November 11, 2023
Good Morning Japan
That is no longer the case. You can watch Good Morning Japan, News at Noon, and News 7 on the NHK World Premium website. Also available are Today's Close-Up and A Small Journey.
dLibrary Japan has announced plans to include NHK news when it relaunches its subscription streaming service. Removing the geo-blocking may be a first step to including these programs in the new lineup.
Along with the commercial news network feeds on YouTube, you can listen to NHK Radio News online.
Related links
NHK World (Japanese)
NHK World (English)
News from Japan
Weather News
Labels: dlibjapan, good morning japan, japanese, japanese tv, nhk, nhk world, streaming, tv japan
July 08, 2023
dLibrary Japan (update)
So I resubscribed to dLibrary Japan. dLibrary Japan primarily targets Japanese speakers (and learners) with something-for-everybody prime-time material.dLibrary Japan is owned and operated by NHK Cosmomedia, which also runs NHK World (available OTA and streaming) and TV Japan (cable and DirecTV).
Because NHK Cosmomedia doesn't want dLibrary Japan competing directly with the pricier TV Japan, its premium Japanese-language cable channel, dLibrary Japan doesn't maintain a permanent backlist or carry live programming.
As a result, the catalog is a mile wide and an inch deep, with licensing periods limited to one year on average (longer for a few extended series). This no doubt saves a lot of money, but it also means you have to watch it or lose it.
On the plus side, dLibrary Japan rotates new content through the service at a brisk clip, so it's not hard to find something good on. You really have to pay attention to the "Coming Soon" category! One benefit of the low demand for live-action J-drama in North America is that dLibrary Japan's only (legal) competition is TV Japan (itself) and Viki.
Not all of the content on dLibrary Japan is exclusive to the site, such as Don't Call it Mystery also on Viki, MIU404 also on Netflix, and Summer Days with Coo also on Tubi. Just most of it.
I'd like to see dLibrary Japan become the VOD service for TV Japan. But as mentioned above, what with all the cable cutting going on, NHK Cosmomedia has to worry about cannibalizing its TV Japan subscriber base. Despite its lock on the overseas hospitality industry, subscriber numbers have got to be hurting.
Right now, only Partners (season 21), Crime Scene Talks (season 7), and episodes from the business and economics interview series Ryu's Talking Live and Dawn of GAIA are on both (after the initial run on TV Japan).
The latest Taiga drama is Ryomaden from 2010. There are no Asadora in the catalog. Again, internal competition from TV Japan and NHK World are likely the deciding factors.
On the other hand, dLibrary Japan is streaming a growing number of shows like Logically Impossible in close to real time. Perhaps the service will ultimately end up with all the programming that isn't licensed to TV Japan. That'd work for me!
Right now, live domestic news programs (such as Good Morning Japan) and NHK's flagship Taiga and Asadora dramas are the only bottom-line advantages that TV Japan provides.
Already, several of NHK's travel and infotainment shows run for free on NHK World (often dubbed). dLibrary Japan simply links directly to NHK World. I can imagine all three getting fused into a tiered streaming service in the near future.
Unlike NHK World, which perhaps tries too hard to make its content as accessible as possible. Accessibility sounds like a good thing, but at some point, all of this smoothing out starts to erase what makes a product of Japanese culture uniquely Japanese. Right now, perhaps the anime streaming services do the best job splitting the difference.
You should still subscribe to dLibrary Japan for a month (or two or three) to watch the subtitled Ryomaden, NHK's year-long (48 episodes) biopic about Ryoma Sakamoto, one of the Founding Fathers of modern Japan.
The other draws for me this time around are the latest seasons of Solitary Gourmet and Partners and an eclectic collection of police procedurals (a genre that Japanese scripted dramas excel at), including a return to crime fighting in Kyoto in CSI: Crime Scene Talks.
The 2011 live-action Bunny Drop movie does a good job adapting the first half of the anime and leaves things at that (alas, this movie is not subtitled).
The Roku app is functional. The video plays when you hit play. Otherwise, it's like a half-broken VCR, where the buttons don't reliably do what they're supposed to. Closed captions don't work. They do in the browser app, which doesn't appear to suffer from these issues.
Labels: dlibjapan, good morning japan, japanese, japanese tv, nhk cosmomedia, nhk world, streaming, television, tv japan
May 09, 2019
TV Japan and NHK World
Much of the programming on NHK World and TV Japan is repurposed from NHK's two terrestrial channels, NHK G ("general") and NHK ETV ("educational"), and its satellite network. Along with original content created specifically for NHK World and TV Japan by the Japan International Broadcasting Company (JIB).JIB "produces English-language programs about Japan and Asia for an international audience." It is majority-owned by NHK with outside investors such as Microsoft and Mizuho Bank. The most prominent entry in the lineup is NHK Newsline, broadcast on NHK World at the top of every hour and delivered by English-speaking anchors.
Aside from the news, NHK World's programming revolves around a six-hour block that repeats four times a day, with most episodes rerunning several times a week. The net result is only a few hours of original programming every day, in addition to the sumo coverage and documentary specials.One of NHK World's big draws is its sumo tournament coverage, provided on a time-delayed basis during the week and live on the weekends. The same English-language commentary is available on TV Japan using the SAP option.
NHK World's sister network is TV Japan, branded "NHK World Premium" outside North America. It is a subscription Japanese-language service that draws more heavily from NHK G and the NHK satellite network. The news is directly sourced from domestic Japanese broadcasts. There are very few reruns and repeats in the schedule.Along with NHK's flagship Taiga and Asadora dramas, TV Japan carries NHK's scripted dramas, documentaries, and edutainment shows, along with a curated selection of popular shows from Japan's commercial networks. The higher-brow stuff, mind you, but not necessarily that high brow. Shows that regularly top the ratings.
NHK takes that "general" seriously and works hard to appeal to an audience larger than, for example, PBS. In Japan, it's not unusual for NHK to win its time slot.
In North America, TV Japan tries to maintain a consistent programming grid that approximates the prime time lineup in Japan. So, for example, the Sunday Taiga drama is broadcast at 8:00 PM in Japan and 8:00 PM EST in the United States (6:00 PM MST).
News is mostly the live NHK feed, though it may be time-shifted an hour or two depending on Daylight Saving Time and other factors. That means Good Morning Japan (early edition) comes on at 3:00 PM MDT and at 5:00 PM MDT (late edition).
Other than some subtitled movies and anime, TV Japan localizes very little of its content. This allows TV Japan to carry a wide slate of domestic programming soon after being broadcast in Japan and sometimes live. If you're a Japanese beginner, you'll be more comfortable with NHK World.
NHK World is a free public service. In Northern Utah, NHK World is broadcast over-the-air on UEN 9.4. Thirty-minute NHK World segments are carried on the PBS subchannels as well. NHK World is available on Roku and other streaming devices.
TV Japan has significantly expanded its distribution network in the past year. It is available on DirecTV (satellite) and Xfinity (cable), and via local cable and IPTV providers. But it has also become less affordable as a standalone option.TV Japan isn't available on Sling International, DirecTV Now, or Xfinity Instant TV. I can only hope that TV Japan is holding back the streaming rights because it intends to launch a live streaming service like HBO Now. The pieces are already in place.
NHK Cosmomedia has NHK World up and running as a live streaming service, with apps for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and Android. The only new feature TV Japan would need is a program guide. All the functionality is there. Video-on-demand services like dLibrary Japan actually require a more complex interface.dLibrary Japan is a video-on-demand service for content that NHK Cosmomedia originally licensed for TV Japan. At $9.99/month, it's pricier than anime services like Crunchyroll, but more affordable than TV Japan.
NHK's 2018–2019 Corporate Profile (PDF in English) provides a colorfully illustrated overview of the organization.
Related sites
dLibrary Japan
jibTV
NHK World
TV Japan
Labels: business, directv, good morning japan, japanese tv, nhk, nhk cosmomedia, nhk world, roku, streaming, television, tv japan
October 15, 2012
Little big gulp
NHK recently did a bit on Good Morning Japan about Bloomberg's campaign to limit the size of soft drinks. They started by comparing the small/
A "small" size in the U.S. is the same as a "large" size in Japan. On a per-capita basis, Americans consume three times as much sugar per year as the average Japanese.
While the libertarian in me is appalled at Bloomberg's inexhaustible enthusiasm for nanny state government interference, at least he's focused on the right target this time. The problem with the American diet isn't fat, but sugar.
An entertaining examination of the many reasons why can be found in Fat Head, Tom Naughton's witty and self-deprecating response to Super Size Me.
Chowing down nothing but on fatty fast food for a month while strictly limiting carbohydrate consumption, Naughton lost weight, his total cholesterol went down, and his HDL went up.
These results impressed him (and his skeptical family physician) so much that the next month he consumed no carbohydrates (i.e., the full Adkins) and got the same results.
As Tom Naughton points out (and Gary Taubes explores at great length), the modern "food pyramid," emphasizing the consumption of grains and processed carbohydrates, was largely the product of a farm state senator, George McGovern.
That's the problem with the nanny state. It can be massively wrong, steer the ship of state into an iceberg, and not only never admit it but double down on the proposition. It's the government. It makes the rules. The gambler owns the casino.
Or as King Henry sums up the Bloombergean philosophy of benevolent dictatorship:
A "small" size in the U.S. is the same as a "large" size in Japan. On a per-capita basis, Americans consume three times as much sugar per year as the average Japanese.
While the libertarian in me is appalled at Bloomberg's inexhaustible enthusiasm for nanny state government interference, at least he's focused on the right target this time. The problem with the American diet isn't fat, but sugar.
An entertaining examination of the many reasons why can be found in Fat Head, Tom Naughton's witty and self-deprecating response to Super Size Me.
Chowing down nothing but on fatty fast food for a month while strictly limiting carbohydrate consumption, Naughton lost weight, his total cholesterol went down, and his HDL went up.
These results impressed him (and his skeptical family physician) so much that the next month he consumed no carbohydrates (i.e., the full Adkins) and got the same results.
As Tom Naughton points out (and Gary Taubes explores at great length), the modern "food pyramid," emphasizing the consumption of grains and processed carbohydrates, was largely the product of a farm state senator, George McGovern.
That's the problem with the nanny state. It can be massively wrong, steer the ship of state into an iceberg, and not only never admit it but double down on the proposition. It's the government. It makes the rules. The gambler owns the casino.
Or as King Henry sums up the Bloombergean philosophy of benevolent dictatorship:
You and I cannot be confined within the weak list of a country's fashion [or constitution]: we are the makers of manners.
Labels: food, good morning japan, medicine, movie reviews, politics
March 18, 2011
Sendai earthquake (3)
With the aftershocks receding and Fukushima stuck in a FUBAR remake of Groundhog Day, NHK ran out of new news and has been running time-filling weather graphics and soothing background music all day (all night in Japan), with semi-regular programming scheduled to resume at three this afternoon with Good Morning Japan (6:00 AM in Japan).
So, let's discuss the semi-artistic angle.
The typical anime natural disaster serves to realign the social order in more "interesting"—libertarian—ways, such as creating a society where everybody's armed like in the Wild West. It's rarely framed in the more Christian "end-times" sense, and people adapt to the new order while seeking out new business opportunities, like battling evil robots and exorcising demons.
It's eerie but purely coincidental that I'm translating a fantasy series right now that begins with the destruction of Shinjuku by the "Devil Quake."
Japan went through a huge social upheaval in the mid-19th century, and a physical and existential cataclysm in the mid-20th century, so it's nothing new. As in those times, these events may lead to a welcome political realignment, providing an incentive, for example, to couple Japan's structural debt problem and reconstruction efforts with overdue austerity measures.
And perhaps the stark realities of actual suffering will put a deserved end to a recent, rather loathsome, flirtation with the angsty, sociopathic anti-hero. As Hiroki Azuma writes in the New York Times,
I wouldn't be surprised to see a slew of dramas in coming years about the heroic nuclear plant worker struggling against all odds. The relatively minor 2008 Iwate-Miyagi earthquake has already produced a feel-good film about a bunch of brave puppies, valiant JSDF rescuers, and resourceful kids.
I think the most compelling future developments--the biggest opportunity for out-of-the-box thinking--will be tsunami hardening, how Japan prepares for the next "big one." The Patlabor series, for example, is premised on the building of a massive sea wall to protect Tokyo from rising oceans. This "can-do" fiction may yet turn into fact.
So, let's discuss the semi-artistic angle.
The typical anime natural disaster serves to realign the social order in more "interesting"—libertarian—ways, such as creating a society where everybody's armed like in the Wild West. It's rarely framed in the more Christian "end-times" sense, and people adapt to the new order while seeking out new business opportunities, like battling evil robots and exorcising demons.
It's eerie but purely coincidental that I'm translating a fantasy series right now that begins with the destruction of Shinjuku by the "Devil Quake."
Japan went through a huge social upheaval in the mid-19th century, and a physical and existential cataclysm in the mid-20th century, so it's nothing new. As in those times, these events may lead to a welcome political realignment, providing an incentive, for example, to couple Japan's structural debt problem and reconstruction efforts with overdue austerity measures.
And perhaps the stark realities of actual suffering will put a deserved end to a recent, rather loathsome, flirtation with the angsty, sociopathic anti-hero. As Hiroki Azuma writes in the New York Times,
While many will revert [after the crisis passes] to their indecisive selves, the experience of discovering our own public-minded, patriotic selves that had been paralyzed within a pernicious cynicism is not likely to fade away.
I wouldn't be surprised to see a slew of dramas in coming years about the heroic nuclear plant worker struggling against all odds. The relatively minor 2008 Iwate-Miyagi earthquake has already produced a feel-good film about a bunch of brave puppies, valiant JSDF rescuers, and resourceful kids.
I think the most compelling future developments--the biggest opportunity for out-of-the-box thinking--will be tsunami hardening, how Japan prepares for the next "big one." The Patlabor series, for example, is premised on the building of a massive sea wall to protect Tokyo from rising oceans. This "can-do" fiction may yet turn into fact.
Related posts
Sendai earthquake (1)
Sendai earthquake (2)
The world ends (and I feel fine)
Labels: anime, earthquake, geology, good morning japan, japan, politics, robots, tohoku earthquake
March 22, 2010
Baseball according to Drucker (1)
I love a good "Reese's moment" (You got peanut butter in my chocolate!). I had one the other day, watching a story on Good Morning Japan about how, in these uncertain times, businessmen were turning for inspiration to the classics. Such as Nietzsche (!).Or rather, books explaining Nietzsche. The professional explainer is a revered occupation in Japan. Like the grandpa in The Princess Bride, a good explainer sums up the important stuff, provides simple examples, and smooths over the big words and archaic syntax.
A comparison that springs to mind is the "Books That Changed the World" series (such as On The Wealth of Nations by P. J. O'Rourke). Except more popular. Professional explainers like cognitive neuroscientist Ken'ichiro Mogi sometimes seems as ubiquitous as Oprah.
Discussing other unique and not-boring books about business, they mentioned one with the title: 「もし高校野球の女子マネージャーがドラッカーの『マネジメント』を読んだら」 or "What if the Girl Manager of a High School Baseball Team read Drucker's Management?" written by Natsumi Iwasaki.
That strange juxtaposition got my attention. The next day, Today's Close Up (NHK's version of Nightline) was about Peter Drucker's influence on business culture in Japan. Like Edward Deming, Peter Drucker has found more honor in Japan than in his home country.
Featured was an interview with the author of the aforementioned book, Natsumi Iwasaki (岩崎夏海). He said that he'd gotten interested in the subject observing the difficulties players in MMOGs like Final Fantasy encountered organizing and managing teams.
"What if the girl manager of a high school baseball team read Peter Drucker's Management?" (ISBN 978-4478012031) is available from Amazon-Japan. They have a preview, so here's my translation of the prologue (I'll post the first chapter on Wednesday).
In Japan, the "managers" (assistant coaches who tend to non-coaching duties) of high school sports teams are usually girls. This excerpt from Kokoyakyu, a very good documentary about high school baseball in Japan, briefly features the team's girl managers.
What if the Girl Manager of a High School Baseball Team read Drucker's Management?
Prologue
Minami Kawashima became the manager of the school baseball team her junior year of high school. It was the middle of July, just before summer vacation.
It happened quite out of the blue. Until practically the moment before, she'd been just another ordinary student, uninterested in any after-school activities, let alone baseball. Being the manager of a high school sports team was the furthest thing from her mind.
Her junior year in high school--and days before summer vacation--was about the most least opportune time of the year to arrive at such a decision. But an unforeseen set of circumstances led her to make the plunge.
Minami had only one goal in becoming manager. And that was taking the team to the Koushien National High School Baseball Championships. This wasn't a vague or fanciful dream. It wasn't a wish. It was a concrete objective. It was her mission in life.
Minami didn't say, "I'd like to take the team to Koushien." She said, "I'm going to take the team to Koushien."
Which was all fine and dandy. But the truth was, she didn't have the foggiest idea how to turn this conviction into reality. As has been noted, she'd had zero contact with the baseball team before then, and wasn't quite sure what being the manager even involved.
But that didn't slow her down in the slightest. She naively assumed she'd figure it out along the way. Minami was the kind of girl who leapt before she looked.
That was certainly her state of mind when she became manager. Before thinking, "How does one take a baseball team to Koushien?" she'd already resolved, "I will take this baseball team to Koushien."
And having committed herself to that end, she did not pause to ponder. But turned directly to action.
Go to Chapter 1.
UPDATE: It's being made into an NHK anime series.
Related posts
Baseball according to Drucker (2)
Baseball according to Drucker (3)
Baseball according to Drucker (4)
Baseball according to Drucker (5)
Baseball according to Drucker (6)
Labels: baseball, books, business, good morning japan, japan, moshidora, pop culture, sports
April 23, 2009
Lead non-story of the year
NHK's 15-minute (that's with no commercials) noonday news wrapup breathlessly began with four solid minutes—a quarter of the broadcast—devoted to the shocking! news that Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, a member of the aging boy band SMAP, was arrested in Tokyo's Hinokicho Park at three in the morning, drunk as a skunk and buck naked.
Reportedly when being arrested, he said, "What’s wrong with being naked?" Give him credit for rhetorically improving on Mel Gibson's dumb drunk performance.
As "Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, a member of the aging boy band SMAP, was arrested in Tokyo's Hinokicho Park at three in the morning, drunk as a skunk and buck naked" sums up the entire substance of the story, the next 3 minutes, 45 seconds consisted of reporters somberly repeating the same thing in different locations, and his manager having "no comment."
Then the anchorperson droned off a list of the corporations that had abruptly canceled commercials featuring Kusanagi, including NHK, which was using him as a spokesman for Japan's DTV conversion drive. This may explain why the staid NHK suddenly started channeling the National Enquirer (while it wiped the egg off its face).
After that, they managed to squeeze in a little actual news for anybody other than SMAP fans and embarrassed bureaucrats. I applaud the anchorguy for managing to keep a straight face throughout.
The most disturbing thing about the whole farce was that, based solely on a drunk & disorderly (despite a negative drug test and the fact that only the cops saw him starkers), the police executed a search warrant on his home. Let's see NHK do a story about that. Elsewhere in the free world, some due process rights are created more equal than others.
And "serious" journalists wonder why people don't take the MSM press seriously.
UPDATE: On Friday, Good Morning Japan commendably spent only a minute on the story in the second half of the program. During a wrap party after shooting a commercial, Kusanagi downed at least 10 glasses of beer and shouchuu. He has no idea why he took his clothes off. Well, except for the obvious reason that he was totally sloshed.
Reportedly when being arrested, he said, "What’s wrong with being naked?" Give him credit for rhetorically improving on Mel Gibson's dumb drunk performance.
As "Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, a member of the aging boy band SMAP, was arrested in Tokyo's Hinokicho Park at three in the morning, drunk as a skunk and buck naked" sums up the entire substance of the story, the next 3 minutes, 45 seconds consisted of reporters somberly repeating the same thing in different locations, and his manager having "no comment."
Then the anchorperson droned off a list of the corporations that had abruptly canceled commercials featuring Kusanagi, including NHK, which was using him as a spokesman for Japan's DTV conversion drive. This may explain why the staid NHK suddenly started channeling the National Enquirer (while it wiped the egg off its face).
After that, they managed to squeeze in a little actual news for anybody other than SMAP fans and embarrassed bureaucrats. I applaud the anchorguy for managing to keep a straight face throughout.
The most disturbing thing about the whole farce was that, based solely on a drunk & disorderly (despite a negative drug test and the fact that only the cops saw him starkers), the police executed a search warrant on his home. Let's see NHK do a story about that. Elsewhere in the free world, some due process rights are created more equal than others.
And "serious" journalists wonder why people don't take the MSM press seriously.
UPDATE: On Friday, Good Morning Japan commendably spent only a minute on the story in the second half of the program. During a wrap party after shooting a commercial, Kusanagi downed at least 10 glasses of beer and shouchuu. He has no idea why he took his clothes off. Well, except for the obvious reason that he was totally sloshed.
Labels: good morning japan, japan, nhk, pop culture, television
February 07, 2007
Famous foreign face
What foreign face shows up the most on the news in Japan these days? I usually have NHK on the TV all afternoon, or at least for Good Morning Japan. It's one of the better morning news show (imagine if Good Morning America were produced by the PBS NewHours guys), though it comes on at 3:00 pm MST.
At least judging by the coverage on Good Morning Japan, the answer is (by a landslide) . . . Christopher Hill. He's Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, repping the U.S. at the "Six Party Talks" with North Korea. Seriously, if Christopher Hill stops to tie his shoelaces, it makes the news.
And you think we're concerned about North Korea. As Tip O'Neill famously said, "All politics is local." Same for news coverage. Especially when Pyongyang is only about as far from Tokyo as Washington, D.C. is from Chicago.
Of course, since these types of international negotiations typically move at the speed of a lethargic turtle, the requisite "Christopher Hill" sound bite has turned into "meaninglessly reassuring diplomatic answer to meaninglessly redundant foreign correspondent question of the day."
But he's always very pleasant about it. Calm, well-spoken, to the point (when there is one), and, well, diplomatic. As far as public faces go, the U.S. government couldn't ask for a better one.
At least judging by the coverage on Good Morning Japan, the answer is (by a landslide) . . . Christopher Hill. He's Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, repping the U.S. at the "Six Party Talks" with North Korea. Seriously, if Christopher Hill stops to tie his shoelaces, it makes the news.
And you think we're concerned about North Korea. As Tip O'Neill famously said, "All politics is local." Same for news coverage. Especially when Pyongyang is only about as far from Tokyo as Washington, D.C. is from Chicago.
Of course, since these types of international negotiations typically move at the speed of a lethargic turtle, the requisite "Christopher Hill" sound bite has turned into "meaninglessly reassuring diplomatic answer to meaninglessly redundant foreign correspondent question of the day."
But he's always very pleasant about it. Calm, well-spoken, to the point (when there is one), and, well, diplomatic. As far as public faces go, the U.S. government couldn't ask for a better one.
Labels: good morning japan, nhk, politics