NHK Educational TV (NHK教育)

Category: Terrestrial (地上波)

City: Tokyo

About / 概要

English:
NHK Educational TV (NHK教育テレビジョン) is NHK’s dedicated channel for learning, culture, and children’s programming. Launched to promote lifelong education and cultural enrichment, it offers a wide variety of content including documentaries, lectures, language courses, kids’ shows, music performances, and science specials. Funded through viewer license fees, the channel upholds NHK’s mission of impartiality and public service. It reaches virtually all Japanese homes via digital terrestrial broadcast (callsign: JOAB-DTV) and provides multilingual subtitles for language learners and audio-description for accessibility.

日本語:
NHK教育テレビジョン（NHK教育）は、生涯学習と文化の普及を目的としたNHKの専門チャンネルです。ドキュメンタリー、講義番組、語学講座、子ども向け番組、音楽公演、科学特番など、多彩な教育・教養コンテンツを提供します。視聴料で運営され、公平・中立な放送を行うことで公共性を維持。地上デジタル放送（コールサイン：JOAB-DTV）で全国に届き、多言語字幕や音声解説でアクセシビリティにも配慮しています。

History / 歴史

1. Launch (1959): NHK began regular educational broadcasts on January 10, 1959 under the callsign JOAB-TV, focusing on school lectures and cultural programs.
2. Color & Expansion (1960s–1970s): Color transmission started in 1963. NHK教育 expanded nationwide studio production of science, history, and language courses throughout the 1970s.
3. Satellite & Digital Transition (1980s–2000s): Launched NHK BS Educational (now BS Premium education block) in 1985. Began digital terrestrial trials in late 1990s and fully switched to digital broadcast on July 24, 2011.
4. HD & Interactive Era (2000s–Present): HD broadcasts started in 2004. From the 2010s onward, NHK教育 introduced interactive data broadcasting services, on-demand educational apps, and AI-powered captioning to support remote learners.

TV Schedule (Sample) / 番組表（例）

• 06:00–07:00 Kids’ Challenge / キッズチャレンジ
• 09:00–10:00 Language Lab: English / ランゲージラボ 英語講座
• 12:30–13:00 Today’s Science / 今日の科学
• 14:00–15:00 History Lectures / 歴史講座シリーズ
• 18:00–19:00 Documentary: Nature & Society / 自然と社会ドキュメンタリー
• 21:00–22:00 Music Spotlight / ミュージックスポットライト

More Info / その他情報

Official website / 公式サイト: nhk.or.jp/education

Launched / 放送開始: January 10, 1959

Callsign / コールサイン: JOAB-DTV

Network / ネットワーク: NHK Public Broadcasting