My two-year term as a member of the NHK Central Broadcasting Program Council expired at the end of last month, but I have been appointed to serve a second term.

I’ll be covering three topics today: “Special Programming in Response to Nationwide School Closures,” “NHK Plus,” and “The Landlady and Me.” In response to the
nationwide school closures, special programming for students at home was broadcast on E-Tele, General TV, satellite channels, radio, and the internet. I believe the volume of content and the speed of the response were truly remarkable.While various companies engaged in digital education have begun providing educational materials and content free of charge, given that many children still lack adequate internet access, I believe television broadcasts remain the most effective means at this time for ensuring that all children can continue their learning—and NHK’s response was excellent. I understand this was a response to the numerous requests for access to past programs that poured in immediately after the school closures were announced.
It’s also great that there were so many programs designed to address the difficulties and emotions currently faced by children, parents, and schools—not just academic support, but also programs to combat a lack of physical activity and content for graduation ceremonies! On the academic front, it’s also great that “NHK for School” is collaborating with teachers nationwide to provide playlists organized by grade level, focusing particularly on units that haven’t yet been covered!And with everyone tending to stay home these days, it’s great that they launched the “Let’s Learn Together” initiative—not just “Let’s Learn at Home”—to create a space where we can learn from one another! It’s also great that these programs are available on NHK Plus right now (*^^*)
I really hope they continue to support school boards and schools—which are overwhelmed by the school closures—as well as the children and their parents.

I also believe that the COVID-19 pandemic will likely accelerate the growth of online education. Just as NHK has led the way in evaluating the educational effectiveness of television, I hope that NHK will continue to support the advancement of Japanese education by collecting data to evaluate the effectiveness of online education as well.(And I received a number of positive responses.)
By the way, NHK Plus is 12 years behind the BBC. It’s actually quite convenient once you try it out.
I hope they’ll expand it to all channels and all time slots in the future. I’d like them to prepare for the possibility that the internet might become the primary medium down the line.