Radio broadcasting began in Japan in 1926 with the establishment of the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai, NHK). Television broadcasting began in 1953. Today, it operates eight television channels and three radio networks. It also operates an international broadcasting service known as NHK World-Japan.
Media assets
Television: NHK General TV, NHK Educational TV, NHK BS1, NHK BS Premium, NHK BS4K, NHK BS8K; NHK World-Japan
Radio: NHK Radio 1, NHK Radio 2, NHK FM
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Public/State-Managed (CaPu)
Ownership and governance
The government exercised complete control over broadcasting until the introduction of legal changes in 1950, which prohibited government interference in programming. The 1950 Broadcasting Law established NHK as a public broadcaster. Its Board of Governors, comprising 12 members, is appointed by the Prime Minister and endorsed by both houses of Parliament.
The board’s primary responsibilities include the appointment of the NHK’s president and the approval of the broadcaster’s strategy and policies, including its budget and programming plans. The plans are then submitted to the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications for review and subsequently passed on to the government and parliament for approval.
The Executive Board of the corporation is NHK’s management team, comprising the president of NHK, an executive vice-president, and a team of seven to 10 directors. All members of the Executive Board are appointed by the president of the corporation.
The Audit Committee comprises three or more members appointed by the Board of Governors. Its role is to audit the business conducted by the governors and the Executive Board. It provides a report to the Board of Governors.
Source of funding and budget
NHK is funded entirely by license fees, a tax paid by all households and businesses in Japan. This funding system is believed to ensure the broadcaster’s financial independence, as no one can interfere with its funding (for example, by approving or rejecting the allocation of funds).
The government only allocates some funds to NHK to support its overseas broadcasting service, but this amount is marginal in NHK’s overall budget. In 2021, NHK had an operating budget of JPY 690bn (US$ 6.3bn), of which the license fee accounted for over 97%. The following year, NHK had a budget of JPY 689bn (US$ 4.8bn), of which about JPY 670bn (US$ 4.6bn) came from license fees. In 2023, NHK operated with a budget of JPY 688bn (US$ 4.6bn), some JPY 669bn being generated from the license fee.
Editorial independence
The Broadcasting Law stipulates that the NHK Board of Governors is prohibited from interfering with the editorial decision-making process at the station. While this was the case in practice for many years after the late Shinzo Abe assumed office in 2012, NHK has faced a number of challenges to its editorial independence.
Following Abe’s departure from office in August 2020, the NHK Board of Governors continued to face criticism for alleged interference with the station’s editorial agenda. The re-election of Shunzo Morishita as head of the NHK Board in March 2021 was met with significant criticism, given his reputation for interfering with the broadcaster’s editorial coverage. It is frequently the case that independent journalists characterize the aforementioned editorial interference as ‘illegal’, given that it contravenes the legal provisions that guarantee NHK’s editorial autonomy.
Historically, NHK has enjoyed a high degree of editorial independence, largely due to the government’s general reluctance to intervene in its internal affairs. However, following the appointment of the late nationalist leader Shinzo Abe as Prime Minister in 2012, there was a notable increase in the number of complaints from journalists at NHK regarding a perceived lack of editorial independence and hostility from the government.
Examples of journalists being dismissed from their posts or the practice of not airing sensitive reports became more common at NHK in the past few years. In one development, NHK’s board of directors reportedly gave a warning to NHK’s President after a company complained about the station’s critical coverage. This has led to accusations that these actions amount to “interference with programming”, which is forbidden by the Broadcasting Law.
Despite Abe’s resignation in August 2020, concerns about the editorial independence of NHK persisted. In June 2021, the NHK board was criticized for failing to release minutes of meetings where controversial decisions had been made.
The independence of NHK’s editorial team remains vulnerable to external pressures. While journalists are at liberty to make their own editorial decisions regarding the content they cover, any criticism of the government is not permitted at the station, according to interviews conducted with Japanese journalists in February and May 2024.
There is currently no independent assessment or oversight mechanism in place to validate the independence of NHK. It should be noted that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is responsible for regulating NHK’s independence. The minister has the authority to suspend the operations of any broadcaster that breaches the Broadcast Law.
September 2024