Kuchikomi Sep. 19, 2008 - 09:37AM JST ( 9 )

The government plans to have all analog TV programs replaced with digital services in July 2011. TV broadcasters have stepped up campaigns to increase public awareness about the transition. For example, NHK and some others superimpose the word ‘‘analog’’ on their analog programs, as well as information on when they will cease to air analog programs. It is almost a pressure tactic to get consumers to buy new digital TV sets.

Currently, there are estimated to be more than 100 million TV sets nationwide, while only one third are digital ones. Commercial TV stations estimate the changeover will cost 1 trillion yen. The government is investing 180 billion yen for analog-digital conversion as well as 200 billion yen for public support centers nationwide. In addition, consumers are expected to spend 16.6 trillion yen in total on digital TV sets between now and 2011.

Do we really need digital broadcasting? Shukan Post examines the bureaucratic background of the policy for digitalizing TV broadcasting. What emerges is a picture of bureaucrats who are trying to create cushy post-retirement opportunities for themselves. Some media have nicknamed them the “digital terrestrial television (DTT) mafia.”

“The Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, which supervises telecommunication policies, says DTT offers more effective use of frequency. However, that’s not a good enough reason,” says Kosuke Segawa, who is a specialist in telecommunications policy. “Telecommunication bureaucrats, or the ‘DTT mafia,’ just want to build a system which they can profit from. They now have a 1.38 trillion yen budget to promote the DTT as part of the digitalization of the country.”

Two incorporated associations are involved in the nationwide promotion of the DTT: the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARB), and the Association for Promotion of Digital Broadcasting (APDB).

The ARB has been working on changing the direction of TV antennas and channel settings nationwide since 2002, spending 180 billion yen. The APDB, which was launched in 2006, has been in charge of the DTT promotion, making TV commercials featuring celebrities and popular female TV announcers. The ARB pays about 1.02 million yen and the APDB around 140 million yen to their board members who are former bureaucrats. Although the APDB is not currently supported by tax money, that may change because the government has already decided to invest 200 billion yen for the DTT promotion.

Segawa says, “Telecommunication bureaucrats forced the broadcasting industry and makers to invest huge amounts of money in the DTT. These organizations are given assignments from the government and member companies financially support them by paying expensive membership fees. That’s how the DTT mafia creates the huge market for themselves.”

He adds, “They don’t want to go back to analog anymore. There is too much money at stake. As the changeover nears, the government is planning to provide tuners and antennas to households living on welfare as well as other low-income families. That will cost the government tens of billions of yen.” (Translated by Taro Fujimoto)