[MIC] Study Group Held on the Enhancement of Broadcasting for Persons with Audiovisual Disabilities

On November 1, 2022, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) held the first meeting of a study group on the enhancement of broadcasting for people with audiovisual disabilities in view of revising the "Guidelines for Information Accessibility in the Broadcasting Field."

The MIC has formulated the "Guidelines for Information Accessibility in Broadcasting" and set dissemination targets for subtitles, commentary broadcasting, and sign language, and has been promoting these. The guidelines are targeted for dissemination from February 2018 until 2027. They are to be reviewed in five years' time based on technological trends and other factors, which is why a study group was held to discuss this.

Based on user requests, information and communication technology trends, and information from overseas, the study group will release its report in February 2023. New guidelines are expected in March of the same year.

The following is an overview of the current guidelines established on February 7, 2018:

Guidelines for Information Accessibility in the Broadcasting Sector (excerpt)

Subtitle Broadcasting	NHK	All target broadcast programs (*1) will be subtitled.
	Commercial broadcast （Non-prefectural broadcasting station）	All target broadcast programs (*1) will be subtitled.
	Commercial broadcast (Prefectural broadcasting station)	80% or more of target broadcast programs (*1) will be subtitled by FY2027.
Commentary Service	NHK	Provide commentary for at least 15% of target broadcast programs (*2) by FY2027
	Commercial broadcast （Non-prefectural broadcasting station）	Provide commentary for at least 15% of target broadcast programs (*2) by FY2027
	Commercial broadcast (Prefectural broadcasting station)	Make efforts to provide commentary for at least 10% of the targeted broadcast programs (*2) by FY2027.
Sign Language Service	NHK (excluding broadcasts by broadcasting satellites) Commercial broadcast (excluding prefectural broadcasting station)	Provide at least 15 minutes of sign language per week on average by FY2027

Legend:

*1 18 consecutive hours of broadcast programming from 6:00 to 25:00. However, live programs, foreign language programs, and music programs are excluded.

*2 Programs broadcast from 7:00 to 24:00. However, this excludes programs for which commentaries cannot be provided due to broadcasting rights issues, programs using more than one audio source such as bilingual broadcasts and sub-speech, 5.1ch surround sound broadcast program.

See below for more information:
https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_sosiki/kenkyu/bc-accessibility-2022/02ryutsu09_04000241.html