NHK recently broadcast a history program that repeatedly showed the British flag upside down. Not exactly a major diplomatic incident but the failure of staff responsible to take appropriate action led to an apology at the British consulate on Wednesday and on air last night. One look at the Union Jack reveals that it’s not an easy mistake to spot, but one eagle-eyed viewer did notice it and contacted NHK. The error was in the June 21 edition of the history program “Sono Toki Rekishi ga Ugoita”. The viewer had noticed the error in a preview of the show and called the Osaka bureau to inform them. The producer decided it was not worth the time and expense involved in correcting it. The same viewer called NHK again after the show was broadcast unchanged and received an apology, but the producer failed to report the matter to management. The matter came to light after a weekly magazine contacted NHK with questions.
• NHK also received more than 2,400 telephone calls from viewers upset about the sudden rescheduling of programs on Wednesday morning that followed the North Korean launch of several missiles. Affected programs included the live coverage of the World Cup and the morning drama series. While the changes may have annoyed some, viewership of NHK’s news shows that day was about double the average. The public broadcaster has also started sending out letters to households that have failed or refused to pay annual subscription fees. Letters were sent to homes in Tokyo yesterday with the rest of the country to follow, but it remains to be seen how the over 1 million “mibarai” viewers nationwide will respond.