50 Years of NHK Television

Local broadcasters
During the 1960's, NHK rapidly increased the number of local broadcasting stations, and broadcasts of local news and programs began. The new TV stations began to play a considerable role in their communities.

Coverage of the A-bombings and peace issues
During the U.S. occupation of Japan, there was almost no reporting on the havoc wreaked by the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Detailed reports did not emerge until 1954, after Japan had regained its independence and the reporting restrictions applied under the U.S. radio code had been lifted. TV reports started in 1958, when NHK began nationwide telecasts of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony.
Japan Unveiled: The Yellow Booklets was aired in 1960, 15 years after the atomic bombings. Camera Report: 500 m from Ground Zero was broadcast in 1966. This program tried to reconstruct the area around Hiroshima's atomic cenotaph, which had been the city's main commercial district before the bombing. Viewers who saw the reconstruction on TV, which consisted of about 130 buildings, came forward with maps, photographs, and other surviving documents, and started a movement to rebuild the devastated area.

Exhibitions of a-bombing paintings and drawings were held in many places.

In 1974, another movement was launched to collect and preserve paintings and drawings depicting consequences of the bombing. This was inspired by a drawing brought to NHK by a 77-year-old man living in Hiroshima, who had drawn the picture to record his memory of what had happened in the immediate aftermath of the bombing. The NHK staff were moved by the man's picture, and used the local morning show to call on people to contribute other works on the same subject. Between June 8 and the end of July, some 900 pictures were gathered. NHK Hiroshima has compiled several impressive reports about local citizens' memories and thoughts on this issue.