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Summary
of Press Conference (April, 2008)
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On programs that started in the new broadcasting year
(Comment by Hidemi Hyuga)
The new programming for the 2008 fiscal year is going well.
The viewer rating of the new morning drama serial, Hitomi,
is just below 15% on General TV but it is enjoying around 4%
on the satellite channels, reflecting the diversification of
viewing patterns today.
The morning news magazine, Ohayo Nippon (Good Morning,
Japan), has been revised. Now we have just one announcer presenting
the show and we have introduced two new zones, one for international
and the other for financial affairs. The changes have been received
well. Battery is the first series in Drama 8, a new
drama slot launched on Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. for parents and
children to enjoy together. Battery has been going
strong so far among viewers in their forties and teens, as intended.
A new 30-minute historical drama series has started on Saturdays
at 7:30 p.m. The slot is shorter than usual for historical drama
series but I believe the first broadcast was appreciated by
fans of conventional historical dramas. EYES, the late
night program zone newly launched on General TV, is targeted
at young viewers and has won a good following. There has been
a lot of reaction to one of its programs, Tokyo Kawaii TV,
in blogs and other media. Another program, Tele Asobi Perfor
(TV Play Performance), had received more than 1,000 animated
works from viewers by the end of last week. The new English-language
course, Little Charo, is a cross-media experiment.
60% of users of people using the show’s voice streaming
service are in their forties or below. In the public broadcasting
campaign, NHK Eco 2008, a program called The 88
Sacred Places of Shikoku has been calling on viewers to
recycle cooking oil. As of April 11, the program staff had collected
enough oil to run their eco-friendly vehicle for 1,228 km. Big
changes are also being made on the radio channels under the
slogan of Radio Renaissance, and we are receiving a
growing number of listeners’ reactions to the new programs
by e-mail and/or via the program websites.
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On two new NHK Specials, Futto Toshi (Effervescent
Cities), and The Arctic Circle – The Future of the
Globe
(Comment by Hidemi Hyuga)
Futto Toshi (Effervescent Cities) is a new major 8-part
NHK Special series starting on May 18. It focuses on cities
becoming new international players with the advance of globalization.
Another major NHK Special, The Arctic Circle – The
Future of the Globe, will be aired on the two consecutive
nights on May 25 and 26. The program reports on such pressing
issues as the 60% loss of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, the resulting
crisis for the ecosystem, and the looming international struggle
over the rich natural resources of the Arctic Ocean, which could
cause even further changes to the ecosystem.
(Comment by Shinichi Terazono, Senior Producer, the Special
Programs Division in charge of the Futto Toshi series)
This is said to be the year when the world’s urban population
is overtaking the world’s rural population. Globalization
is also shifting power away from the United States to other
growing economic powers. I believe we can present a new type
of documentary. The title sequence images have been created
by Mamoru Oshii, whose work is popular among young Japanese
people, and the pace of the program will be faster than in
our conventional documentaries. Dubai is the first rising
city of the series, followed by London, Dacca, and Istanbul.
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On the revised programming and new programs for international
broadcast in the 2008 broadcasting year
(Comment by Taeki Takahashi, Deputy Director, Planning &
Programming Division of the International Planning & Broadcasting
Department)
We are conducting three programming revisions for international
broadcasting service in the new broadcasting year that started
in April. First, the English service was intensified in April
by increasing the ratio of English programs from 91.1% to 97.5%.
Two new programs were also launched: TOKYO FASHION EXPRESS,
which provides the latest news and information on the Japanese
fashion scene, and imagine-nation, which introduces
Japan’s latest comics, animations and games. Then, in
October, the ratio of English programming will be raised to
100%. In February, a studio for the exclusive use of international
broadcasting will be ready to transmit news bulletins every
hour on the hour round the clock. Improvements to the reception
environment at the receiving end are also moving forward in
Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, India and elsewhere. 110
million households around the world should have potential access
to NHK World by end of this broadcasting year, in March 2009.
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On NHK program projects outside Japan
(Comments by Masami Goto, Deputy Executive Director of the General
Broadcasting Administration)
NHK will jointly produce a drama series called Shiawase
no Soup wa Ikaga? (Would You Care for some Soup of Happiness?
43 min. x 2) with Hong-Kong-based RTHK. This is NHK’s
first international co-production drama series for eight years.
The story is about two Japanese men and the granddaughter of
a Hong Kong restaurant owner. The story will be made in quest
of authentic flavors and romance. The cast include Hiroki Narimiya
from Japan and Annie Liu from Hong Kong. Location shooting is
being carried out in such places as Hong Kong and Kagawa Prefecture
in Japan. The series is scheduled for airing in March 2009 in
Japan.
An animation featuring Domo-kun, NHK’s publicity mascot,
has been sold in 101 countries and regions worldwide and is
already being aired in such places as Italy, Spain, Singapore
and Malaysia. This is more areas than were reached by NHK’s
hit drama serial, Oshin, which was shown in 64 countries.
In Japan, the Domo-kun’s TV series will be shown in a
special program, Shibuya de Domo (Domo in Shibuya),
at 11:30 a.m. on May 3 on General TV.
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On the My Road interview with footballer Yuji
Nakazawa in May
(Comment by Masami Goto)
My Road on Educational TV on Saturdays at 11:00 p.m.
is an interview series that casts its monthly spotlight on front-runners
in various fields of activity who are particularly popular with
young Japanese. In April we interviewed Masami Hisamoto, a female
entertainer, who related some unknown aspects of her life and
career during the show. The interviewee for May is a professional
soccer player, Yuji Nakazawa. Currently one of Japan’s
top defenders, he started out in the J. League as a trainee
with no pay. He will elaborate on his football career, explaining
that he grew tougher through adversity.
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On Hobby Lecture: Male Cool for the Over Fifties
(Comment by Masami Goto)
Hobby Lecture on Educational TV at 11:30 a.m. from
Mondays through Thursdays has been mainly intended for female
viewers who are interested in making things at home. For the
first time in the program’s history, it has been taking
up men’s fashion on a monthly basis since April. This
series is designed to share information with male viewers in
their fifties and older, with the idea that they can watch with
their partners and learn how to perk up their appearance. A
wide range of fashion-oriented subjects will be covered from
cosmetics to clothing and etiquette. The theme for April was
proper skin care. Forthcoming series include casual fashion
and countermeasures against metabolic syndrome. The presenters
are actor Toru Watanabe and NHK announcer Shiho Yamamoto.
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On Africa’s Present and Future, the
BS-1 theme for May
(Comment by Hidemi Hyuga)
The fourth TICAD (Tokyo International Conference on African
Development) will be held in Yokohama from May 28 through May
30. Coinciding with this event, BS-1 will feature special programming
on Africa in May, consisting of 19 documentary features and
related programs for a total of some 25 hours, that show the
current situation in Africa and draw attention to the urgent
issues it faces. On a BS debate special, How to Respond
to Calls from Africa, Bono of U2 and Sadako Ogata, the
former UN High Commissioner for Refugees, will exchange opinions
on the ideal ways to support Africa. The debate will be aired
on June 1 at 7:10 p.m. and 8:10 p.m.
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On a special eco-project, Save the Future
(Comment by Hidemi Hyuga)
June is designated as a month for considering the global environment.
General TV will devote about 20 hours from 10:00 p.m. on June
6 to 11:00 p.m. on June 8 to environmental issues viewed from
diverse angles. On June 6, a drama, The Island is Mine and
the Coral, Hers, features a romance on the coral reefs
of Ishigaki in Okinawa. There will be a two-day live relay between
Kyoto and Tokyo under the title, CO2 Journey, on June
7 and 8. Some regular programs will also incorporate environmental
themes. An actress, Norika Fujiwara, and an NHK announcer, Kazuya
Matsumoto, will present the special Save the Future
project. Viewers will have a chance to participate in it by
sending in illustrations or drawings of the things they want
to protect and preserve for the future. Special eco-bags will
be made bearing illustrations by Norika Fujiwara and others,
and distributed to visitors to the event and those who have
cooperated with the broadcast.
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From the Q & A session
Q: On the view of the BPO (Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement
Organization) that the TV coverage of the killing of a mother
and her infant daughter in Hikari City in 1999 was over-emotional
on all TV stations.
A: (Comment by Hidemi Hyuga)
My understanding is that the BPO’s view was a general
one not directed at particular TV programs. I am convinced that
NHK covered the incident objectively.
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