{"id":6350,"date":"2017-08-17T14:33:31","date_gmt":"2017-08-17T20:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nikkeiview.com\/blog\/?p=6350"},"modified":"2017-08-17T14:33:31","modified_gmt":"2017-08-17T20:33:31","slug":"nhk-is-your-direct-line-to-japanese-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nikkeiview.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/nhk-is-your-direct-line-to-japanese-news\/","title":{"rendered":"NHK is your direct line to Japanese news"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The recent 72nd anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima went by quietly on American news (in part because there\u2019s just so much news to cover exploding out of our own White House). So on Aug. 6 I turned to the one place I knew would give the commemoration of the bombing its due coverage: NHK World<\/a>, Japan\u2019s English-language public television network.<\/p>\n

NHK World didn\u2019t disappoint. The network aired live the annual solemn ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park that included dignitaries including Kazumi Matsui, the Mayor of Hiroshima, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The speeches were translated into English, and the dolorous seriousness of looking back at the horror of atomic war and looking with hope to a future without war were that much more powerful to be able to watch it live.<\/p>\n

Sure, there are other ways to keep up with news from Japan. I have a digital subscription to JapanTimes.com , the website of the respected English-language newspaper. An aggregator called JapanToday.com compiles news from various sites and is a helpful stop to catch up on the headlines at a glance. The Asahi Shimbun\u2019s English-language website (asahi.com\/ajw) is also good.<\/p>\n

But NHK has been the<\/em> bridge to Japan for a lot of people in the US. <\/p>\n

My mom watches the Japanese language programming via satellite exclusively, which means she never even tunes in another channel, even though she pays for a full service and the extra to get NHK. If she home, the TV is on, blasting do-rah-ma (dramas, or soap operas), wacky game shows, talk show, music and comedy variety shows, sumo tournaments and even children\u2019s programming. The network also broadcasts news, of course, with its low-key and understated anchors (the game show hosts, on the other hand seem as if they\u2019ve just downed a gallon of cold-brew coffee before the cameras turned on).<\/p>\n

My mom loves the samurai doramas and pastoral nature shows, but gets puzzled watching the news. I\u2019ve visited her when the news is on and she has no idea what many contemporary words that Japanese use mean. Having come to America in the mid-sixties, she never learned more modern terms like \u201cpasocon\u201d (personal computers) or \u201cpoppu musicu\u201d (pop music). Even though I have limited Nihongo ability, I can pick out the \u201ckatakana words,\u201d as she calls them, and end up telling her what the report is about. Katakana is the alphabet that\u2019s used for foreign words.<\/p>\n

For years whenever I traveled to other cities, I\u2019d check the hotel television menu to see if they carried NHK World, the English version of the network my mom watches.
\n
\nI like the headline news presented every half-hour, although I admittedly get a bit tired after several hours of seeing the same news. But I really love the lineup of feature programming, which tends to focus on cultural and travel and tourism topics.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, NHK World finally came to Denver\u2019s cable carrier, Comcast (on channel 262 for Denver-area readers). It\u2019s been a pleasure to finally have it available without checking into a hotel. I put it on when I\u2019m tired of politics on the US news networks, and we\u2019re caught on Game of Thrones. <\/p>\n

I still count on the top headlines every half hour, and still get tired of seeing the same stories after a while. But other than that, I like to tune in to a variety of programming that introduces me to areas of Japan I haven\u2019t visited, and teaches me about the country of my heritage.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a smart mix of programs that cover both traditional and contemporary culture, from profiles of artisans who\u2019ve mastered an ancient artform or craft such as traditional carpentry, to fun insider looks at today\u2019s colorful fashion industry or shows about anime or Jpop music. \u201cJ-Melo,\u201d which describes itself as the only Japanese music program in English, has a worldwide audience, and each episode spotlights viewers and Jpop fans from other countries. There are also shows that place traditional culture in modern context, like \u201cKabuki Kool.\u201d Some of the programming are Japanese shows dubbed into English; some have English subtitles and some (like the newscasts) are entirely in English. In between shows, there are often short bits of content that might introduce viewers to a traditional Japanese dish, or teach a few words in a quick language lesson.<\/p>\n

The website is also worth spending time on, especially if your local cable carrier doesn\u2019t include NHK World. Most of the shows are archived online, and there are helpful categories of shows like News, Travel & Culture, Food and Learn Japanese. Like many stations, you can also view NHK World in real time streaming<\/a> with a click.<\/p>\n

NHK World has introduced me to towns and regions of Japan I wasn\u2019t familiar with that I now want to visit. When they air a documentary about a region like Hokkaido or a city like Beppu, I go to Google Maps and find out where that is, so that I might remember to try and get there sometime.<\/p>\n

And though I\u2019m not a fanatic and tune in like my mom, NHK World broadcasts highlights during each national sumo tournament. I was surprised to find I like watching the sport, which I remember form my childhood in Tokyo. <\/p>\n

When there\u2019s an event like a natural disaster such as typhoons, floods, earthquakes or tsunami, NHK World is my go-to for updated news and information. That\u2019s why I knew they would be covering the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.<\/p>\n

Check it out, and I know you\u2019ll feel more deeply connected to Japan than before.<\/p>\n

NOTE: This column was originally written for JACL’s Pacific Citizen<\/a> newspaper.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The recent 72nd anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima went by quietly on American news (in part because there\u2019s just so much news to cover exploding out of our own White House). So on Aug. 6 I turned to the one place I knew would give the commemoration of the \u2026 Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[76,7,5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nikkeiview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6350"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nikkeiview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nikkeiview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nikkeiview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nikkeiview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6350"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nikkeiview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6352,"href":"https:\/\/nikkeiview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6350\/revisions\/6352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nikkeiview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nikkeiview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nikkeiview.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}