Society

Owners of cellphones with TV capability obliged to pay NHK, high court rules

Mar 27 (Japan Times) - The Tokyo High Court on Monday overturned a lower court ruling and said the owner of a cellphone with a mobile TV function is obliged to pay the NHK subscription fee.

Under the Broadcast Law, anyone who installs a TV receiver is obliged to sign a contract with NHK regardless of he or she views its programs.

Masanobu Ohashi, a 42-year-old assemblyman in Asaka, Saitama Prefecture, claimed the law does not cover cellphones and thus he was not obliged to sign a subscription contract.

Ohashi said he doesn't have a TV set at home and has never watched an NHK program using his cellphone.

But Judge Toshimasa Fukami said the legal wording is not necessarily the same as its plain interpretation and that the law covers cellphones.

The case was one of five similar lawsuits filed in Japan. In the four other cases, district courts ruled in favor of NHK, also known as Japan Broadcasting Corp., while the Saitama District Court ruled against it.

In August 2016, the Saitama court ruled it is unreasonable to say that possessing a cellphone amounts to "installing" a TV function. It also ruled that the criteria for paying the NHK fee needs to be clearly stipulated as with taxes.

Do Bears Prefer Acorns or Berries?

Bear sightings across Japan have already climbed to nearly twice the level recorded during the same period last year, prompting entry bans in mountain areas behind Kyoto’s Ninna-ji Temple and the cancellation of hiking events in Kansai, while new research suggests that the key to reducing encounters may lie in understanding what bears eat in each region.

Copper Thieves Target Japanese Shrines

Copper roofing panels were stolen from several shrines in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, including a city-designated cultural property, in the latest case amid a nationwide surge in copper thefts targeting shrines and temples across Japan, where soaring metal prices have fueled crimes that leave historic religious buildings damaged, exposed to the elements, and facing repair costs of millions of yen.

1200-Year-Old Temple on Miyajima Reduced to Ashes

Flames broke out on the morning of May 20th on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to one of Japan's World Heritage sites, destroying Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen.

From Bento Boxes to Garbage Bags, Rising Costs Hitting Daily Life Across Japan

Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East is beginning to affect daily life in Japan, as concerns over crude oil supplies spread to restaurants, cleaning services and even household garbage disposal systems across the Kansai region.

Tochigi Robbery-Murder Suspect’s Wife Posted Dance Videos on Social Media

A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Garbage Burnoff Spreads to 3 Buildings in Okayama

A fire that broke out in Kagamino, Okayama Prefecture, shortly after noon on May 20th destroyed three buildings, including a home, after flames from open burning spread to dead leaves and then to nearby structures.

Gang Members Arrested After Opening Office Near Nursery

Six people, including a senior member of a group affiliated with the Sumiyoshi-kai crime syndicate's Kohei-ikka faction, have been arrested on suspicion of opening a gang office in a prohibited area near a nursery school in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward.

Six Police Officers Injured After Man Sprays Liquid at Station

A man who visited a police station in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in the early hours of May 21st allegedly sprayed a transparent liquid inside the building, causing six police officers to complain of eye and throat pain and be taken to hospital with minor injuries.