NHK will impose a premium surcharge to TV owners who evade paying the mandatory yearly fee

In Japan, NHK (Nihon Housou Kyoukai, Japanese Broadcasting Corporation) is Japan’s national public broadcasting company.

Unlike the USA where Public Broadcasting System (PBS) gets 15% funding from the taxpayer-funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting.  Also through member station dues, pledge drives, private foundations and individual citizens.  In Japan, NHK is financed by viewers payments called a reception fee and the law is anyone who owns a a television equipped to receive NHK must sign a contract and pay a reception fee (fee’s depend on age and where you live) which is around Y13,600 a year.

There are those who say they don’t own TV’s or say they don’t watch NHK, so they don’t have to pay.

On November 19th, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications proposal for reviewing NHK’s reception fee was revealed.  NHK intends to enact a system which will impose a a premium surcharge on unjustified payment evasion for those who do not comply with the reception contract and will clarify penalties, reduce non-payments and improve payment rates lower  than in other countries.

NHK tends to issue a reminder such as:

Based on the Broadcast Act, NHK uses the fees received for funding its mission to transmit information and rich culture to the entire country and the rest of the world, anytime, anywhere to anyone, anywhere.  While maintaining our lives, supporting the community and sending information of Japan to the world and carrying out various broadcasting business unique to  public broadcasting.

Recently, there are people who are saying “If you don’t watch NHK, you don’t have to pay the subscription fee”.  According to the Broadcasting Act and the Terms of Conditions, if you have a television that can receive NHK broadcasts, you are required to sign a contract and pay the reception fee.  By saying “you do not have to pay the reception fee” is a violation of law.

NHK Operates appropriately in accordance with the Broadcasting Act and the reception rules and we will deal strictly with any obvious illegal activity.

NHK will continue to carefully explained and help the public understand the role of public broadcasts and the significance of the reception fee system to viewers and the public.

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