Noon today marks the end of analog TV broadcasting in Japan after 58 years, with the exception of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima prefectures, the area hit by the major quake and tsunami in March. There the changeover to digital terrestrial TV broadcasting has been delayed until the end of March 2012.
The changeover from analog to digital TV (known by the abbreviation “jideji”) was first announced in December 2003. But up to 700,000 households nationwide (including this one!) have not yet bought digital TVs or tuners and antennas, in spite of various campaigns to inform the public of the switchover and offer discounts and rebates on eco-friendly electronic products. At noon today, those analog TV screens will go blank apart from a notice informing viewers where to make inquiries. The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry has started operating a 24-hour telephone hotline to handle all inquiries.
The ministry’s so-called “digital support centers” answer questions on what type of tuners are necessary and how to operate remote controllers for digital-capable TVs. The service has been receiving a lot of calls, particularly from the elderly.