Virtually every year since our establishment in 1991, the Japan Media Communication Center (JAMCO) has been holding international symposiums with the aim of contributing to international exchange through television programming. In FY 2018, the JAMCO Online International Symposium will be held, with reports and discussions presented by researchers and specialists both in Japan and overseas on the theme of “The Future of Television: Japan and Europe”, and I welcome everyone’s comments and opinions.

JAMCO aims to promote international exchange through television programming, thereby contributing to the deepening of mutual understanding between Japan and other nations as well as the advancement and expansion of broadcasting in developing countries.

Accordingly, one of JAMCO’s main activities is selecting from among television programs broadcast in Japan programs that would be suitable for broadcasting in developing countries and then translating these into English, Spanish, French, and other languages to create international versions as well as ME (Music & Effect) versions to make it easier to dub the programs into local languages. From FY 1991 until the end of FY 2017, the number of international versions of Japanese television programs owned by JAMCO grew to a total of 1,722—including documentaries, children’s and educational programs, and dramas.

JAMCO provides these programs free-of-charge to broadcasting stations in developing countries in the hope that broadcasting these programs will provide support to each country in fields such as education, disaster preparedness, hygiene, technology, and the environment, while at the same time facilitating understanding of the current situation in Japan and Japanese culture. From FY 1991 until the end of FY 2017, JAMCO provided some 12,712 television programs to 96 countries throughout Asia, the Pacific Islands, Africa, the Middle and Near East, Central and South America, and other regions of the world. Depending on the country, the international versions of these Japanese programs have been dubbed into local languages or broadcast as-is in English or Spanish.

As was reported by Asian countries at the 24th JAMCO Online International Symposium held in FY 2015, due to the technological innovations of digitalization and the spread of the Internet, it is becoming impossible for broadcasting stations in Asian countries to ignore the issues of Internet utilization and the convergence of broadcasting and communications.

For this reason, I believe that, due to the involvement of rights and conditions related to the programs provided by JAMCO to developing countries, it is highly relevant in terms of JAMCO’s responsibilities that the 27th JAMCO Online International Symposium in FY 2018 choose a theme concerning “The Future of Television: Japan and Europe” and consider how Japan and European countries should tackle this issue.

Regardless of how the convergence of broadcasting and communications progresses, television will continue to play a large role in terms of how people obtain information. However, communication styles will undoubtedly change in accordance with how television transforms in the future.

Moreover, deliberating the “Future of Television” also holds deep significance from the perspective of international exchange.

For the 27th JAMCO Online International Symposium in FY 2018, reports on the “Future of Television” in Japan will be presented by Prof. Takashi Uchiyama of Aoyama Gakuin University, Prof. Taro Komukai of Nihon University, and Ms. Keiko Murakami, Executive Researcher at the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute. In addition, reports on the topic of television-related changes taking place in Europe are to be presented by Ms. Jacquie Hughes, Content Policy Director at Ofcom (Office of Communications), and Ms. Yoshiko Nakamura, Executive Researcher at the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute.

Comments and opinions from symposium audience members viewing these presentations, researchers, and practitioners are most welcome.