Abstract
"A Century of Broadcasting Revisited through New Historical Sources" is part of a series that examines broadcasting history from multiple perspectives, drawing on recently uncovered historical sources in commemoration of the centenary of broadcasting in Japan. This fourth installment focuses on "East Asia Broadcasting"—radio broadcasts transmitted from mainland Japan to its overseas territories and other parts of the Asian continent before and during World War II. Before the war, radio stations were successively established in Korea and Taiwan, which were under Japanese governance, and in Manchuria, which was under Japanese control, by various operators. Programs produced by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation in mainland Japan were also broadcast via shortwave relay. After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, as broadcasting stations were established in various regions of mainland China, including North and Central China, the coverage area expanded further. Along with programs aimed at local residents, broadcasts from mainland Japan came to constitute the core content of the programming. These broadcasts were referred to as "East Asia Broadcasting," although the name varied depending on the period.
Concerning East Asia Broadcasting, there were two opposing approaches to its direction: one argued that it should simply broadcast the same programs as those aired in mainland Japan to the East Aian region (the "mainland extension" approach), while the other argued that it should broadcast original programming to the region, distinct from that of the mainland, in accordance with the ideals of the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" (the "region-specific programming" approach). While the Japan Broadcasting Corporation adopted the former as its fundamental stance, operators in the overseas territories and on the continent increasingly intensified their calls for the Japan Broadcasting Corporation to develop separate programming for East Asia.
However, because the number of listeners in the overseas territories and on the continent was extremely low compared to mainland Japan, it was unrealistic for the Japan Broadcasting Corporation to produce original programs for East Asia that differed from those for mainland Japan. Furthermore, neither the Ministry of Communications, the regulatory authority, nor the Information Bureau, which reported directly to the Cabinet, raised any objections to the Japan Broadcasting Corporation's policy. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, although region specific programming was created for East Asia Broadcasting, reliance on programs from mainland Japan essentially persisted. Without sufficient consensus among stakeholders regarding the direction of programming, East Asia Broadcasting expanded its coverage area in response to changing circumstances, only to come to an end with Japan's defeat in the war.
