Where Will “Broadcasting to Come” Be Headed? [Vol.10]

With challenges in the digital space increasing, one can argue that broadcaster, which have been providing accurate information and diverse types of content under the Broadcasting Act, should play more and more significant roles. Recognizing this, “Study Group on the Ideal Broadcasting System in the Digital Age”—a committee of experts organized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication (MIC)—has advanced the discussion. Particularly, NHK is expected to play the leading role, and “Working Group on Public Broadcasting” was established in the Autumn of 2022 for discussing the ideal status of NHK and its source of revenue and institution that support the public service broadcaster of Japan. The discussion has been divided into four areas: (1) the role of public service broadcaster in the internet age, (2) the range of NHK’s remit, focusing on internet-based operations, (3) the rule of competition with private entities (commercial broadcasters and newspapers), and (4) the source of revenue and receiving fee system. Subsequently, in response to the explanation by NHK as the party concerned and the statements made by the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association and Nihon Shinbun Kyokai (NSK, The Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association) that expressed concerns over the expansion of NHK’s internet-based operations, the discussion is deepened and planned to be put together in the summer of 2023. This paper is a re-publication of four blogs on the policy deliberations concerning NHK from March through June 2023. For each blog, the author organized the ongoing development and identified challenges. While these blogs were written based on the discussion of “Working Group on Public Broadcasting,” this paper also touches upon governance-related issues of NHK that arose during this period so that the progress of the discussion can be confirmed in the context of the current situation surrounding NHK as much as possible.