NHK - History

History

Until the 1940s, NHK was a national radio broadcasting monopoly.

On 22 March 1925, one and a half years after the Great Kantō earthquake, Radio Japan produced the first radio broadcast in the country, transmitting from Atago Hill just north of the Tokugawa Tombs in Shiba Park. The first programme included Beethoven, classical Japanese music, and a play by Ōyō. In the same year, there were also broadcasts from Ōsaka and Nagoya.

NHK was founded in 1926, modelled on the BBC of the United Kingdom. NHK evolved from the amalgamation of the three regional broadcasting corporations. This merger and reorganisation was carried out under the auspices of the pre-war Ministry of Communications.

NHK’s second radio network began in 1931, and the third radio network (FM) began in 1938. In 1935 NHK began a shortwave radio service for listeners overseas known as ‘‘Radio Japan’’ until the 1940s.

In November 1941, the Imperial Japanese Army nationalised all public news agencies and coordinated their efforts via the Information Liaison Confidential Committee. All published and broadcast news reports became official announcements of the Imperial Army General Headquarters in Tokyo for the duration of World War II. The famous Tokyo Rose wartime programs were broadcasts by NHK.

In 1950, three post-war radio rules were enacted including the Broadcast Law (“Hōsō Hō”), replacing the pre-war Radio Telegraph Law. Under this law, NHK started afresh as a special corporation to be supported by its viewers.

NHK started General TV in 1950 and its Educational TV in 1959. In 1960, it began broadcasting in colour.

In the 1980s, NHK BS TV broadcasts started.

In 1995, NHK commences international TV broadcasting services for North America and Europe.

In 1998, NHK launched its international arm, ‘‘NHK World TV’’.

In 2000, NHK started satellite digital TV broadcasts, while in 2003, terrestrial digital TV broadcasts came for three megacity areas. These expanded to cover almost all Japan in July 2011. NHK BS Hi-Vision analogue TV was discontinued in September 2007, and a year later NHK World TV was available Free-To-Air over the Astra 19.2°E (Astra 1L) in Europe.

A few months later on 28 November 2008, NHK World TV began Test transmissions on the Eurobird series of satellites, Free to Air, at 28.5 Degrees East. The transmissions, on 11.680 GHz (Vertical polarity, FEC 2/3, S/R 27.5MBaud), currently appear only by adding the channel manually on Sky Digital equipment, and the channel is currently recognised by a code number, “51108”. It is not currently known how long this service will be available for, or what the plans for NHK World presently are. It appears in the Freesat EPG on channel 209.