Japan Media Review Update: September 21, 2004

JMR Staff (Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California)

Review
The following reviews are posted at: http://www.japanmediareview.com/japan/digest/digest.php

NHK Chairman Faces Gov't Committee on Fraud Cases
From Japan Today: NHK chairman Katsuji Ebisawa faced members of the Japanese Diet's Lower House Executive Committee to answer questions about recent fraud cases involving employees of the public broadcaster. He apologized and avoided responding directly to inquiries from politicians. "We betrayed the trust of the nation as a national broadcast station," he said. "I would like to express my deep apologies to them." Democratic Party member Hisayasu Nagata said the embezzlements weren't a result of employees' personal problems. NHK, he said, has been using public money to fatten its subsidiaries, which include a publishing house and software division. NHK fees cost each household 1,395 yen ($13) a month; a subscription to NHK's satellite programming incurs a higher cost.
As reported by The Korea Times, earlier in the week Ebisawa spoke briefly about NHK's fees at a South Korean event sponsored by a pan-Asian broadcast union. "It is our duty to transmit the highest quality programs and always stand impartial from any government or private organization," he said. " ... The levying of receiving fees guarantees our financial independence."
-- By Japan Media Review Managing Editor Shellie Branco

Manufacturers Work Together on Mobile TV
From The Motley Fool: Now that Japanese and South Koreans can watch TV on their handsets, five cell phone manufacturers are coming together to create standards for mobile TV broadcasts. Through the Open Mobile Alliance, NEC, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Nokia and Siemens hope to take advantage of the potential giant growth in mobile "infotainment." But as writer Rich Duprey points out, there's no guarantee that people will fully embrace mobile TV on cell phones, with their small screens and insufficient battery life.
-- By Japan Media Review Managing Editor Shellie Branco

Coming Soon: NHK Shows via Satellite on Handsets
From The Asahi Shimbun: Public broadcaster NHK will provide news and entertainment broadcasts to a digital satellite broadcaster starting next month. This is the first time NHK has offered programming to a private company. Mobile Broadcasting Corp. will likely pay nearly 250 million yen (about $2.3 million) for NHK shows. In October, Mobile Broadcasting will introduce 30 audio-only channels, including news and language-study programs. Seven more channels will include TV broadcasts of news, sports and entertainment. The deal doesn't come without controversy -- under Japan's Broadcast Law, publicly financed NHK could face charges of overexpansion.
-- By Japan Media Review Managing Editor Shellie Branco