Yoshio Shinoda
Content Strategy Project Leader,
Manager of Announcement Office, Okayama Broadcasting Co., Ltd.

Okayama Broadcasting, Japan

The name of Okayama Broadcasting was brought up in the announcement of the award from the United Nations Office in Vienna in Austria, which is about 9,000 kilometers away from Japan. This award was decided after voting by experts and researchers from all over the world. The three Okayama models we have built through sign language broadcasting were evaluated as “innovative approaches with high impact and reproducibility” from the viewpoint of information accessibility. This was the first Japanese TV station to receive the award.

Photo 1 Received "Zero Project Award 2022"

The Zero Project Award is an international award given by the Austrian Essl Foundation honoring barrier-free activities around the world based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In addition to the award ceremony, the three-day international conference provided opportunities for award winners and researchers to make presentations and exchange opinions on various themes, and I also attended a session on sign language as a panelist. I was surprised that the efforts of the local Japanese station attracted so much attention. At the same time, it inspired me to solidify my commitment and take a step further toward the realization of a society where no one is left behind by information.

Sign language broadcasting started in 1993 at Okayama Broadcasting, which has Okayama and Kagawa as its broadcasting area. This is the year when the "Asia-Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons" started with the aim of raising awareness of individuals with disabilities and improving the quality of policies for these individuals. When a college student who was staying with a deaf couple and studying sign language in their house was shown on the news, the newscaster also learned sign language because he/she wanted as many individuals with hearing impairments as possible to watch the news. This broadcast became the impetus for a special news feature “Welfare told in Sign Language” once a month with the theme of social issues surrounding individuals with hearing impairments and welfare for all individuals with disabilities.

As the title Sign Language Speaks shows, we are particular about the linguistical nature of sign language. Deaf people themselves are responsible for how they express sign language on a wipe screen to convey information to the parties concerned. The first organization that was established to make this effort sustainable is the Okayama model. Okayama Broadcasting has set up the “OHK(Okayama Broadcasting Co., Ltd.) Sign Language Broadcasting Committee” with individuals with hearing impairments and sign language interpreters to examine sign language expressions for broadcasting. In television, which conveys information from moment to moment, it is our mission to convey the content accurately just by watching it once, and discussions by the parties, interpreters and television stations create sign language expressions unique to television. In addition, establishing a specialized organization in collaboration with the parties concerned should also eliminate the mental burden on the TV station, which has very little knowledge of sign language characteristics and the different grammar that goes with it. In fact, Okayama Broadcasting provided full-length sign language support for the evening news and special programs on the International Day of Sign Languages which was on September 23rd, of last year. On March 3rd of this year, on World Hearing Day, sign language support was also provided for the information program Nansyon? (“What are you doing?” in Okayama dialect)" and the comic dialogue of stand-up comedians was also conveyed in sign language. Sign language support for talk-centered programs with multiple performers is a big challenge and rare in Japan, but we think that sticking to broadcasting in sign language on the screen is not just about conveying information, but it will lead to the recognition of individuals with hearing impairments, as well as leading to a recognition of their rights and their use of sign language as a linguistical means of communication. I believe this will be a symbol that aims to ensure that no one is left out of the information circle regardless of the person or type of disability.

Photo 2 The author who speaks as a panelist in a session on sign language

On the other hand, as someone who is in a local station, I am keenly aware that the production cost will be an issue when we try to embark on sign language broadcasting. Therefore, we are practicing the second Okayama model. This is a method of displaying the companies’ names etc. as "sign language cooperation" for companies and organizations that can cooperate with sign-language broadcasting. With the aim of securing production costs and leading to the continuous implementation and popularization of sign language broadcasting, we received feedback from individuals with hearing impairments, "We are glad that the understanding of sign language from local companies has begun to take shape. It is a new form of welfare broadcasting that goes beyond the framework of charity and volunteerism."

In addition, the third Okayama model is information security to interpret press conferences remotely in sign language. Amid the heavy rains that hit western Japan four years ago and the spread of infections pertaining to the new strain of the coronavirus, we proposed this third model to the government, and it started. A sign language interpreter interpreted the press conferences remotely and people could watch it on a big screen located right next to the mayors. At that time, questions were raised at each press conference all over the country about the sign language interpreter next to the head of the administration not wearing a mask. Okayama Broadcasting, however, repeatedly said that a lot of information that is transmitted in sign language is not only done by hand movements but facial expressions and the shapes of the mouth as well. Therefore, the amount of information would be limited by wearing a mask to prevent infection. We felt that the repeated appeals made it relatively easy to get an understanding from the administration.

Photo 3 Information security for remote sign language interpretation of press conferences

After the session, we received many comments, especially, "Given the social participation of individuals with disabilities, making programs only with individuals with hearing impairments is one way, however, in considering diversity, it is an advanced way of thinking that those individuals and individuals without disabilities work together to establish an organization to make programs." Also, "When looking around the world, here are some countries and regions where the number of sign language interpreters is quite small and the distribution system for interpreters is not at all organized. It is a human right to be able to obtain information properly even in an emergency situation, so I would like to introduce an interpreter system for remote press conferences in my own country." We feel that these comments have brought a new perspective to the Okayama model.

In addition, another big gain for us was a Viennese company that saw the session streaming online invited us to their company. This company which is named Sign Time is located in a prime location in central Vienna and produces 3D animations of sign language. Sign language is also used for explanations when companies introduce new products locally, and avatars produced by Sign Time, not humans, provide information with a touch of pop culture. Awareness of the SDGs' idea of "no one left behind" set by the United Nations is high even in Austria, and the number of orders is increasing year by year and sales are rising. “I would like to put our technology on track as a business and contribute to society." The man who said that showed strong interest in the Okayama model, which displays the name of the cooperating company as an initiative that should spread worldwide.

Photo 4 Displays the name of the company / organization that cooperated with the sign language broadcasting

Okayama Broadcasting Co., Ltd. has started joint research with Keio University SFC Research Institute (Research Representative, Professor Jun Murai) on "Information Accessibility in Television Broadcasting" since June of 2021 with the aim of improving the viewing environment for television by integrating broadcasting and communication. We think that learning in Austria through the Zero Project will be a great stimulus and will be able to create a new stir in making information barrier-free. Instead of accessing limited information, we aim to create an environment where all information can be accessed equally and can be selected by one's own will. In addition, we believe that this research can give back to the community not only by providing information beyond barriers, but also by equalizing accessibility disparities between regions.

Of course, the award is not a goal. Based on a long-standing accumulation and a barrier-free spirit inherited throughout the company, and our experience on the international stage, I would like to continue the steps that only Okayama Broadcasting can take and contribute to the realization of a world without barriers for everyone.