No Escape From The NHK Man?

[Russell]

Would the radiating power in number 2 apply to any metal pole sticking up outside?

That stuff is kind of freaky when you think about it, it means we are constantly being bathed in David Attenborough radiation.

The electromagnetic radiation can be absorbed by a metal pole by at most 50% in the optimal case, and the rest is re-radiated into the environment.

Yes, we are constantly bathed in electromagnetic radiation. There are nowadays even techniques to harvest energy from it (call backscattering).

I don't want to scare you guys, but the star which is at the centre of our solar system is pumping out electromagnetic radiation at a phenomenal rate -- some of it you can even freaking see with your eyes! -- and plenty of it gets through that muffling blanket called the atmosphere. Not to mention that we happily carry radio transmitters -- commonly called mobile phones -- either next to our hearts or next to our gonads.

Does that mean David Attenborough is on my gonads?

I still find it amazing that data flies through the air and magically turns into coherent information. That electronic energy can become a voice or text or an image fills me with awe. It amazes me even more that other people take this for granted.

I still find it incredible that a needle vibrating along a vinyl groove can become a sound. I can just about understand that when I blow across a hole I can produce a sound.

Physics is amazing, and the engineers who can manipulate it to do all kinds of stuff even more so.

Not physics, more just engineering but the whole notion of packet switching, and what it can achieve fills me with admiration. So clever, so efficient and so transformative. It's one thing to send a dedicated radio/TV signal to a receiver but another to be able to send and receive vast amounts of widely differing stuff all at the same time.

It is indeed amazing. BTW, I forgot to mention that a lot of math is involved too, not just physics. But it is the engineers who put it all together.

[Russell]

NHK preparing to charge households with Internet connections who don't have TV.

For the time being, they won't levy such a charge, but they state in the future they might. Which translates into common language as "in the future they will".

They have now gained approval from the ministry to simultaneously broadcast on the Internet, and by lowering the viewer's fee they hope to gain enough support in society for their extortion schemes.

In the end, the solution is of course very easy. The Internet being the Internet, they can just make NHK a paid subscription service, just like the others. Let's see how many people then will still subscribe.

[matsuki]

How does that work with free WiFi? If you have a device capable of receiving Wifi...you're fucked?

[wuchan]

NHK preparing to charge households with Internet connections who don't have TV.

For the time being, they won't levy such a charge, but they state in the future they might. Which translates into common language as "in the future they will".

They have now gained approval from the ministry to simultaneously broadcast on the Internet, and by lowering the viewer's fee they hope to gain enough support in society for their extortion schemes.

In the end, the solution is of course very easy. The Internet being the Internet, they can just make NHK a paid subscription service, just like the others. Let's see how many people then will still subscribe.

Sounds like the locals caught on to the "I don't have an antenna and that's just a really big computer monitor" story that most gaijin give the NHK collectors.

[matsuki]

Unless it is going to be bundled in with ISP billing, they'll still have to get you to sign a contract.

[BigInJapan]

Apparently it's now official, NHK can now legally charge mobile phone owners (who don't even own a TV set) to pay up:

March 14, 2019 - 06:29 am JST

Ruling finalized ordering cell phone TV owners to pay public NHK subscription fee

TOKYO - The Supreme Court has finalized high court rulings ordering owners of a cell phone with a television function to pay a subscription fee to Japan's public broadcaster NHK, Kyodo News learned Wednesday.

The Japanese Broadcast Law obliges anyone who has a TV signal receiver to sign a contract with Japan Broadcasting Corp (NHK).

Presiding Judge Toshimitsu Yamasaki ruled Tuesday in two cases that the broadcast law applies to an individual who owns a cell phone with a TV function, rejecting appeals by the plaintiffs.

One of the lawsuits was filed by a member of the Asaka city assembly near Tokyo who does not own a TV set, and the Saitama District Court decided in August 2016 he was not obliged to pay the subscription fee because possessing such a cellphone was not necessarily equivalent to installing a TV signal receiver.

In March last year, the Tokyo High Court overturned the ruling saying the possession of a cell phone with a TV function should be regarded as installing a TV receiver, and that owners of such devices and people having TV sets need to be treated equally to ensure fairness as long as they can watch NHK channels.

In another lawsuit, both the Tokyo District Court and the Tokyo High Court have ruled that the owner of a cell phone capable of receiving TV signals but without a TV set at home still needs to pay a subscription fee to the public broadcaster.

NHK issued a statement and said the top court made a "reasonable" ruling in line with its assertions.

Article on JapanToday with comments

[TennoChinko]

Got handed one of these stickers the other day to repel NHK but I don't like the idea of sticking anything on my door:

[wagyl]

I don't like the idea of sticking anything on my door

Quite aside from that, you live in Chiyoda-ku not in Shinjuku-ku, so your contact representative would be different.

[matsuki]

Apparently it's now official, NHK can now legally charge mobile phone owners (who don't even own a TV set) to pay up:

March 14, 2019 - 06:29 am JST

Ruling finalized ordering cell phone TV owners to pay public NHK subscription fee

TOKYO - The Supreme Court has finalized high court rulings ordering owners of a cell phone with a television function to pay a subscription fee to Japan's public broadcaster NHK, Kyodo News learned Wednesday.

Do the JDM iPhones have 1-seg? I don't think they do and my JDM Pixel certainly doesn't....it is a pretty much a Japan-only feature and mostly implemented by Japanese manufacturers. I'm sure they're happy about that

At the end of the day, you're under no obligation to answer the door or any questions the NHK reps have so unless they are going to demand carriers provide information about keitai models (sure that would go over well with both the carriers and customers) their customers are using enforcement isn't going to be easy.

[Taro Toporific]

1-seg... is a pretty much a Japan-only feature and mostly implemented by Japanese manufacturers. I'm sure they're happy about that.

The majority of Japanese cars have built-in a combination GPS Navi and Entertainment system with 1-seg. Owning a foreign car would good way to beat NHK too just like owning a foreign smartphone.

[matsuki]

1-seg... is a pretty much a Japan-only feature and mostly implemented by Japanese manufacturers. I'm sure they're happy about that.

The majority of Japanese cars have built-in a combination GPS Navi and Entertainment system with 1-seg. Owning a foreign car would good way to beat NHK too just like owning a foreign smartphone.

Yep...I swapped out the outdated one in my 'Yota with an aftermarket Chinese Android unit. No 1-seg unless you buy a seperate unit that plugs in. (and let's be serious, which one of us wants to see the local TV in their car that bad?) It has a browser, can play media, and tethers to my keitai so I didn't opt for that.

[jingai]

Does the TV function refer to a specific app? I think a coworker has a TV tuner that uses an antenna to pick up programs. I can't see anything on my Android phone that could pick up a NHK broadcast.

[matsuki]

It refers to the hardware to receive "One-seg" TV broadcasts. Either your phone has the hardware or not. (though they sell USB dongles to add it after the fact if you really want it)

I had the local NHK agent come by yesterday...he had some sort of tablet that emitted the same tones as a takkyubin employee, hence me answering the door. Two snarling doggies and a furriner to greet him wasn't what he expected. He was a younger guy, polite, and after letting him know that a TV tuner wasn't worth my time he said he understood and ran through the two other checks. Keitai - google pixel...no 1-seg. Car? with Navi? Indeed, nice new one with a nice big screen....and no TV/1-seg hardware. He did a rather polite bow while thanking me and apologizing for taking my time. Not exactly the boogeyman we often hear about but thus far my several experiences with them have always been about the same, just with new questions. Will be interesting if they start requiring payment if you have internet connectivity before giving in and just revising the funding structure NHK.

[Taro Toporific]

... Car? with Navi? Indeed, nice new one with a nice big screen....and no TV/1-seg hardware. He did a rather polite bow while thanking me and apologizing for taking my time. Not exactly the boogeyman we often hear about...

Sometimes NHK's newly-hired college grads/shinjin are sent out for a month to "get the feel" of NHK's real customers. Unlike the pushy, bad-news, sub-contacted salesmen who work on commission, those shinjin kids just have to pass their one-month test before they go on to their real NHK career. As a training exercise, forcing shinjin to try to collect for NHK's sometimes less-than-stellar programming is a good experience in humility.

Anyway, here's the latest NHK scam:

Tokyo court orders car owner to pay NHK fee
japantoday.com | 2019 May 16
The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday ruled that the owner of a car with a navigation system capable of receiving television signals should pay the monthly subscription fee for Japan's public broadcaster.
It was the first court ruling on whether car owners should pay NHK fees for TV-equipped navigation systems. The broadcast law obliges anyone who possesses a TV signal receiver to sign a contract with Japan Broadcasting Corp, commonly known as NHK.
The ruling came after the Supreme Court in March ordered owners of cellphones with TV functionality to pay the subscription fee.
In the latest case, a women living in Tochigi Prefecture, eastern Japan, filed the suit against NHK to confirm she did not have to pay the subscription fee. During the trial, she argued the navigation system was unable to receive TV signals when her car was in the parking space outside her home and she did not purchase the system to watch television.
More...

:domo:

[wangta]

It refers to the hardware to receive "One-seg" TV broadcasts. Either your phone has the hardware or not. (though they sell USB dongles to add it after the fact if you really want it)

I had the local NHK agent come by yesterday...he had some sort of tablet that emitted the same tones as a takkyubin employee, hence me answering the door. Two snarling doggies and a furriner to greet him wasn't what he expected. He was a younger guy, polite, and after letting him know that a TV tuner wasn't worth my time he said he understood and ran through the two other checks. Keitai - google pixel...no 1-seg. Car? with Navi? Indeed, nice new one with a nice big screen....and no TV/1-seg hardware. He did a rather polite bow while thanking me and apologizing for taking my time. Not exactly the boogeyman we often hear about but thus far my several experiences with them have always been about the same, just with new questions. Will be interesting if they start requiring payment if you have internet connectivity before giving in and just revising the funding structure NHK.

You're a great bloke Matsuki but...........................stop giving credibility to the NHK cunts!

I don't have any conversations with these servants of vampires cunts in the first place. I know it helps living among truckies who tell them to fuck off in their best Adachi Japanese but I never gave any fucking attention to them directly didn't even when living elsewhere in Japan in better neighbourhoods. Giving NHK the time of day is simply giving energy they don't deserve.

Don't talk to the cunts which means don't open your door in the first place. Open the door by mistake? Close it again when you see the NHK cunts. Rinse and repeat.

[matsuki]

Don't talk to the cunts which means don't open your door in the first place.

My usual advice

Open the door by mistake? Close it again when you see the NHK cunts. Rinse and repeat.

My 30 sec convo shut the guy down pretty quick. Had it been one of the real assholes, he would have had the door slammed in his face.
I figure 30sec with a polite guy that is taking notes, letting them know not to waste their time might avoid future visits but who knows?

[Taro Toporific]

Don't talk to the cunts which means don't open your door in the first place.

Vietnamese man sprays NHK fee collector with fire extinguisher
tokyoreporter.com | August 17, 2019
AICHI (TR)– Aichi Prefectural Police have arrested male Vietnamese national for allegedly using spraying a license fee collector for public broadcaster NHK with fire extinguisher last week...
...At around 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, the suspect, a 34-year-old technical trainee, allegedly sprayed the contents of the fire extinguisher into the face of the male collector at the entrance of the apartment of the suspect in Nagoya’s Kita Ward.
More...

fire-1.gif

[Grumpy Gramps]

The collector was not hurt in the incident

So that Vietnamese guy went through all that trouble of getting himself arrested etc. and wouldn't even give that NHK-guy a bloody nose? He must be a very kind soul.

[Taro Toporific]

The collector was not hurt in the incident

So that Vietnamese guy went through all that trouble of getting himself arrested etc. and wouldn't even give that NHK-guy a bloody nose? He must be a very kind soul.

Sadly, the Vietnamese guy must have used a dry powder fire extinguisher which leaves a HUGE powdery cloud-mess of toxic chemicals rather than a CO2 extinguisher that leaves no trace.

[Russell]

NHK collector must have been spitting fire...

[Grumpy Gramps]

Sadly, the Vietnamese guy must have used a dry powder fire extinguisher which leaves a HUGE powdery cloud-mess of toxic chemicals rather than a CO2 extinguisher that leaves no trace.

Yes, I tried one once. It was years past the expiry date and I couldn't resist pulling the trigger. Ended up having a snowy wintery garden in the middle of the summer

[Mike Oxlong]

Where do I address the ochugen I must send?

[matsuki]

The collector was not hurt in the incident

So that Vietnamese guy went through all that trouble of getting himself arrested etc. and wouldn't even give that NHK-guy a bloody nose? He must be a very kind soul.

I wonder how aggressive the NHK cunt was.

Any suggestions on the J-wording of a no solicitors sign? The cults have been at my door far too much lately. I almost want to rig up a non-plumbed shower head and hang a sign on it with something along the lines of "uninvited visitors will be blasted with 666° water"

[Grumpy Gramps]

Oh, yes, if you find a good Japanese "no begging, no peddling, no loitering" sign, please post it here.

[matsuki]

I wonder if gun silhouette might help. 'merica has to carry some benefit.

[Mike Oxlong]

I wonder if gun silhouette might help. 'merica has to carry some benefit.

I think you have to have had to have grown up in gun country to understand that. In '70s/'80s Canuckistan, I got to shoot enough handguns and rifles to have been a regular rootin' tootin' Yosemite Sam. Even the old guys I talk to here with their licenses and their proudly owned bird guns don't have a clue.

[Grumpy Gramps]

I have that sticker on the door, which you get from animal control to tell the postman or whoever else wants in that the dog that's going to bite them, has its rabies shots up to date. Hasn't stopped anyone so far. Maybe I should put a doggie sticker up "no rabies shots here, we're antivaxxers, ring the door bell on your own risk."

[Russell]

I have that sticker on the door, which you get from animal control to tell the postman or whoever else wants in that the dog that's going to bite them, has its rabies shots up to date. Hasn't stopped anyone so far. Maybe I should put a doggie sticker up "no rabies shots here, we're antivaxxers, ring the door bell on your own risk."

Maybe this sign works...

[Grumpy Gramps]

Maybe a customised one for plausible deniability?

fire.png

[Mike Oxlong]

Good friend used to have Dobermans. When he did, it was never a problem.