In a sign of just how desperate Japan’s public broadcaster has become, NHK has begun mining the lists of those who seek to attend live October screenings of two popular children’s programs to learn the whereabouts of those not paying mandatory licensing fees, according to a report in The Asahi Shimbun.
The fees, which are required of all households owning at least one television, make up 96.4 percent of NHK’s total revenues. However, in the last year a growing number of Japanese has refused to pay in protest over a string of embezzlement scandals and allegations that NHK bowed to political pressure to censor a controversial documentary.
Viewers who seek to attend the screenings of the shows are chosen by lottery. NHK says it will use the contact information they provide to locate those who are not paying their licensing fees. However, it will not prevent those in violation from attending the screenings.
As of the end of July, the number of households refusing to pay licensing fees had risen to 1.17 million.
Last week, NHK revealed that as much as 30 percent of those who owe viewer licensing fees (including those who refuse to pay, those who have deferred payment, and those who haven’t even signed up to pay) are delinquent in their payments. NHK estimates that it could see a loss of around 50 billion yen ($441 million) in the fiscal year ending March 2006.
Also last week, NHK approved a special plan to restore its finances and improve its credibility, which included taking legal action against those who didn’t pay the user fees as well as conducting layoffs amounting to 10 percent of its workforce. (See JMR’s report, “NHK’s Revival Plan Lays Off 10 Percent of Workforce.”)