My understanding of the law is that you have to pay NHK if you have a device capable of receiving their broadcasts.
But if you remove the B-CAS card from a TV it no longer can. And if you only watch cable TV or you only use your TV as a computer monitor, it would make perfect sense to remove it to avoid fees….in certain circumstances.
Mind you, this is mostly a techinical question and when the NHK guy comes over, loads of us are just going to say whatever to get him to go away and never get so far as the B-CAS card….which is of course the safer option.
But if someone removes the B-CAS card from the TV, it may be useful for example if you open the door, the NHK guy sees the TV, and you can tell them it has no B-CAS card and he will have no choice but to get lost.
Or in the case you are already paying and want to stop, you could tell NHK you took out the card and watch cable TV only now.
Or my favorite, convincing the wife we are well within the law to stop paying NHK cause look honey….no B-CAS card.
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The B-CAS thing doesn’t matter. Some of the more annoying NHK people will literally say that if you have a car navigation system/screen or a smartphone that can stream/play NHK content, you’re liable to pay the fee. Speaking from experience.
I don’t think the card tracks who is watching or not. The way the law is written or at least interpreted is that so long as you have any device capable of viewing nhk, then you have to pay for it.
I have a 50″ Samsung I ordered from B&H a few years back. It has no B-CAS, so it’s basically just a monitor here. I don’t pay NHK because I don’t own any TV or anything capable of receiving their broadcast. No phones with 1-seg, no TVs with B-CAS, no car, etc, so I don’t pay.
I’m not really sure if a broken TV is the same as a TV that’s just missing the little card though. Missing the card might be like having the TV turned off… you can easily receive their broadcast by turning the TV on / replacing the card.
> you can tell them it has no B-CAS card and he will have no choice but to get lost
Oh sweetie… you think they will care? Or they won’t come back?
It’s only a mental game. They will only see weakness, trying to justify yourself, and will push you harder to pay.
Either you don’t open the door, or you simply say no and close back the door. Another way is to say you will sign up online.
They won’t waste their time with you if you keep your stand as they know they won’t make any money from you.
They don’t care at all about the law or you are liable or not, these guys just want their comission.
Hence why we heard so many stories in this sub when they just come back when the wife is alone.
Own TV = Pay NHK
No TV = Pay NHK
Internet access? = Pay NHK
Have a car with GPS ? = Pay NHK
Nihongo tabemansen? Daijiyoubudesu! Eigo hanasemasu!
Dont forget that the rules are about to change and now people that own TV and dont pay NHK will receive penalty if they dont sign up for NHK now.
If you never talk to the NHK guy, it’s free.
You can always re-insert B-CAS card, right? I don’t think that’s different than “hey, my TV is unplugged so I can’t watch NHK”.
I heard stories of people actually destroying the terrestrial TV tuner part in their TV. Don’t remember if they actually get away with NHK.
If someone comes to your house and you do not want to talk to them, just say “Please leave. I don’t want to talk to you.” You don’t have to show strangers your TV or even engage with them. Don’t say “Whatever.” Say “Please go away.”
If you own a microwave you pay NHK fees. They look like tvs.
You don’t have to pay NHK, period. Don’t let them in your house, don’t talk to them.
Whether you own a TV or not is none of their damn business.
#”I DON’T HAVE A TV”
My trick is saying that I don’t speak Japanese.
When the NHK guy comes, you don’t know what a TV Is and even if you did you never had one in your life
Again? Is it the season or something? No, NHK broadcasts analog, digital and by satellite. It is the official public broadcast and needs to be accessible by all citizens in case of an emergency, hence why if you have any device capable of receiving a signal, you can watch NHK.
Just pay your fees, it’s not that much. When something major happens, you’ll be glad it’s there.
I know some apartments are small, but how many people have TV’s visible from the entrance? Get a chifforobe or something.
I removed the aerial from my roof.
That stopped the guy coming around. It’s been several years now.
Yes you still need to pay. As long as it’s trivial to re enable, you need to.
Removing the B-CAS card from your TV does not exempt you from NHK fees.
Paying for NHK is required for anyone with a TV, but there is no penalty for non payment.
https://japantoday.com/category/national/court-ruling-orders-anyone-with-a-tv-equipped-device-to-pay-nhks-public-broadcasting-license-fee
Don’t get into a discussion with the NHK guy. Among other things, NHK claims that any smartphone, smart TV, or computer counts as a TV because they can show NHK programming via the Internet. Yes, it’s totally batshit, but it’s what you will be dealing with if you engage.
I feel bad for the poor fellows who need to go door to door like that, but it really is like a vampire of lore; once you invite them in you are asking for trouble.
oh wow I never put this card in my tv exactly for this purpose! but if there’s no real point i guess i’ll grab and and put it in now lol..
I told one of those guys that I don’t own a TV. He wrote “it’s an obligation to pay!” on a card (to register for an automatic withdrawal?) and left it in the post. I sort of felt sorry for the guy, it must be one of the shittiest job there is.
Genuine question – if it is “unenforceable”, surely that means that what you say doesn’t matter, it’s what they can prove (to a court?) that counts. You could stand on your doorstep and say “I have a TV and I watch NHK”, but seeing as they can’t legally enter your home, they have no way of proving what you said, right? And next time they turn up, you could simply say you said no such thing the first time. How would it work? With an “admission” and nothing more can one of these NHK dudes apply for some sort of court order to enter your home, and therefore prove that you need to pay up? Anyone know the process? I just don’t see how this system works on anything other than caving in to the man at the door, honesty and a belief in the duty to pay.
I only contrast this with the UK, where I understand there is the ability for the enforcers to enter your home to prove the suspicions, eventually. Assuming the so-called detector vans are a fantasy, of course..
There was that case where the woman had a modified TV that didn’t receive the NHK signal and she *still* lost in court. Specifically, she won and then the case was overturned and the court rejected her appeal lol of course it fucking did!
> *Unfortunately, not even a year later this ruling was overturned, forcing the woman to pay the fees* ***on the basis that if a television can receive a signal or be modified to receive a signal****–in this case, with a signal booster–then the owner of the television is obligated to pay the annual fee.*
>
>[https://japantoday.com/category/national/tokyo-woman-with-signal-blocked-tv-loses-appeal-contesting-her-obligation-to-pay-nhk-fees](https://japantoday.com/category/national/tokyo-woman-with-signal-blocked-tv-loses-appeal-contesting-her-obligation-to-pay-nhk-fees)
Based on that, personally I’d venture to say it doesn’t really matter whether you removed the B-CAS card at that exact point in time. If you somehow let an NHK dude into your house and he sees the TV (and takes a photo of it) and decides to get NHK to build a case against you then… yeah if the woman I mentioned couldn’t win you don’t have much hope.
That ruling suggests that even if you did something to your TV to stop it receiving a signal, NHK would just argue that you can do something to your TV so that it does receive a signal.
Honestly it’s stupid (and convenient for NHK) because by that logic you could argue that some who buys a PC monitor for playing games is liable because they *could* do something to it to make it receive TV signals.
You don’t have a TV. If you have a TV, its a ‘pc monitor’ and it was bought in another country.
Don’t let them in your house. Its dirty and there are cockroaches. Yadda.
The better your Japanese is, the more they bother you. Answer every doorbell MOSHI MOSHI.
People generally don’t go to court for not signing contracts for a reason, this is because contract law states that contracts are void if made under duress. BUT once you sign a contract, if you reneg/don’t pay or try to cancel it, expect NHK man to turn into lawyer man. For those of you who need to argue the ethics with your partner, here is the EXACT wording of the law, according to NHK:
## Article 64 of the Broadcast Law:
‘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).’
So conclude a contract with them if you want, just set the terms. 0 JPY per year sounds fair to me, lets negotiate the terms of our contract in infinitum.
Basically they can write all the laws they want saying to pay nhk man but until they make it a tax or rewrite contract law (which will never happen, being an international standard needed for business) MOSHI MOSHI
Hope these pro life tips help.