I’ve had two different NHK guys come to my door trying to get me to make a contract. I have a TV but it’s just used for a PlayStation and my iTunes library. I don’t watch any Japanese broadcasting, or even have it connected to the antenna socket on the wall. I’ve told both of them this. That I don’t watch TV, and that it isn’t connected to the antenna.
Am I obliged to make a contract? If those are the rules then so be it. I’m not going to be a dick about it. I was handed a pamphlet that selectively quotes The Broadcast Law Article 64 paragraph 1:
>Persons installing reception equipment capable of receiving NHK broadcasts shall enter into a contract with NHK for the reception of those broadcasts.
However, on NHK’s website the following section of the law is quoted:
>Any person who has installed receiving equipment
capable of receiving the broadcasting provided by NHK shall conclude a contract with NHK with regard to the reception of its broadcasting.
However, ***this shall not apply to those who have installed receiving equipment not intended for the reception of broadcasting***, or receiving equipment solely for the reception of radio broadcasting or multiplex broadcasting (broadcasting of voice and other sound transmissions not coming under television broadcasting and multiplex broadcasting classifications; the same shall apply to Article 126 paragraph 1).
Source: https://www.nhk-cs.jp/jushinryo/multilingual/english/index.html
\*emphasis mine
Am I interpreting the fuller quotation of the law wrong, or am I legally exempt? Is there any precedent for this?
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/wauzqf/nhk_contract/
14 comments
Never talk to the NHK man! The trick is called 居留守, you’re home, but at the same time, you’re not.
Before the NHK Bad people come, let me tell you the unadulterated rules without personal opinions.
If you have a device that is capable of receiving NHK you are obliged to pay, regardless of if you use it for receiving NHK or not. However, you do not have to sign a contract to set up automatic payments but opt to receive a paper bill which you can pay at the convenient store
I’ve found this to be the most effective phrase to repel them…
[SoraNews24 2018-01-23: Anti-NHK activist recommends “magic words” that will drive away fee collectors instantly](https://soranews24.com/2018/01/23/anti-nhk-activist-recommends-magic-words-that-will-drive-away-fee-collectors-instantly/)
(今、親いないんで; ima oya inainde; my parents aren’t home right now).
If you want to be legally in the clear (and willing to pay for it) don Quijote sells a tv that is literally incapable of receiving a television signal, and thus no need to pay the NHK man. (This TV has gotten quite popular) or a computer monitor would serve the same purpose.
There was a great youtube video explaining how the words “go away” are the magic words. This is because however many reasons you give them for not paying, they’ll just keep hammering away because it is a contractual dispute. However, once you bring “go away” into it, it becomes a matter of trespass, and they don’t want any part of that.
I don’t know if links are allowed here, but:
​
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UWRlglp6DM&ab_channel=%E3%83%91%E3%83%AF%E3%83%BC%E5%96%B6%E6%A5%ADTV%E8%A1%8C%E6%94%BF%E6%9B%B8%E5%A3%AB%E6%9D%89%E4%BA%95%E8%B2%B4%E5%B9%B8
Best solution is just to not answer the door. Don’t even engage.
As an aside, I was forced into an NHK contract by the realtor when I moved into an apartment. When I was signing the contracts for utilities, etc., they told me I had to sign up for NHK too, so I did. Then when I moved in, I submitted a contract cancellation request. I told them I didn’t have a TV (I did, though. Oops.). They sent me a form to schedule a visit so that they could come in my apartment and confirm this. I didn’t respond. Then they sent another. I didn’t respond. Then after like a month, they sent me a contract cancellation notice saying that I was released from the contract. I never heard from them again (at that apartment anyway…). I also never paid any of the bills they sent me for that time. This was like 8 years ago.
I will pay when they give me English subtitles
Do the guys from NHK speak engrish? I had open the door a couple times but I say that I can not read any japanese and barely speak japanese , they just go away
Just speak some foreign language to them.
These guys are annoying. Just don’t answer the door. Japanese are under the impression that “everyone needs to pay for it” that’s why they pay, or the neighbors might find out they Havnt paid (nightmare!)
But yeah, don’t give them a single yen.
since this post is in English I’m assuming you are a foreigner.
Then you have the super power us Japanese don’t have. Your a “gaijin” !!
Just say Nihongo wakarimasen. Act like you don’t know anything they say.
Or say fuck off and scare them off.
1. You’re not obligated to talk with them.
2. You’re not obligated to conclude a contract with the guy at your door, even if you are obligated to do so with NHK.
3. Those guys don’t actually work for NHK. They work for a company contracted by NHK and operate on a commission basis, which is why they’ll hound the shit out of you if you engage with them at all.
Why are you so fixated into whether you should be liable to pay or not? See a lawyer if you care that much. Just don’t answer the door.
The NHK guy knocked on my door a few weeks ago. I just told him over the intercom that I have a TV but no tuner card is installed, I just use it for games. He seemed fine with that and left.
I also told him at the start of the conversation that I was quarantining for covid and so I shouldn’t talk to him face to face. Maybe that had something to do with him giving up easily…