Emergency information

No inforamtion.

Community Broadcasting

1.Characteristics of Community Broadcasting Stations

A community broadcasting station is an ultra-short broadcasting station (FM broadcasting station), a broadcasting category institutionalized in January, 1992 to provide community-oriented information to parts of municipalities. As of January, 2018, 315 licensed community broadcasting stations were operating.

A community broadcasting station is capable of providing focused regional information through community-specific programs, there by contributing to the safety and prosperity of the community.

A community broadcasting station is a commercial broadcasting station operated under license authorized by the Internal affairs and Communications minister and this license is in principle, the minimum requirement for a the broadcasting area for which antenna power below 20W is required.

Because a community broadcasting station uses frequency modulation, programs can be received over ordinary FM radios.

Figure: Relation of the Community Broadcasting
Characteristics of Community Broadcasting Stations
  • Positive participation by the community (listeners within the community)

    At some stations, students take part in the production of programs.

  • Community-oriented broadcasting content

    Some stations broadcast foreign language programs in regions having a large foreign community.

  • Concept of producing original programs

    Some stations produce customized programs that focus on classical music, jazz, and Japanese 'enka', to mention a few.

  • Delivery of focused regional information

    As an example, stations provide focused information addressing issues such as water failure, power failure, and rescue conditions in cases of disasters and emergencies. And also some stations provide the system of automatic-start/stop-radio.

2.Procedure for starting up a community broadcasting station

Procedures for starting up a community broadcasting station are described in the Radio Law. The flowchart below provides an overview of procedures.

Flow Chart: Process from applying license to opening-up a station
Division in Charge:Satellite and International Broadcasting Division