TV Guide

REGULAR TV

First and foremost, most TVs have a bilingual function. If you switch this on you will be able to watch the news at 18:00, 19:00 and 22:00 in English. Depending on your TV, the kanji for the bilingual button should be one of these; 音声切換 or 副音声.There are also western (think foreign, not cowboy hats) movies on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights that are dubbed, but can be watched in English using the bilingual function. If you receive the La-La (ラーラ) channel, then you will get all kinds of wondrous programming such as Beverly Hills 90210, Sex and the City, Jamie Oliver and Korean/Chinese soap operas, in English where applicable.

LOCAL CABLE TV

In some cases, local cable will be accessible in your home but often you must watch the TV through your video channel for it to work. Strange, yes, but true! Switch the TV to the video channel, then use the video controller to change channel, and hey-presto! 10 extra channels that were hiding!! Don’t expect much more than weather, Japanese schedules of some sort, a shopping channel, and La-La (see above), but hey, it’s free!

CABLE TV

Each region offers different deals and channel plans when it comes to cable TV. It would be best to ask your supervisor/Board of Education to find out the specifics for your area. You need to obtain permission from your house / apartment owner before signing up for cable TV.

There will be an initial installation fee which can be quite expensive (ranging from 20,000 - 80,000) and then a monthly fee ranging from around 1000 - 3000 depending on the channel plan you choose.

SKYPERFECT SATELLITE TV

This is Japan's largest-scale digital satellite broadcast service, supposedly offering the widest selection of channels in the world (?). You can watch SKYPERFECTV in a variety of languages including English, Portuguese, Spanish and Chinese. Costs vary as you can choose as many (or as few) channels as you like. Package sets seem to be a good deal at just over Y3000 per month. Each package set includes Movies, Music, Drama, Sports, Animation, Entertainment, Documentary and News channels with various other additions depending on the set you choose. You will need to purchase a digital tuner and antenna dish from your local electronics store and have these installed. The website is very comprehensive (and in English!), so for more information go to www.skyperfectv.co.jp

Yahoo BB TV

If you sign up for Yahoo BB there is also the option of getting TV with your internet package. There are around 40 channels in both Japanese and English. It now appears to be available in most areas of the prefecture now but I recommend checking before signing up for anything!

The Japanese website is http://www.bbtv.com/ or you can apply for it through http://bbapply.com/bbtv.html in English (see internet section for more information on this website)

TV LICENSING

This is important! You may very well have a knock at the door one day, from a polite Japanese person waving a badge. Don’t panic! He wants you to pay him for receiving the NHK channel. Whether you watch it or not, or watch TV or not, it doesn’t matter, if you own a TV, you are obliged to pay. For reasons explained further down, it’s best to play dumb as far as Japanese ability goes. When the person is convinced you can’t understand a word, he will give you a leaflet in English. At this point tell him you don’t have a TV. Or (more risky), that you only use it to watch videos, as you don’t understand Japanese.

IF you have to put your name to anything, don’t do it without advice from your supervisor, the reason being, it is allegedly very difficult to get your name removed, and you will be liable to pay even long after you have left Japan. The result being, if you return to Japan, you won’t be allowed in until you pay. Bear in mind: a) the person is not allowed in your house, b) if you say no, you don’t have a TV, he will just excuse himself and leave.

PUT SIMPLY:

Polite NHK man: Please pay the TV license fee.

Polite new JET: I don’t have a TV.

Polite NHK man: Ok, bye.

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