September 30, 2020 Release of Guidelines for Regulation on Production and Trade of Broadcast Content Developed (Seventh Edition)

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications made an appeal for opinions from August 1 through September 4, 2020, on a revision of the Guidelines for Regulation on Production and Trade of Broadcast Content Developed. This revision was drafted by the Study Group on Verification and Review on Promotion of Production and Trade of Broadcast Content (chaired by Masayuki Funada, Professor Emeritus, Rikkyo University). The Guidelines (version 7) were recently finalized by considering the result of the appeal for opinions, and MIC will release the Guidelines.

1. Background

MIC organized the Study Group on Verification and Review on Promotion of Production and Trade of Broadcast Content (chaired by Masayuki Funada, Professor Emeritus, Rikkyo) in October 2018 to further promote proper production transactions of broadcast content. Since then, the Study Group has been reviewing the Guidelines for Regulation on Production and Trade of Broadcast Content Developed (hereafter referred to as the “Guidelines”), as well as measures to be taken to promote the production and distribution of high-quality and attractive broadcast content. Considering the discussions so far at the Study Group, MIC made an appeal for opinions on the drafted revision of the Guidelines from August 1 through September 4, 2020. As a result, 115 opinions were submitted. With consideration of the result of the appeal for opinions, the Guidelines (seventh edition) were completed. Accordingly, MIC has decided to open the Guidelines to the public, along with references and the result of the appeal for opinions.

2. Reference materials

• 1.
  Guidelines for Regulation on Production and Trade of Broadcast Content Developed (Seventh Edition)
• 2.
  Main points of the revision of the Guidelines for Regulation on Production and Trade of Broadcast Content Developed (Seventh Edition)
• 3.
  The Guidelines for Regulation on Production and Trade of Broadcast Content Developed (Seventh Edition) (Outline)
• 4.
  Result of appeal for opinions on the revision of the Guidelines for Regulation on Production and Trade of Broadcast Content Developed

3. Future plans

1. Holding seminars on the Guidelines

MIC will hold online seminars on the revised Guidelines (seventh edition) and individual free legal counseling sessions in and after October this year.

2. Implementation of compliance status survey on the Guidelines

MIC will conduct a compliance survey on the Guidelines in cooperation with the Japan Fair Trade Commission and the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency to optimize all transactions of broadcast production content further. An inappropriate situation of an ordering party may be found in this survey. In that case, MIC, the Japan Fair Trade Commission, and the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency will take legal measures, such as guidance based on the Act on the Promotion of Subcontracting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. Furthermore, under the authority based on the relevant laws and regulations, MIC, the Japan Fair Trade Commission, and the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency will make all production transactions transparent.

4. How to obtain references

Reference information will be posted on the public comment page of the e-Gov (https://www.e-gov.go.jp/ ).