Inaugural Remarks by NHK Chairman Inoue Tsuhiko at the June Press Conference

At today's NHK Chairman's regular press conference, Chairman Inoue Tsuhiko shared his thoughts as follows. First, I would like to talk about my impressions of the ongoing soccer 'FIFA World Cup 2026.' The Japan national team's first match against the Netherlands on June 15th was an early morning match that started at 5 AM, but I also watched it live. The result was a 2-2 draw. Although we were up against the Netherlands, who are ranked higher in the world rankings, we were able to catch up each time we were led, showing a tenacious fighting spirit. Just before the match, there was an unfortunate incident where Captain Sota Endo had to withdraw, and I was concerned about the team's condition, but it seemed that the team as a whole accepted the difficult situation and fought together. I look forward to the upcoming Tunisia match. In this broadcast, we had Keisuke Honda providing commentary, but the commentary and the announcer's live coverage created a sense of unity with the match's progress, leaving a strong impression and emotion on the viewers, as I perceived. The commentary was impressive with Mr. Honda's frank comments in his own words, which I think the viewers must have greatly empathized with. In addition, the commentary that deciphered each play from the player's perspective was very informative, and I am grateful that it made NHK's coverage even more attractive. I recently had a dialogue with Mr. Miyamoto, the chairman of the Japan Football Association, and during that, there was a discussion about the role that television has played in enabling the Japan national team to have the strength to compete with the world's top teams. It seems that Mr. Miyamoto also had the same experience, but through television, children who were touched by the world stage and harbored aspirations became soccer players and eventually became the players and coaches of the next generation. If we, as a public broadcaster, have been able to support even a part of such a cycle, I am very pleased. The details of the dialogue with Mr. Miyamoto will be featured on the June 21st broadcast of 'Domo, NHK,' so please be sure to check it out. The Japan national team's second match against Tunisia on the same 21st will be broadcast on BS, and the third match against Sweden on the 26th will be live broadcast on both the general television and BS Premium 4K. If the team advances to the knockout stage, we will also broadcast all of Japan's matches live, so I hope you will continue to enjoy them. Next, I would like to report on the joint use of relay stations as one of the contributions to ensuring the diversity of the entire information space. As previously announced, we have received approval from the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications on June 15th regarding the increase in capital to the joint use company, Japan Broadcast Network, and the donation to the NHK Foundation. Regarding the joint use of relay stations, we have been continuing various consultations and adjustments among the parties involved, so we have been able to reach a milestone. From now on, we will proceed with the preparation of specific procedures for investment and donation. This initiative is considered very important for the broadcasting industry as a whole, from the perspective of improving the sustainability of the broadcasting network through the dual system of NHK and private broadcasters, and creating an environment where we can focus on content production, in light of issues such as population decline and increased costs for updating broadcasting facilities. In order to continue delivering broadcasts nationwide while maintaining the dual system broadcasting network, we will continue to cooperate and collaborate with private broadcasters and other stakeholders, and steadily proceed with our response. Next, I would like to report on business performance. Regarding the so-called 'arrears' strategy, where contracts are made but payment of reception fees is not made for a long period of time, we have been able to turn the arrears for fiscal year 2025 into a decrease for the first time in six years since fiscal year 2019. This is considered to be the result of strengthening the arrears strategy by utilizing the organization as a whole, based on written notices, announcements on broadcasts, and explanations in person, as well as utilizing civil procedures such as payment reminders. It has become one foothold toward achieving the realization of stopping the decline in reception fee revenue, an important issue in the 'revenue and expenditure structure reform' presented at the time of my inauguration as chairman. To make this good momentum more certain, in the organizational reform to be carried out in July, we will change the name of the viewer department to the 'sales department.' This name change is intended to clearly demonstrate the role and responsibility of the business supporting the reception fee system to both internal and external parties. Of course, our attitude of valuing the point of contact with viewers and citizens remains unchanged. We will continue to execute the mission of conveying the value of NHK to viewers and citizens, understanding the significance of the reception fee system and the role of public broadcasting and public media, and promoting the fair burden of reception fees more steadily than ever before. Finally, regarding the personnel affairs and organizational reforms of the department heads as of July 1st related to this, I would like to explain the purpose again. The biggest point of this personnel transfer and organizational reform is the partial reorganization within the Media Headquarters to promote comprehensive services for broadcasting and the internet. In particular, the point of reorganizing the 'Content Strategy Bureau' into the 'Platform Strategy Bureau' is considered important. As internet distribution has become an essential business for NHK and the points of contact between viewers and NHK have become diversified, we believe that a 'platform strategy' that integrates external platforms and deployment measures in addition to broadcasting and the internet is extremely important in order to stably provide public value and maximize the value of content. The newly established 'Platform Strategy Bureau' will play the role of the command center of the Media Headquarters, accurately promoting the platform strategy and aiming to maximize the value of content. Furthermore, as a system to concretize this strategy, we will partially reorganize the departments within the Media Headquarters and establish new 'IP Development Bureau,' 'On-Demand Bureau,' and 'Digital Product Bureau.' Under this new system, we would like to further promote comprehensive services for broadcasting and the internet. In personnel transfers, in order to realize a vibrant organization that creates diverse values, we have further promoted the appointment of young and female department heads. In the appointment of young people, we have appointed 26 employees in their 30s to core positions, which is significantly more than last year. In addition, we have appointed a total of 11 new department heads, including 2 in the headquarters and 9 in the base and regional departments. As a result, the number of female department heads has increased by 2 to a total of 18 in the headquarters and regions. Furthermore, on June 17th, internal notification of personnel transfers for business positions was made, so as a new 'Team NHK,' we would like to advance as one towards achieving the mission of public broadcasting and public media.