The NHK man

Dear Lifelines: Recently my wife, who is Japanese, answered the door to an NHK rep. She was warned that not paying the monthly fee of 1,000 yen could wind her up in court. She paid.

I wasn't home at the time and was a little annoyed when I found out because our reception of NHK is not ideal. My question then is: Do we have to pay the monthly (tax) fee? Can we be taken to court? What are the consequences of refusing to pay? -- Not so eager to pay

Dear Not so eager to pay; When the NHK guy came around to our house, we asked him if we had to pay. He said yes. Then we asked him if we could be punished for not paying. He said no. Then we shut the door.