Television is one of the fastest ways to gain information about a country, and to learn a foreign language. Check out our article to learn about Japanese TV.

Television has become a household amenity in every country around the world. It is the fastest way to convey information and is one of the most practiced leisure activities. Television can have many uses outside of simple entertainment and can assist new residents in becoming acclimated to the country. Japanese TV is also useful and can improve your time spent living there. Each country has its own way of controlling their televised media and Japan is no different. We will look at the kinds of television you get there, as well as some helpful channels and programs to watch for study and living purposes.

NHK

Japanese TV has one main provider that is called NHK. Nippon Hoso Kyokai is the national broadcasting station for all of Japan. They have multiple channels under their name, and they control all of the media that is shown on Japanese basic cable TV. If you decide to forego satellite tv this will be your only option. There are a set amount of programs that are shown on the channels and some of them are meant for specific kinds of content. You can choose from Fuji TV, NHK, NHK Sports, Japan One, Tokyo TV, and more. Each one will contain its broadcasting programs and sports to be shown. You will often see that there are national sports that will receive airtime on more than one channel, and that NHK has more English friendly options. You can access their website for more programming options and a wide array of English supported content. They have programs made for learners of Japanese as well, so you may get more help from their services than you would initially think.

One thing that most people who go to Japan don’t know is that you will be visited by an NHK representative if you have a TV set that can broadcast NHK channels. They will show up at your doorstep every other week and ask if you have a television and that you pay for the service. Technically, you are supposed to pay a small fee every month for the ability to watch Japanese TV, but you will receive no penalties for not paying for the service. NHK cannot force you to pay for the use of public television, but they will continually send workers there to try and get you to sign up for it. You can simply tell them that you do not want to pay, that you don’t have a TV, or if you cannot speak Japanese, you can use the inability to understand the language. They have begun to wise up to the non-Japanese speaking resident by having their material in English, and by hiring workers who can use enough English to navigate the conversation. Be polite and let them know that you have no interest in paying and they will eventually leave your house for the time being. They will eventually return but you can stick to the same strategy as you did the previous time and you will get the same result.

Satellite

Satellite TV is the next best option if you want more variety and more foreign channels to watch. Since Japanese TV can seem restrictive in choice of content you can expand to more channels by paying for satellite TV. You will have four main providers to choose from and they will offer the same channels for different price packages. The price models are close to their western counterparts so you can use your own countries pricing system to get a good idea of how much they will charge you. Satellite is a great option for most people, especially for those who live in the countryside and want more options while watching TV.

Popular Programming

Like other countries, Japan has popular programs that it has created. These are some of the most popular shows you should watch when looking at Japanese TV.

“Why Did You Come to Japan?”

The show is hosted by the comedy group Bananaman and is popular throughout Japan. It airs every Monday on TV Tokyo and the premise is exactly what the name alludes to. The show goes to various airports in Japan and asks foreigners why they came to Japan. Sometimes they follow the people they interviewed if they have an interesting story.

“Downtown Now”

This is a popular variety talk series in which the popular Downtown comedy group meets celebrities and popular people in izakayas and bars. They have interesting and funny conversations with many people from Japan, and others who have moved abroad but returned to the country. It is a lot of fun to see them interact with the guests.

“Sekai no Hate Made Itte!’

This is a popular series on Nippon TV that follows comedians and celebrities as they travel around the world. The comedians bring a lot of fun to learning other countries cultures while showing how Japanese tourists see the world for the first time.

Study Study Study

There is just as much programming for learners of Japanese and learners of English. Many programs are focused on language learning for beginners and advanced practitioners alike. Each channel has some kind of programming block during the week that can help people gain different levels of mastery of Japanese and English language. It is also a good idea to use regular programming to practice your listening skills, and the regular TV programs will give you many chances to study basic conversation. It is a fast and easy way to improve your linguistic skills.

Japanese TV can be beneficial for anyone that is living or visiting the country. It has lots of great programming for all levels of learners and can help you pass time on a slow day.  Japanese TV will show you a variety of things about Japan that you may not have known before watching it, so please give their programming a try.