July 2, 2024 Consultation with the Information and Communications Council regarding Technical Requirements for Distribution Equipment as Stipulated in Article 20-3, Paragraph 1 of the Broadcasting Act

 The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) today consulted the Information and Communications Council, chaired by ENDO Nobuhiro, on technical requirements for distribution equipment as stipulated in Article 20-3, Paragraph 1 of the Broadcasting Act. For the details on the consultation.

1. Background, etc.

 In recent years, many citizens and viewers have been increasingly using the Internet as their primary means of obtaining information. This has been rapidly changing the broadcasting viewing environment.
 Under such circumstances, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (hereinafter referred to as "NHK") should continuously and stably provide NHK's broadcast programs even to those who do not have TVs or other broadcast reception equipment. To achieve that, the Broadcasting Act (Act No. 132 of 1950) was amended according to the Act for Partial Revision of the Broadcasting Act (Act No. 36 of 2024) to mandate NHK to distribute NHK's broadcast programs and program-related information via the Internet.
 Article 20-3, Paragraph 1 of the revised Broadcasting Act stipulates that the distribution equipment used in the distribution provided by NHK as essential operations, as well as the operational management system for their operation, must be maintained in compliance with the standards set out in a MIC Ordinance. Paragraph 2 of the same article stipulates as follows: It shall be ensured that the essential distribution are not seriously impeded by damage, malfunction or improper operation of the distribution equipment, and that the quality of distribution conducted using the distribution equipment, etc., is as close as possible to that of basic broadcasting when evaluated comprehensively.
 In light of the above, we need to consider measures to ensure the safety and reliability of the distribution equipment, as well as the quality levels required for distribution. Therefore, we are consulting on the technical requirements pertaining to the distribution equipment.

2. Matters that should be included in the report

 Technical requirements for distribution equipment as stipulated in Article 20-3, Paragraph 1 of the Broadcasting Act.

3. Preferred timing for reporting

 We expect to receive the partial report around February 2025.