NHK

In 1925, Japan's first radio broadcast hit the airwaves from the Tokyo Broadcasting Station, an organization founded under the leadership of Count Gotō Shinpei. A year later, in 1926, this station merged with others in Osaka and Nagoya to form Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai, or NHK. Modeled after the British BBC, its initial goal was to connect the mountainous islands of Japan through a single broadcast. Its role dramatically shifted with rising militarism, and NHK became an instrument for government propaganda leading into World War II. A major turning point came in 1950 with a new Broadcast Law. This pivotal legislation dissolved the original state-controlled entity and re-established NHK as an independent public corporation, funded by receiving fees from the public rather than the government. This move was designed to ensure its impartiality and prevent it from being used for propaganda again. Freed from government control, NHK launched television broadcasting in 1953, followed by its educational channel in 1959 and color broadcasts in 1960. The 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics served as a global debut for NHK's capabilities, as it was the first Olympics to be widely televised internationally. Today, NHK operates multiple terrestrial and satellite TV channels, radio networks, and the international service NHK World-Japan, all supported by viewer license fees, a model that ensures its financial and editorial independence.