Sales 2023: JPY 644,000 billion (€ 4,237 billion)

Overview

NHK, the only public TV/radio company in Japan, was formed in 1926 from a merger of radio stations in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. Today, Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) operates various national and international news and entertainment channels as well as online portals with correspondents in 31 countries.

General Information

Headquarters
NHK Broadcasting Center
2-2-1 Jinnan
Shibuya-ku
Tokyo 150-8001
Japan
Telephone: 0081 3 3465 1111
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/corporateinfo/index.html

Branches of trade: television, radio, online
Legal form:  non-profit institution under public law
Financial year: 01.04. – 31.03.
Founding year: 1926

Basic economic data (in billion ¥)*
	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
Total income**	689	690	716,4	724,7	716,8	701

* The fiscal year runs from April 1st to March 31st of the following year. The 2022 budget therefore covers the period from April 1st, 2022 to March 31st, 2023.
** NHK is financed to more than 95 percent by broadcasting fees.

Executives and Directors

Management:

• Nobuo Inaba, President
• Tatsuhiko Inoue, Executive Vice President, Assistance to the President, Responsible for Secretariat, Assistant Director of Verification and Advancement of Reforms
• Hideo Koike, Executive Director, Responsible for Audience Relations, Public Relations, and Regional Management
• Satoru Masagaki, Executive Vice President
• Rie Hayashi, Executive Director, Media Operations (News)
• Yuji Itano, Executive Director
• Hideo Koike, Executive Director, Director of Osaka Station
• Hiroshi Ito, Executive Director, Corporate Planning, Finance and Information Systems
• Keiji Kodama, Senior Director, Chief of Engineering
• Taichi Nakajima, Senior Director, Internal Audit, Compliance, Information Security, and Integrated Group Management, Assistant Director of Integrated Group Management Reforms
• Tomoko Kukanomidou, Senior Director, Media Operations
• Masahiko Yamauchi, Media Operations
• Hanako Yasuho, Senior Director, General Affairs, Human Resources, and Promoting Diversity
• Hiroo Yamana, Senior Director, Program Inspection and Public Relations

NHK Governors:

• Shunzo Morishita, Kansai Institute of Information Systems
• Koji Murata, Doshisha University
• Nobuko Akashi, Japan Manners & Protocol
• Yasushi Fuwa, Shinshu University
• Michiko Hasegawa, Saitama University
• Masako Il, School of International and Public Policy Hitotsubashi University
• Seiji Isoyama, Kyushu Leasing
• Eri Mizuo, Meijo University
• Toru Okusa
• Hiroshi Ozaki, Osaka Gas
• Kazuo Sakakibara, Anderson Möri & Tomotsune
• Yoshihiro Sekihachi, The Hokkaido Bank

History

The age of broadcasting began in Japan on March 22, 1925, when the Tokyo Broadcasting Company (Tokyo Hoso Kyoku) broadcast its first radio program. In June and July, the broadcasters in Osaka and Nagoya followed. On August 20, 1926, the three stations merged to form the "Shadan Hojin Nippon Hoso Kyokai" (Japan's Non-Profit Broadcasting Association), abbreviated to NHK. Until 1950, NHK had the monopoly on public radio at home and – from June 1, 1935 – abroad. In 1928, the NHK studio in Osaka started a gymnastics program. It was included in the nationwide program and, as "Radio Taiso", is still a Japanese institution today: in many schools, factories and parks, the day began with NHK morning gymnastics. Time announcements and weather reports had been available since 1928. In 1931, a second program was set up as an educational radio station. Since then, the first program has focused on news, commentary, stock market reports, sports broadcasts and entertainment programs. 

During World War II, NHK became the main instrument for disseminating war propaganda and slogans of perseverance. This phase ended with the broadcast of the Emperor's surrender speech on August 15, 1945 - for most Japanese the first opportunity to hear the voice of the Tenno to hear. The American occupying forces then took control of the state broadcaster. In 1950, broadcasting was given a new legal basis. The broadcasting law abolished the NHK monopoly and allowed for the licensing of private broadcasters. On June 1, 1950, NHK was constituted as a non-profit broadcasting company under public law, retaining its old name. State control was replaced by control by parliament, which must confirm the board appointed by the prime minister and approve the annual budget; the board elects the NHK president from among its members. 

In 1953, NHK began television operations, which gradually converted to color from 1960. In 1959, NHK set up an educational channel alongside the general program, and in 1982 the conversion of certain television programs to stereo (music programs) and bilingualism began. Since then, some news programs, discussion programs or foreign films can be heard in Japanese, English or in the non-English original language at the touch of a button. From 1984, households with their own satellite dish were able to receive one satellite program from NHK, and from 1986 two; the satellite program on two channels started in 1989. In 1991, NHK began broadcasting several hours a day using the self-developed "Hi-Vision" technology for high-definition television, and in 2015, analog broadcasting was finally stopped completely. 

From 1995, NHK was available in America and Europe, and from 1998 also in the Asia-Pacific region. Since then, almost the entire world has been covered by five satellites. The Japanese-language offering was expanded to 24 hours a day in 1999, while the English-language offering varies from region to region. Since February 2009, NHK World has been broadcasting a 24-hour English-language program. The programs can be received via local cable TV providers for a fee. Since December 2008, there has also been an "NHK-on-demand" program: for an additional fee, you can access a program media library. 

The 20-year economic crisis between 1991 and 2011 (known in Japan as the "two lost decades") also had consequences for NHK. First, there was a license fee boycott, which increased to 1.12 million households by the end of 2006. The government even considered making non-payment of license fees a criminal offense. However, after long public debates, this was postponed indefinitely. The station's excessive proximity to the Japanese government has also been repeatedly criticized. The then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tried to steer the station in line with his nationalist, revisionist course and turn it into a propaganda tool. After the Fukushima disaster in 2011, for example, NHK systematically ignored voices from the Japanese anti-nuclear movement in its 24-hour coverage following the reactor accident. 

Katsuo Momii, NHK director from 2014 to 2017, was also very controversial. He had previously been a top manager with no particular knowledge of journalism. He caused a stir with his comments on the recurring controversy surrounding the so-called "comfort women", mostly young Korean women who were abducted in their tens of thousands to Japanese front-line brothels during the war and forced into prostitution. "Comfort women", said Momii, were also used in other countries and the international discussion about them was a mystery to him. His term of office was not extended by the board of directors in 2017, although he had tried to do so. 

In January 2017, Ryoichi Ueda took over as NHK director general. But his term in office was also overshadowed by a scandal. After a report about the fraudulent sale of life insurance to elderly Japanese citizens by the Japanese Post was broadcast, a high-ranking insurance executive complained to the NHK board of directors - and successfully. Ueda, who insisted on editorial independence, was reprimanded by the board. In 2020, he was replaced by Terunobu Maeda.

management

NHK President Terunobu Maeda, born in 1945, who has been in office since the beginning of 2020, has set out to reform the institution from the ground up, both in terms of fees and internal organization. One of his first official acts was a 30 percent job cut in upper management to offset falling fees and the sharply shrinking number of fee-paying households due to Japan's demographic crisis. In addition, after years of unrest, NHK is to re-establish itself as a neutral, independent fourth power. It remains to be seen whether Maeda will succeed: As a member of the "Shiki no Kai" association, he belongs to an elite circle of managers who are close to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his conservative LDP party.

Business segments

NHK is centrally organized in a similar way to ZDF. The station's two research institutes for broadcasting technology and culture were also set up at its headquarters in Tokyo. Outside Tokyo, NHK has 54 of its own studios, at least one in each province. NHK is represented abroad with four main studios for America (in New York), Europe (in Paris), Asia (in Bangkok) and China (in Beijing), as well as 31 studios and correspondent offices. In addition to the board of directors, a number of advisory bodies ensure that NHK fulfills its statutory duties. A central program advisory board and eight regional program advisory boards with up to twenty members from all walks of life are responsible for monitoring the balance and impartiality of the broadcasts.

TV/Radio 

NHK broadcasts six television channels (General TV, Educational TV, plus the satellite channels BS 1, BS Premium, BS4K, BS8K) and three radio channels in Japan. Radio is divided into general programming (“Daiichi Hoso”/Radio 1) and educational programming (“Daini Hoso”/Radio 2). Radio 2 also broadcasts news in English, Korean, Chinese and Portuguese for foreigners living in Japan. There is also the FM program (“FM Hoso”). NHK broadcasts the television programs NHK World Premium (in Japanese) and NHK World TV (in English) abroad. The radio program NHK World Radio Japan is an international program broadcast in 18 languages. 

Other Activities

NHK has outsourced some of its activities to wholly owned subsidiaries: NHK Service Center, NHK International, NHK Engineering Service, NHK Hoso Kenshu Center (NHK Broadcasting Training Center), Nippon Hoso Kyokai Gakuen (NHK Distance Education), NHK Kokyo Gakudan (NHK Symphony Orchestra), NHK Kosei Bunka Jigyodan (Special Programs for the Disabled and Senior Citizens). Another 15 majority-owned NHK subsidiaries are responsible for program planning and production as well as the distribution of NHK products. 

In terms of license fee revenue, NHK is the third largest public broadcaster in the world, behind ARD and BBC. However, compared to ARD, it has to make do with less than half the staff and has about twice the market share of domestic television (around 30 percent, or about as much as ARD and ZDF combined). Unlike the German public broadcasters, the entire NHK program is still free of commercial advertising.

Current developments

The Corona crisis has increased the pressure on NHK to implement the third fee cut in the broadcaster's history. Japan's Communications Minister Ryota Takeda had previously demanded that fee payers should also be relieved of the economic impact of the pandemic. By 2023, the fees will therefore be reduced by around 10 percent, but will also create a hole of around 600 million euros in the budget. The broadcaster must also tighten its belt in other areas. The government has stipulated that NHK may use a maximum of 2.5 percent of the fees for expanding its online offering and for reporting on the Olympics in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, criticism of the supposed closeness to the government continues unabated. During a broadcast of the traditional torch relay in the run-up to the controversial Olympic Games in Japan, NHK suddenly turned off the sound as demonstrators in the background expressed their displeasure with the games. According to a statement by NHK, this was not done to silence the critical voices, but out of respect for the torchbearers.

literature

Susan J. Pharr/Ellis S. Krauss (eds.): Media and Politics in Japan, 1996.
Ellis S. Krauss: Broadcasting Politics in Japan. NHK Television News, 2000.
David McNeill/Lucy Birmingham: Strong in the Rain. Surviving Japan's Earthquake, Tsunami, and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, 2012.