Two weeks ago, NHK announced that its popular half-hour series, "Shukan Kodomo no News" ("Weekly News for Children"), will be ending on Dec. 19. According to an article in the Sankei Shimbun, an executive at the public broadcaster explained the cancellation by saying that the show, which was launched in 1994 and endeavors to explain the week's most topical news stories in a way that elementary school children can understand, was no longer watched by kids. Over the years, the audience for the show has "overwhelmingly" become adults; seniors, in fact.
This demographic shift is partly due to scheduling. For years, "Kodomo no News" was broadcast on Saturday evenings, but some time ago it was switched to Sunday mornings, where it has had to compete with the superhero adventure series "Kamen Rider." Kids who may have been watching the show when it was on Saturday apparently didn't stay with it after the move, leaving only old folks, who presumably have a hard time understanding NHK's standard news programs.
But it isn't just the elderly who require a simpler approach to the news. Announcer Akira Ikegami, who was the original host of "Kodomo no News" and stayed with it for 10 years, is currently one of the most in-demand personalities on television. In the third week of November, two programs he hosted were in the Top 10 in terms of ratings: a two-hour Fuji TV special entitled "Oshiete Mr. News: Ikegami Akira no so nan'da Nippon" ("Explain to Me, Mr. News: Akira Ikegami's 'So That's It' Japan"), and the regular Friday night installment of his TV Asahi series "So datta no ka! Ikegami Akira no Manaberu News" ("Now I Understand! Akira Ikegami's Learning News"). If the two titles sound similar, that's because all the shows Ikegami does — and he's hosted programs for all the commercial networks — follow the exact same pattern as "Kodomo no News." Current news stories are explained in language that even a celebrity can understand.