This is a bit of an unusual article but please bear with me. Our family has subscribed to TV Japan for many years, certainly since before I actually came back home from Japan for good in late 2011. We've been able to keep up with the news over there along with seeing what was up with the cuisine, nature, tourism and of course music for the past several years.
So, it was with some alarm last night when I got my monthly TV bill and saw a note stating that as of March 31 2024, TV Japan would no longer be provided on our service. Well, the withdrawal automatically kicked in, and although I don't take bad news all that well and calmly in the first few minutes of a potential crisis (especially involving my parents), I managed to keep things in check and sent out some feelers in the form of an email to the firm to find out what was going on. I got a reply back asking that they be given some time to craft a response. In the interim, I contacted my provider this morning and they reassured me that it wasn't them behind the dropping of TV Japan; this was apparently a TV Japan decision.
I won't be speculating about the reason behind the loss of TV Japan in six weeks until I get a good response from the company, but I am wondering if others in the Toronto area or even beyond have gotten a similar note. It would be a shame to lose the broadcaster but I'm already thinking of potential options.
February 13th 3:15 pm. I got the following response from their customer service right now (an hour after I wrote the above up):
Thank you very much for your inquiry.
We are unable to provide an answer to your inquiry at this time, but we are currently considering ways to provide our services that will improve the ease of use for our customers.
Once a decision is made, we will promptly announce it on our website and in our e-mail newsletter.
Thank you for your understanding.
That sounds intriguing or ominous!
Supposedly TV Japan is still available in Canada on Cable TV and IPTV. Cable providers in Canada that have TVJapan: TV ROGERS, BELL Fibe TV, and SHAW. If that does work you may need to get a good VPN, but if you are having trouble I am sure others are too, so there must be a solution or one on the way. Back in the 1980's I remember my friends using satellite tv to get broadcast from Japan and trading VHS tapes family members in Japan had sent to the States. Some tried their best to hold on to beta, but VHS won the day.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I hope you get this resolved soon
Hi, Brian. Yeah, it was Bell that has had TV Japan dropped. Rogers still has it for now and we used to be with them but their service hasn't exactly been stellar, to say the least.
DeleteWell, hope this is resolved soon, or that you can find a new provider.
DeleteI have a feeling that perhaps within a couple of weeks, TV Japan may announce something. Regardless, I think our family will be exploring a new way to see Japanese television.
DeleteFireminer here. This is kind of suck. Reminds me of when this channel named WakuWakuJapan stopped broadcasting in 2022. There is a market for Japanese content with English dub or sub, but I don't know just how profitable it is.
ReplyDeleteAnd isn't it Hiroko Moriguchi in the clip you posted. Her co-host also appear on several variety shows, if I remember correctly.
Yep, that is indeed Moriguchi in the clip along with George Tokoro. He's one of the veteran entertainers in Japan.
DeleteI've heard of Waku Waku Japan but never got to see what that was all about.