Radio Nikkei

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Radio Nikkei (ラジオNIKKEI, Rajio Nikkei^?) is Japan's domestic shortwave commercial radio broadcasting station headquartered in 9-15 Akasaka 1-chōme, Minato-ku, Tokyo.

1 Features
2 Background
3 Programming
4 Frequencies, beam, modulation and hours
5 History
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Features

It is Japan's only domestic shortwave broadcasting station.
It is Japan's only fee-free commercial shortwave broadcasting station.
It is Japan's only terrestrial commercial station with more than one audio content channels to cover the same area.
It is also Japan's only terrestrial commercial station that officially serves the whole territory of Japan.

[edit] Background

It is operated by Nikkei Radio Broadcasting Corporation (株式会社日経ラジオ社, Kabushiki-gaisha Nikkei Rajio-sha^?, NRBC), whose main shareholders are The Nihon Keizai Shimbun (abbreviated 日経 Nikkei, Nihon Keizai Shimbun^?) financial daily newspaper and Tokyo Stock Exchange. Its headquarters are in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. It also has branch offices in Kōraibashi, Chūō-ku, Osaka and Sakae, Naka-ku, Nagoya.

Its studios in Tokyo are in the headquarters, in Tokyo Stock Exchange and two other public-viewable satellite studios. In Osaka it also has studios in the branch office and a satellite studio.

NRBC provides contents not only on the shortwave but also on MobaHo! satellite radio, the internet and the mobile telephone.

[edit] Programming

The language is almost exclusively in Japanese except an English lesson and a South Korean popular music (K-pop) program.

The station features the following six genres as the core of its programming: finance, JRA horse racing (weekends), medical, distance education, Asian and animation-themed (anime).

The 1st Broadcast (第1放送, Dai-ichi Hōsō^?) is for general programs and horse racing from eastern Japan. The 2nd Broadcast (第2放送, Dai-ni Hōsō^?) is for live company stock price announcement and horse racing from western Japan.

Although Radio Nikkei is a member of Nikkei media group, its programming does not have strong linkage with the group's television networks, TXN and Nikkei CNBC.

[edit] Frequencies, beam, modulation and hours

From the transmitting stations in Nagara, Chiba and Nemuro, Hokkaidō, it transmits on the following frequencies, power and call signs.

The 1st Broadcast (第1放送, Dai-ichi Hōsō^?)
- 3.925MHz / 50kW: JOZ, JOZ4
- 6.055MHz / 50kW: JOZ2
- 9.595MHz / 50kW: JOZ3

The 2nd Broadcast (第2放送, Dai-ni Hōsō^?)
- 3.945MHz / 10kW: JOZ5
- 6.115MHz / 50kW: JOZ6
- 9.760MHz / 50kW: JOZ7

The horizontal dipole antennas radiate towards the northeast and the southwest direction, which would cover the Japanese archipelago.

As of June 2007, its shortwave transmissions are in an ordinary amplitude modulation: double sideband full carrier (A3E).

The 1st Broadcast begins at 05:40 in Japan Standard Time (JST), 20:40 (the day before) in the UTC and ends at 22:30JST=13:30UTC (Mondays to Thursdays), 23:30JST=14:30UTC (Fridays), 23:15JST=14:15UTC (Saturdays) and 21:00JST=12:00UTC (Sundays).

The 2nd Broadcast begins at 08:00JST=23:00UTC and ends at 16:30JST=07:30UTC (Mondays to Fridays), 18:00=09:00UTC (Saturdays and Sundays).

The broadcasting schedule changes subject to program availability. See the schedule in Japanese [1].

[edit] History

This is an excerpt from ja:日経ラジオ社#沿革.

1 July 1954: Nippon Shortwave Broadcasting Co.,Ltd (株式会社日本短波放送, Kabushiki-gaisha Nippon Tanpa Hōsō^?), abbreviated NSB was established.
27 August 1954: Station officially opened.
2 September 1963: The 2nd Broadcast commences.
23 November 1978: Started doing business as "Radio Tanpa" (ラジオたんぱ, Rajio Tanpa^?, lit. "Radio Shortwave")
April 2002: Ceased the scheduled 2nd Broadcast on weekdays, leaving scheduled weekend and unscheduled broadcast.
1 October 2003: Changed the company name to current Nikkei Radio Broadcasting Corporation (株式会社日経ラジオ社, Kabushiki-gaisha Nikkei Rajio-sha^?).
1 April 2004: The assumed business name changed to "Radio Nikkei" (ラジオNIKKEI, Rajio Nikkei^?).
3 April 2004: Recommenced the scheduled 2nd Broadcast on weekdays.