Business Dec 3, 2021
Japan to urge broadcasters to regularly report on foreign ownership
The Japanese communications ministry decided Friday to oblige broadcasters to regularly report on investments made by foreign shareholders.
Business / Corporate May 25, 2021
70% of broadcasters in Japan have no female executives, survey finds
Of the total of 1,797 executives at 127 commercial broadcasters, only 2.2%, or 40, were female, the results showed.
National / Crime & Legal Dec 16, 2020
Man may face charges for cyberbullying of late ‘Terrace House’ star Hana Kimura
The man in his 20s from Osaka Prefecture is suspected by Tokyo Metropolitan Police of having defamed Kimura on Twitter several times, posting abusive comments asking why she was still alive.
National Jul 16, 2020
Mother of 'Terrace House' star Hana Kimura files ethics complaint over death
The mother of Hana Kimura, a cast member of Fuji Television's popular reality show "Terrace House," filed a complaint with a broadcast ethics watchdog Wednesday alleging a human rights violation over her daughter's death in May following cyberbullying. "Terrace House" came under heavy criticism and ...
National Feb 2, 2020
Five Japan TV networks to offer simultaneous online streaming in bid to entice younger viewers
The firms are aiming to attract a wider viewership, though their streaming will be limited to times of day with the highest demand.
National Jul 30, 2019
Tokyo's five major private TV networks to trial simultaneous online streaming next year
Private networks are apparently waking up to the reality that their online presence will fade if they do not keep up with the trend of streaming on smartphones.
TV | Wide Angle Jul 5, 2018
The small screen needs the small mercies of 'Terrace House'
by Jennifer Bernstein
Television has long been my connection to home. White Walkers ushering in an apocalyptic winter, Cold War sleeper agents going rogue, robots running amok in an Old West theme park — all of these have but a passing resemblance to my former life in ...
TV Feb 8, 2018
'Ainori' teaches lessons in love ... and soft power
by Patrick St. Michel
Netflix Japan's reboot of the reality show "Ainori" features plenty of drama — most of it interpersonal, but some geopolitical. The streaming-era version of the show, a joint effort between Fuji TV and Netflix, debuted last fall. Like the original incarnation that ran from 1999 ...
National / Media | MEDIA MIX Feb 3, 2018
NHK tries to clear up LGBT misconceptions
by Philip Brasor
Last month, publisher Iwanami Shoten was criticized for its definition of “LGBT” in the newest edition of Kojien, which is considered to be the most authoritative dictionary of the Japanese language. The complaint was specifically about the meaning of the acronym’s “T” portion, which ...
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Jan 6, 2018
2018: Year of the 800-pound Gorilla
by Mark Schreiber
Four topics dominated Japan's non-Twitter news cycle for the last quarter of 2017. Two involved sports: the signing of 23-year-old baseball superstar Shohei Otani to play for the Los Angeles Angels of the American League; and the resignation of sumo grand champion Harumafuji after ...
National / Media | MEDIA MIX Dec 23, 2017
Fuji TV's home-improvement wrecking ball
by Philip Brasor
A popular sub-genre of reality TV is the home-improvement show, and as with many things having to do with television, Japan did it first. On TV Asahi's "The Before and After," which launched as a weekly series in 2002, superannuated, usually cramped properties are magically ...
National / Media | MEDIA MIX Nov 11, 2017
Fuji TV's wishful thinking is food for thought
by Philip Brasor
Since 1987, Fuji TV has owned Monday night, specifically the 9 to 10 p.m. time slot, when it broadcasts fluffy romantic drama series starring the season's hottest actress and often a prominent member of a boy band. This phenomenon has its own name — getsu-ku ...