Q.5 Discuss the school broadcast media of Japan.
Course: Broadcast Media in Distance Education
Course code 8621
Level: B.Ed (1.5 Years)
Answer:
The broadcasting system in Japan is divided into the public
sector, represented solely by NHK (Nippon Hoso Kyokai, or the Japan
Broadcasting Corporation), and the commercial sector.
NHK collects the mandatory viewing fees from households that
own TV sets and makes it the source of funds for its wide activities. It
operates a nationwide network with 2 MW radio, 1 FM radio, 2 VHF television, and
2 BS television channels. Also, it has a shortwave overseas radio in Japan.
As of 1992, there are 177 commercial broadcasting companies,
36 of which operate both TV and radio, 82 only TV, and 59 only radio. Local TV
stations form tie-up networks with major key companies in Tokyo, i.e. NTV, TBS,
Fuji-TV (CX), TV-Asahi, and TV-Tokyo. The majority (roughly 80%) of programs are
provided by these dominating stations. Those commercial broadcasting companies rely
on advertising revenue. As you can imagine, sponsors are very sensitive to audience ratings, hence TV stations tend to make junky programs that only aim
at ratings.
TBS-Aum scandal and underlying problem in TV journalism All
Japan’s news media reported the TBS-AUM scandal on March 26, 1996:Tokyo
Broadcasting System Inc. (TBS) executives confirmed at a news conference Monday
that network employees had shown a group of AUM Shinrikyo followers a
videotaped interview with anti-AUM lawyer Subsume Sakamoto. …
Sakamoto and his family were abducted and murdered about a
week after the tape screening, on Nov. 3, 1989, allegedly by AUM followers.
Police believe that AUM leader Shoko Sahara ordered the killings after being
told about the interview. …
The taped interview, which was never aired, was supposed to
have been for a TBS news report about the cult. The AUM members, including
high-ranking cultist Kiyohide Hayakawa, were allowed to see the tape before the
report was aired and, after protesting about it, TBS decided not to air the
interview, according to prosecutors and some AUM followers.
(Mainichi
Daily News)
Many people say that TBS got many scoops on the Aim issue,
including an exclusive interview with Shoko Sahara, after it showed the videotape. Did they make a deal with Aim for audience ratings? Is “wide-show” programming
really journalism?
This type of problem has been repeated. It seems that the
problem is not only for TBS but for all of Japan’s TV journalism. Japan’s (TV)
journalism is in danger!
Satellite broadcasting and Cable TV *
…At the end of May 1995, the new opening of terrestrial
stations was stopped. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) judged
that, in the dawning age of multichannel television typified by the proliferation
of satellite broadcasting and cable TV, there was no need for any further
increase in the number of regional TV stations that have difficulty operating
without the support of a major Tokyo-based broadcaster.
Satellites
The development of media using satellites is making
commercial headway. Japan Satellite Broadcasting Inc., Japan’s first private
satellite broadcasting company, launched its service in April 1991. Moreover,
11 companies using communications satellites got off the ground in 1995. Two private
companies broadcasting music digitally via satellite using PCM technology were operating
as of April 1996, and four companies commenced around-the-clock programming
using communications satellites in 1992 and 1993.
Multiplex broadcasting utilizes the gaps to provide
bilingual broadcasts, stereo sound, emergency broadcasts, and so on. In April
1996, MPT proposed in a report that all commercial TV stations should be
obliged to provide text and sound commentary broadcasts for sight- and hearing-impaired
viewers.
Cables
Until recently cable TV was used only in those areas where
reception of radio waves is poor, such as secluded mountain regions and
outlying islands. However, urban cable TV, defined as having over 10,000
tap-offs, more than five independent channels, and two-way functions, is now becoming
an important medium in metropolitan areas, offering a multitude of programs on numerous
channels. Tokyo’s first cable TV station began broadcasting in the spring of
1987.
As of March 1995, there were 61,606 cable TV stations around
Japan, with 10.3 million subscribers, including 170 urban cable TV stations
(Feb. 1995) with 2.0 million subscribers (Dec. 1994).
HDTV and Digital
Hi-Vision TV, the Japanese version of high-definition
television, is being developed primarily by NHK. With roughly twice the scan
lines of standard TVs, Hi-Vision TV has made possible high-resolution,
high-detail images. Apart from broadcasting, it is attracting attention in the
fields of arts, medicine, and education.
TV broadcasting is also being influenced by the tide of
digital technology. The standard so far has been analog technology, in which
pictures and sound have to be transmitted on separate radio waves. But with
digital technology, one radio wave can be compressed without loss of quality; four
to seven channels can run on one conventional analog frequency band. In Japan, two companies plan to begin digital services in 1996, although the timing of
its introduction in satellite broadcasting is uncertain [see next section].
Since Hi-Vision TV uses analog technology [for encoding], its proponents are
opposed to the introduction of digital technology.
Digital Broadcasting
On June 30, 1996, the Japanese satellite JCSAT-3 aired the
first experimental digital broadcasting. It is Perfect TV, the joint venture of
four big Japanese trading companies, and will start commercial service in
October ’96, providing 61 TV and 104 sound channel selections. The registration
fee will be 2,800 yen with about 50,000 yen for the antenna and decoder, and the monthly charge will be 2,190 yen for 12 channels set.
The U.S. DirecTV will enter the Japanese market, while Mr.
Murdoch, who recently took major stock of TV Asahi, announced that he will
begin 100 channels J Sky B within two years. Thus, Japanese people will be able
to enjoy a few hundred programs shortly.
The ground broadcasting companies keep cool on the satellite
fever. They think it is difficult for these newcomers to provide quality
programs to satisfy so many channels (I doubt current ground programs have any
quality, then). Another problem will be the antenna. As of June 1996, current
services with analog Commercial Satellite (CS) gained only a hundred thousand
subscribers, while those using Broadcasting Satellite(BS) achieved more (NHK’s
BS has 7 million and Wowed 2 million). Because CS services require a different
antenna than BS services, they experience a serious handicap in the Japanese housing
situation. Many experts wonder if people dare to put one more antenna for the
new digital satellite programs
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