Hirohisa Hanawa
Deputy director, General Media Strategy Headquarters,
NHK(Japan Broadcasting Corporation)

1. Taking on new challenges during Tokyo 2020 and passing on the know-how

At NHK, we understand the mission of public media to be the provision of a full range of “people-friendly” broadcasts and services which all of our audience members can watch, listen to, and understand easily and with peace of mind; and we are working to expand and upgrade this range. Amongst our various initiatives, the biggest challenge in recent years was our Universal Service at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, which took place last summer. Since most of the events during these Games were held in venues without any spectators, our broadcasts and services played an even more important role than ever before.

Regarding broadcasts first of all, after the opening ceremony of the Olympics, we received many requests that we provide sign language interpreting for the opening and closing ceremonies. We took these on board, and so we broadcast the closing ceremony of the Olympics and the opening and closing ceremonies of the Paralympics on our Educational TV channel with large-scale sign language interpreting throughout. This was a first for NHK, so we made the broadcasts over the course of repeated discussions with staff and newscasters who are involved with sign language broadcasts on a regular basis.

As for subtitles, we provided these on both our General and Educational TV channels for the opening and closing ceremonies of both sets of Games, as well for the reporting on all events. In addition, we worked to display subtitles in real time for the Asa Navi programme broadcast in the morning during the Paralympics, even though this was a live broadcast, using a system called Pittari Jimaku (“Exactly-right Subtitles”).

The main point of Pittari Jimaku lies in a “playback with a 30-second time lag”. Asa Navi was from 8:15 in the morning, but the actual production started from 8:14:30 (30 seconds in advance). This was recorded, then played back with a 30-second time lag. During this 30-second interval, staff got the subtitles ready, listening to what was happening in the studio, inputting the text, and assigning different colours to the words of each speaker. Then, at 8:15, the images and sound were broadcast with the subtitles matching them exactly.

People with hearing impairments shared their reactions, including “It was the first time that I could laugh at the exchanges in the studio during a live broadcast in real time – this was fun,” and “I could laugh at the ripostes in time with the images, so I understood the fun of live broadcasts.” We also received comments from able-bodied people, such as “I was impressed that such exact subtitles could be produced in 30 seconds,” and “I am enjoying the programme with the sound turned off while I put my baby to sleep. Taking care of a young child is isolating, but I feel as though I am being supported without words.”

In terms of digital initiatives, we trialled the addition of automatically generated subtitles and sign language interpreting to the live streams on the NHK Tokyo 2020 website set up specially for the Games. The former was “Robot Commentary Subtitles.” This service automatically creates subtitles and synthesized speech based on the data received while each event is in progress, and adds it to the live stream images. It was used for ten events during the Olympics and seven during the Paralympics, and transmitted over the course of around 1,000 hours. The latter was “Sign Language Computer Graphics Commentary.” This service creates computer graphics of characters using sign language based on the data received while each event is in progress, and adds it to the live stream images. It was used for a total of 27 matches in 3 categories – basketball, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair rugby – and transmitted for around 54 hours. This was the first time that we at NHK had tried adding sign language to sports reporting using computer graphics. During its development, we aimed for a realistic reproduction not only of hand movements, but also of the changing expressions of eyebrows and lips, which are very important in sign language communication, in order to communicate the information better.

The know-how which we gained from this series of challenges was carried over to this year’s Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics. The opening and closing ceremonies of both the Olympics and Paralympics were broadcast live on our General and Educational TV channels, and were broadcast together with sign language and secondary audio commentary on our Educational TV channel. We also broadcast a programme called Minna de Highlight (“Highlights with Everyone”) four times in total during the Olympics and Paralympics. This programme incorporated Pittari Jimaku, sign language, sign language using computer graphics, and secondary audio commentary. Guests with visual or hearing impairments were invited to the studio, enabling us to communicate the appeal of the Olympics and Paralympics and the successes of the athletes together with a diverse range of people.

Taking on these challenges allowed us to experience many possibilities, but some issues also came to the surface. There are quite a few points which need to be improved in terms of the cost and operational aspects of Pittari Jimaku and sign language using computer graphics, in particular. We are continuing our process of trial and error to see to what extent we can pass on the legacy of Tokyo 2020 and make a stable service a reality.

2. Expanding our services further through stronger collaboration between our headquarters and regional broadcasting offices

Last autumn, we launched the “Universal Service Promotion Project” at NHK. The participants are the staff responsible for Universal Service at each regional broadcasting office, as well as those responsible for subtitles, commentary, sign language, broadcasting systems, and new technologies at our headquarters. In this project, regular liaison meetings are held with the aim of sharing information about NHK’s Universal Service. Reports are given there on various initiatives, including universal design for text fonts and map displays or new technologies such as AI speech synthesis systems, and lively exchanges of ideas take place.

The other day, there was a report about a “Meeting between NHK sign language newscasters and their fans” as part of this project. The meeting was hosted by the NHK Sendai broadcasting office. In January this year, six sign language newscasters were invited to the Sendai office, where they met with many people, including those with hearing impairments, during an event lasting over two hours. The entire event took place in sign language, with programme items such as “The stories behind the making of programmes,” “Reading picture books aloud,” a “One-man show,” and a “Sign language expressions class” chosen with an emphasis on their entertainment value so that they could be enjoyed through sign language. In addition, spoken interpreting of the performers’ sign language was provided, allowing hearing people to enjoy the sign language performances to the full. The Miyagi Prefectural Information Centre for Hearing-Impaired People (Mimi Sapo Miyagi) collaborated by recruiting audience members and supplying interpreters, while Tohoku Fukushi University helped with the event management, such as guiding people to their seats using sign language. The event was reportedly a great success.

The audience questionnaire generated a lot of favourable feedback, including “I was interested by things which we would not usually get to hear, like the stories behind the programmes or episodes that the newscasters cannot forget,” or “I thought that this was a great event in terms of spreading not only interest in and concern about sign language news, but also the appeal of sign language and deaf culture.” One person even commented, “This event changed my impression of the NHK Sendai broadcasting office.” Taking into account these opinions which we have received, we at NHK intend to strive ever harder to fulfill our mission as a public broadcaster and contribute to local communities to the greatest degree possible.

Various hurdles always confront the technical and cost aspects of the Universal Service, but by continuing to move forward step by step, in spite of these, I believe that we will be able to bring about a better service. We will also continue to examine the possibilities for new services, like the fan meeting in Sendai. At NHK, we intend to go on responding to the needs of all our viewers and listeners, and to disseminate even better content.