http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200708140090.html
X-rated TV for disabled loses funding
08/14/2007
BY TOMOYA ISHIKAWA, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
A TV news program for the hearing-impaired that features a stripping anchorwoman has triggered a barrage of complaints from critics and forced the government to amend TV subsidy guidelines.
The guidelines--for programs that cater to people with disabilities--now forbid financial assistance for adult-oriented programs, including "Hadaka no Shuwa News," the 5-minute section of "Naked News Station" hosted by a disrobing newscaster.
"Naked News Station" airs from 9 p.m. to 9:55 p.m. on Fridays. It has already been subsidized to the tune of 400,000 yen by the central government through the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), an organization under the control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
The pay CS broadcasting news show is produced by Paradise Television Inc., which was created in 1998 in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward. The newscaster, who removes articles of clothing one by one until she is naked, performs sign language as she reads the news.
A spokesperson for the TV station said the news agenda, which includes mostly sex-related items, covers "topics Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) would never air."
Under subsidy guidelines, the government can cover up to half of the production costs of creating subtitles and performing sign language for programs catering to hearing-impaired or visually-impaired viewers.
NICT solicits applications for the subsidies twice a year.
Last summer, Paradise Television received about 150,000 yen for "Hadaka no Shuwa News" for the second half of fiscal 2006.
For the first half of fiscal 2007, the TV station was granted a further 250,000 yen in subsidies for the sign-language news section and a special program scheduled to go on air at the end of August.
At the time, applicants were not required to give detailed descriptions of the program. NICT officials said they did not need to check programs for content.
The matter attracted controversy when Paradise Television began bragging about the subsidies it had received.
"We received high praise for our concerted efforts to produce a TV program," said an official at Paradise Television.
NICT has come under fire from viewers shocked by its apparently indiscriminate decision-making.
However, some talk-back radio callers and Internet bloggers have defended the decision to subsidize "Hadaka no Shuwa News," saying that people with disabilities are entitled to enjoy a variety of TV programs.
After consulting the Japanese Federation of the Deaf, the communications ministry amended the guidelines this month to remove adult programs from the list of eligible applicants.
"We concluded that programs with a clear public benefit should take precedence," said a ministry official.
But the TV station has pledged to continue with "Hadaka no Shuwa News," even without the subsidy.
"We are producing programs so that audiences with disabilities will be able to enjoy their lives just like those with no disabilities," said a Paradise Television official.
Hisashi Etoki, a writer and a member of a Tokyo nonprofit organization that supports the hearing-impaired, welcomed the change.
"Like ordinary people, people with disabilities have freedom to watch any kind of program they prefer," Etoki said. "But if subsidies come from national coffers, officials have to assess whether (they) are of social value."(IHT/Asahi: August 14,2007)