With Declining License Fees... Japan Says "NHK Online Viewers Must Also Pay"

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Plans to Charge NHK Online Subscribers as Well
Opposition Continues Over Fairness Concerns

The Japanese government has announced plans to require fees from people who watch content from the country's public broadcaster NHK online via applications (apps) without using a TV, sparking controversy.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) on the 30th, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications summarized this proposal at an expert meeting held the previous day to discuss NHK's online business. The core of this proposal is to define the work of distributing online content as NHK's "essential work" and to require fees from viewers who consume NHK content online without a TV receiver.

Japan NHK News Homepage.

Takeaki Matsumoto, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, said, "It is NHK's role to reliably transmit programs online as well, and institutionalizing this obligation is necessary." Based on this discussion, the ministry is expected to submit a revision bill to the Broadcasting Act at next year's regular Diet session.

Currently, NHK's work is divided into essential work, discretionary work, and non-purpose work. Among these, essential work refers to domestic or international TV and radio broadcasting. Online work is categorized as discretionary work that supplements NHK's TV or radio broadcasting under the Broadcasting Act. The budget cap for such digital work from NHK's reception fees is about 20 billion yen (approximately 18.1 billion KRW) annually, which is not a large proportion considering NHK's expected reception fee revenue of 624 billion yen this year.

Article 20 of Japan's Broadcasting Act mandates NHK to broadcast uniformly nationwide via TV or radio. The ministry argues that online distribution should also be designated as essential work instead of discretionary work, ensuring equal broadcasting to everyone. Instead, the fee will be charged under certain conditions, such as when viewers download the NHK app, enter an ID and password, and agree to use it for a certain period when watching online. They believe it is appropriate to collect funds from those who watch NHK online without a TV receiver.

The ministry's move is seen as a measure to secure funding amid declining reception fees. NHK's reception fee revenue peaked at 712.2 billion yen in 2018 and has been declining since. Furthermore, the Suga Yoshihide administration implemented a reduction in NHK reception fees, causing revenue to decrease further, with this year's revenue expected to be 624 billion yen. Nikkei predicted, "Reception fee revenue is expected to continue declining."

However, within Japan, professors, experts, and other media outlets have voiced criticism in unison. The Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association's Media Development Committee and the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association criticized, saying, "If online content is recognized as essential work, NHK will be able to arbitrarily broadcast content that was previously not aired for various reasons." They also added, "Information that must be widely provided during disasters, emergencies, or major incidents should be available even to those who have not paid."

Professor Hiroyoshi Sunagawa of Rikkyo University also pointed out, "From a content perspective, there is no merit even for viewers who have signed TV reception contracts," and "It is difficult to identify online viewers, and it is questionable whether there are people who will pay."

Nikkei also criticized the proposal as "a hasty conclusion that postpones considerations of fairness with reception fees from those who own NHK receivers and the impact on digital business sectors of other media companies."

The decline in public broadcaster reception fee revenue is not unique to Japan. In South Korea, an amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Broadcasting Act, which separates the collection of KBS reception fees from electricity bills, was passed last month and immediately implemented, leading to expected decreases in reception fees. In the UK, the reception fee for BBC broadcasting will be abolished from 2028, prompting evaluations that new business models such as paid subscriptions or partial privatization need to be devised.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.