To counter the growth of TV programs from South Korea and China, the government and broadcasters are coming together to promote exports of Japanese TV programs mainly to Asia.

The Broadcast Program Export Association of Japan, launched last month, will work to secure airtime for Japanese programs in the ASEAN region and translate them into local languages, Hajime Shigemura, a director of the association, said at a press conference Friday in Tokyo.

By boosting exports of Japanese TV programs, the association aims to promote sales of Japanese products, attract more tourists and help spread Japan's language and culture, it says.

"Broadcasting is an effective and influential medium that directly delivers information to households," said association President Motoyuki Oka, who also advises Sumitomo Corp.

The communications ministry aims to nearly triple the value of Japanese TV program exports to over ¥16.5 billion a year — the same value as South Korea's exports — by 2018 from ¥6 billion now.

Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Yoshitaka Shindo told the same press conference that although the Japanese TV industry is the world's second-largest, its export ratio is low at around 5 percent.

In fact, Japanese programming in Asia has been on the decline, even as shows from China and South Korea proliferate with government support.

"Japan's content industry has strategic strength and a competitive edge," Shindo said.

The association was formed by 15 groups and firms including public broadcaster NHK, commercial broadcasters and advertising agency Dentsu Inc.