Radio) ★ ★ AM broadcasting ★ ★ ★ JRN (Japan Radio Network) ★ ★ ★ NRN (National Radio Network) ★ ★ FM broadcasting ★ ★ ★ JFN (Japan FM Network) ★ ★ ★ JFL (Japan FM League) ★ ★ ★ MegaNet (Megalopolis Radio Network)

★ Public broadcasting (TV･AM･FM)

★
★ NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)

See also

★ NHK World ★ ISDB ★ STRL ★ UHDV

★ ''Welcome to the N.H.K.'' ★ Japanese television programs ★ Japanese media ★ Domo-kun

External links

★ Official Site

★ NHK