Had my first run in with the nhk guy ( I would’ve ignored him but I had a maintenance coming that same day). Faked not knowing japanese and luckily being a bloke meant he couldn’t see the unplugged tv in the room behind me when he tries to peak in. It appears I made him give up but should I expect more visits? Just moved to Japan but I’ve heard many a tale of how persistent they are.
23 comments
I literally don’t have a TV and I still see them once or twice a year so yes, they will come back.
You do know if you have a tv you have to pay though, why not just avoid breaking the law?
He will keep coming.
Next time he might bring an english flyer or call someone that speaks english right in front of you. He might say if you have internet, pc, cellphone, or car with gps then you have to pay. He will be very annoying to deal with.
I just don’t answer the door. Too much hassle to deal with those people.
They will never give up. Time to practice the good ol’ 居留守.
Why even go through the pantomime of not knowing Japanese? Just close the door. You have no obligation to continue interacting with the NHK guy. Just close the door and move on with your life.
帰ってください。
Those are the magic words.
Yes, they come by once every few months or so. Just ask who they are in the intercom (which you should be doing anyway) and if they say nhk hit the 終了 button and go about your day.
No intercom? Came directly to your door? keep the bolt locked and do the same thing.
The crazy stories come from people who let it get beyond that point. If you let them into your space they are really persistent, otherwise what are they gonna do? Demand to search your house and pockets for a TV signal?
Started paying this year. Worth the money not having the fear of encountering the NHK guy all the time. And the NHK+ thing was nice to watch the Olympics.
I live in a house they are much harder to avoid.
I have an almost irrational hate toward the NHK guys. So many stories about their behavior just makes my blood boil.
They would consistently come every six months to my old place. They even told me that they have to come back twice a year as a rule.
My advice is don’t lie to them, don’t do the “nihongo wo tabenai” thing, don’t make excuses, don’t tell them you don’t have a TV, just close the door in their face and ignore them.
If they happen to force the door open or anything. Shout at them that you will call the police, or if you can be bothered, ask for their ID and actually call the police to complain.
I second the close the door comment. Also, you can always say you don’t live there. It’s your friends place. It’s an Airbnb. It’s a porn studio and invite him to try out for a position.
I’ve been here for 9 years and only had the nhk guy show up once. I was mid work out and went out wearing only gym shorts and was excited to see how I could troll him.
I just said I don’t have a tv and he was like ‘okay then’ and left. Two years since no one has knocked lol
Only ever seen the nhk guy once. He was super polite. I even tried to help him by saying I have a laptop but no TV. He was just like ok, have a nice day. Was kinda disappointed after hearing all the horror stories
They earlier this year, they asked if I have a JAPANESE CELLPHONE. Scary.
I’ve moved a couple of times. Every time the NHK guy comes for the first time, I tell them I don’t have a TV. And they never come back.
Expecting this to fall on deaf ears but there is no reason to play games or be rude to these people if they are not rude to you.
There is a law that states you have to sign up and pay them but there is no penalty for breaking this law and they are not going to drag you into court either so it’s not a big a deal as a lot of people are making this encounter to be.
Just say no, and goodbye. That’s it.
I’m beginning to think no one should keep a TV within view of the door.
I’ve had three different NHK guys over the years. The first guy quickly left when I said I didn’t speak Japanese. The second guy visited our apartment building every night for a week, I could hear him ring every intercom (there was a security door). The third guy tried to argue with me about having a tv and pulled out a big handful of pamphlets in a variety of languages, I ended up closing the door on him and he didn’t come back.
But yeah, don’t open the door if you can help it. One of them pushed open a classmate’s door to look in for a tv and she had to scream for help to get him to leave. The police just said “yeah don’t open the door”
Nowadays I only get old cultist ladies and milk salespeople…
I have literally never had a run in with NHK people. Maybe it has to do with my working hours, but idk.
Open the door wearing only pants and invite him for a cup of tea
The “NHK Guy” really isn’t “the NHK Guy”, or rather, is not an employee of NHK per se. They will much more likely be an employee of a separate company contracted our by NHK to secure new feepayer for a commission/success fee. That’s one reason one is going to have a wide range of quality of experience and professionalism. And, should one ever experience the extreme abusive end of behavior – from threats, assault, battery & forcible entry – there have even been cases of sexual assault and at least one murder … the very first thing you are bound to hear from NHK is a clarifying statement that the person in question was NOT their employee (and therefore, nothing to do with them).
If you are from the UK, then it helps to know that despite the seeming similarities with the UK TV Licensing law and the Japanese Broadcast law, a major difference is that the UK still *criminalizes* non-payment of the TV License fee. Japan, does not. And, despite what you might read about recent court cases, keep in mind that the first thing one should remember is that it’s far easier to simply not contract with the NHK (contractor/agent) in the first place – as once you have signed an agreement, the counterparty can file in civil court. Even if the Broadcast Law stipulates one is ‘obligated to enter into a civil agreement …” it’s not enforced as they are unwilling to force someone into a contract.
Meanwhile, the NHK contractors are much more varied in numbers and types than the the UK contractor (Capita/Consignia) – and in terms of shenanigans, apart from the attempts at forced entry, I’ve seen false invoices (i.e. no date on the invoice – which really puts them into the scammer category ), threats to report one (if a foreigner) to Immigration or the police (an easy bluff to call).
And, it goes without saying, if you have controlled entrance, use it. And, even though it might just be signing for receipt of something like a new creditcard that your bank sent – if you’re not sure, make certain you’re not stupidly signing for something that you don’t understand.
It also happened to me once. I told the guy, “oh sorry man, I don’t have a TV, you see”, and the my TV was blasting from my room. We both knew it was bullshit but he eventually gave up and never came back.
The solution is to move to a house. No-one bothers people in houses because the time-volume expense doesn’t add up. Much more efficient to canvas apartment buildings.
Just saying
Last week I had an NHK guy pretend to be a deliveryman, holding a parcel I never ordered right in front of the video intercom lens. They’re evolving.
They will be back but the visits should become less and less frequent.