In order to explain why imported television programs rarely get high audience ratings in Japan, a questionnaire survey was conducted to ascertain, among other things, Japanese attitudes toward foreign television programs. The survey results clearly indicated that Japanese are on the whole quite favorably disposed toward foreign program imports. Therefore, it was concluded that the majar reason for the failure of foreign television programs to flourish in Japan is the strong competition offered by domestically-produced programs, not xenophobic attitudes of Japanese viewers. Some of the characteristics distinguishing television and films are also considered in explaining the popularity of foreign films in contrast to relatively low rated foreign television programs. Finally, an optimistic look is taken at the future of foreign television programming in Japan.