The Supreme Court's ruling Wednesday legally requiring television owners to pay for a subscription to NHK is raising new questions about the role and relevance of the public broadcaster, at a time when young people are increasingly watching shows on the internet rather than on television sets.
In the first decision of its kind, the top court ruled in favor of NHK in a lawsuit against a Tokyo man who refused to respond to a request to sign a contract in September 2011.
The ruling said that contracts should be considered binding following the lawsuit by NHK and the verdict in this case ordering the TV owner to enter a contract.