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Summary
of Press Conference (December, 2007)
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Looking back over the past year
(Comment by Genichi Hashimoto)
We have applied ourselves to reforms, trying to live up to the
principle of putting our audiences first, and striving to meet
our slogan of “NHK: Straightforward and Serious”.
We have fully applied ourselves to organizational reforms to
restore public confidence, which had been shaken in a spate
of scandals, and to get ourselves ready for a fully digital
era. We have seen steady improvements in the number of receiving
contracts and in revenue, which are the biggest barometers of
public confidence. The increase in the overall number of contracts,
including satellite contracts, has improved since March (the
end of the 2006 financial year), and is back at the level prior
to the eruption of the scandals.
We have had no reports of any accounting irregularities since
the 2006 financial year. The committee made up of outside experts,
which is looking at the extent to which NHK is meeting its public
pledges, is of the opinion that money-related scandals are being
rooted out. Alas, there were a number of scandals in June; they
were criminal offences of the kind we cannot condone either
as a public broadcaster or as members of society at large. I
have to say that we are still half way through the task of restoring
public confidence.
We need to establish internal controls appropriate for a public
broadcaster, which will bring the organization back to its creative
starting point, and which won’t sap vitality on the ground.
Our news and other broadcast programs have earned high acclaim
during the past year. Together with other public institutions,
we have established a seismic alert system and other means to
help ensure the safety and security of the people in the event
of disaster. We have also striven to arouse public concern on
various issues. One of our NHK Special programs, for
example, dealt with the working poor – the people who
have been left behind in the economic transformations.
All broadcasts will switch to digital in 2011; the switchover
is a mere 3 years and 8 months away. We are now at a critical
stage, striving to make digital terrestrial TV broadcasts available
to people nationwide; they should reach 92% of households by
the end of this month. NHK is working with commercial broadcasters
and local authorities in the studies on joint reception facilities,
and ensuring everything will be in place when analogue terrestrial
telecasts are taken off the air.
The Board of Governors, regrettably, did not endorse our Corporate
Plan 2008-2012, in which we had put our utmost efforts since
the spring. We want to start putting together a subsequent mid-
and long-term corporate plan, listening to our audiences and
taking the suggestions of the Board.
I can say that that I have given my utmost in this past year.
The debate over the amendment of the Broadcast Law is reaching
its final stages, and there are still many issues which we as
a public broadcaster must surmount. We will continue our efforts
to make NHK into an organization that sincerely serves the public
in the coming year, and I ask for your continued support.
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On NHK’s contributions to society over the past
year
(Comment by Executive Vice-President of NHK, Taeko Nagai)
All 54 NHK stations have contributed to their respective communities,
dealing with topics of keen local concern.
Powerful earthquakes rocked the Noto Peninsula in March, then
the Chuetsu region of Niigata prefecture in July. The NHK Kanazawa
and NHK Niigata stations organized various things for the people
caught in these disasters: They screened NHK’s historical
drama series at emergency shelters, and organized concerts in
aid of the reconstruction efforts.
NHK Nara Station launched a tourism project, as a means of helping
breathe life into the community. The tourism project is directed
toward the 1,300th anniversary of the establishment of Nara
as the nation’s capital, an anniversary which is only
three years away.
In the Tokai region, the NHK Nagoya, NHK Tsu, and NHK Gifu stations
have been pursuing a campaign, which encourages people to say
“thank you” to one another. With the aim of fostering
greater harmony between Japanese and non-Japanese residents,
the three stations also organized a “Latino Nodojiman”
song contest for the region’s numerous migrants from Brazil
and elsewhere in South America, in which the migrants sang Japanese
songs.
On the educational front, NHK provided children and their parents
a taste of what happens behind the stage in opera concerts at
the NHK Music Festival. Children also got to a behind-the-scenes
look of the recent NHK Trophy International Figure Skating Competition
in Sendai, and saw how this event was telecast.
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On the 58th Kohaku Utagassen (Red and White Year-End
Song Festival)
(Comment by Genichi Hashimoto)
This year’s line-up will provide us with music from a
whole range of genres. I have asked the producers to devote
ample space to songs that have remained popular over the ages.
I believe this line-up proves that they are organizing the show
putting our audiences first. We hope it will be a fun event
for bringing the year to a close, one which will look toward
the program’s 60th anniversary in 2009. We hope viewer
ratings will be even better this year.
(Comment by Taeko Nagai)
We will organize an event in the nearby Yoyogi Park in conjunction
with the Kohaku Utagassen. The zelkova trees will be
illuminated at night-time with red- and white-colored lights,
and there will be laser-light displays of messages from the
visitors.
(Comment by Hiroji Hatakeyama, Managing Director)
This year’s program will feature footage of Izumi Sakai,
a singer known as ZARD, who died in May, and feature a live
telecast of a concert in her memory at NHK Osaka Hall. People
at the hall will also get to view the rest of the Kohaku
Utagassen show on a huge screen.
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On progress in the collection of receiving fees and
court orders for payment
(Comment by Genichi Hashimoto)
By the end of the fourth period (October – November),
the number of the general contracts is estimated to have increased
by 231,000 and that of satellite contracts by 324,000, from
the end of the last fiscal year, showing firm and steady progress.
Regarding payment refusals and deferrals, 20,000 new cases of
resumption of receiving fee payment are estimated, bringing
the total to 712,000 cases. We will continue to encourage people
to resume receiving fee payment. Just a year has past since
the first court order was issued demanding receiving fee payment.
NHK has earnestly sought the understanding of our viewers and
listeners about the significance of the receiving fee system,
stressing that court orders are the last resort for payment.
Our efforts have borne fruit in Kanagawa Prefecture and Tokyo,
where 53 of the 59 cases of refusal and deferral have agreed
to pay the sum either in its entirety or by instalment. This
effort is expanding on the nationwide scale. We will continue
to do our best to achieve the fair sharing of the receiving
fee payment among all of our viewers.
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On the expansion of receiving fee exemptions for the
disabled
(Comment by Genichi Hashimoto)
We conducted a survey asking viewers and listeners for their
opinions on (i) the discontinuation of the door-to-door fee
collection system, (ii) introduction of an office discount,
and (iii) expansion of the family discount. Following this,
we will conduct another survey from December 6 through 20 on
the expansion of the range of the exemption of receiving fees
for the disabled. Thanks to the revision of laws related to
the disabled, there are active movements in various fields calling
for a wider definition of the term, in order to offer broader
support. In view of this social development, NHK wishes to broaden
receiving fee exemption for the disabled and standardize the
criterion for such exemptions. The results of these surveys
will be announced in mid-January, 2008.
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On the restructuring and consolidation of NHK affiliates
(Comment by Genichi Hashimoto)
NHK has been promoting realignment of its subsidiaries in line
with general changes in media milieu and organizational reforms
of our own. Integration of the following affiliates will take
place on April 1, 2008. Regarding regional affiliates, six joint-stock
corporations, namely NHK Kinki Mediaplan, NHK Chubu Brains,
NHK Chugoku Softplan, NHK Kyushu Medis, NHK Tohoku Planning
and NHK Hokkaido Vision, will be merged to become NHK Planet,
Co., Ltd., with its headquarters in Tokyo. The existing affiliates
in different regions will serve as branch offices of the new
entity. Regarding technical affiliates, NHK Technical Services
which has been handling the technical operations of program
production and transmission, and NHK Computer Services, which
handles the development and operation of information systems,
will merge to become NHK Media Technology, Co., Ltd. Affiliates
subject to realignment are required to convene ad hoc general
meetings of stock-holders in mid-January next year to obtain
their approval and take the necessary legal measures for the
mergers. The number of NHK subsidiaries will be reduced in this
manner from the current level of 34 to 28 in April, 2008. Realignment
of our subsidiaries will continue in the future as the need
arises.
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On NHK’s budget for the next fiscal year
(Comment by Genichi Hashimoto)
The all-out effort involving all NHK employees to recover revenue
from receiving fees has led to steady improvement. We will closely
examine the increase in revenue with the goal of reimbursing
our viewers and listeners by producing and providing high quality
programs. We most certainly will not waste the increase.
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On the revision of the Broadcast Law now being deliberated
in the Diet
(Comment by Genichi Hashimoto)
I understand that the major goals of the draft revision of the
Broadcast Law now being deliberated in the Diet are to establish
new broadcasting services in keeping with technological progress,
and improve the administration of NHK, thereby raising the quality
of broadcasting to satisfy the demands of our times and society
at large. The original draft submitted by the government had
certain merits as a way to handle these issues, but contained
expressions that seemed liable to infringe on the freedom of
broadcasting with regard to the people’s right to know
which is guaranteed under the National Constitution, and jeopardize
editorial independence and autonomy which are the lifelines
of a public broadcaster. Following consultation between the
ruling and opposition parties, the clauses related to preventive
action plans, other new administrative punishments related to
broadcasters that air fabricated programs, etc. were removed
from the draft amendment. Regarding international broadcasting,
the expression “ordered broadcast” used in the present
Broadcast Law has been changed to “request broadcast”
in the amendment. It also limits the issues for which broadcasts
may be requested to “important national matters”
such as the lives and physical situation of Japanese people
living or travelling overseas, and important national policies.
It clearly stipulates that the Minister of Internal Affairs
and Communications has the responsibility to protect NHK’s
editorial freedom. It further stipulates that, while NHK strengthens
the functions of its Board of Governors, it must specify what
authority the Board of Governors has in order to clarify that
no individual member appointed by the government may become
involved in the editing of broadcast programs. The modifications
to the government’s draft amendment of the Broadcast Law
have been made to protect editorial freedom, which is crucially
important to the independence and autonomy of the broadcaster.
I think the revisions are generally appropriate and acceptable.
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On your term in office as the President of NHK, which
expires next January
(Comment by Genichi Hashimoto)
There still is an urgent need to press forward with the various
reform activities of NHK, which are still only half way through,
including preparation for the full digitalization of TV services
and setting up of suitable administrative frameworks in the
event of revision of the Broadcast Law. I have been fulfilling
my duties and responsibilities with a sense of commitment and
passion. In my opinion, any competent president of NHK should
command a good understanding of the mission and role of a public
broadcaster and news organization, be fully trusted both internally
and externally, and be able to perform his assignments with
devotion. Regarding the appointment of the president, I will
leave everything to the decision of the Board of Governors.
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On the opinion of the Board of Governors that they
have an impression that engineers tend to outnumber others at
NHK
(Comment by Genichi Hashimoto)
I don’t believe that there are necessarily too many engineers
if we consider the fact that people with a technical background
are indispensable to program production, audience services,
and transmission. All of these require technical expertise.
However, I admit there will be a need to reconsider the treatment
of engineering staff in the future, as the manner of working
is liable to change with the introduction of the new technology
of the digital age.
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