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KAWASAKI, Kanagawa - A man is threatening to sue Japanese TV network NHK on charges of misrepresentation and embezzlement.
Ken Barber, 24, an English teacher at a noted English school has lived in Japan for 4 years and claims to have never paid NHK.
"They are a fraud. Why are they owed money from me just because I have a TV? If they want to monitor who watches NHK they should scramble the station and make it pay per view. I never watch it and I will not pay for it."
NHK began as a government institution, but since then it has become a hazy issue as to whether all people in Japan with televisions are obligated to pay. This marks the first time in Japan anyone has ever challenged Japan's richest and most traditional network.
In most countries, public television operates on a donation-based system. Viewers are asked to donate, but not forced to pay or billed like NHK does.
"I told them that if I am obligated to pay, send the police to my house and arrest me. Or stop the services to me like the gas and water companies do. Of course they have no response, they have no legal grounds to charge anybody, that's why." Barber states.
NHK recently has gotten into trouble for staging fake documentaries and falsely threatening viewers to pay or face stiff penalties (penalties which have never been implemented).
"They don't even come to collect themselves, they send collectors. I asked through the inter-phone once, "do you work for NHK?" and he replied no."
Although the law is hazy, NHK indeed does not have the right to force people to pay because "they have televisions," and NHK is not part of the government. Which leads to the question of whether a private network can charge for their services in Japan. (Zone81.com)
