NHK fees
 

Like the United Kingdom(England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), If you own a TV set in Japan, whos purpose is to watch televised programmes over the air, by a paid service(Cable and Satellite), then by law YOU DEFINITELY NEED A TV LICENCE!!!!!!!!!! AND PAID EVERY MONTH!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the UK, the fine for not obtaining a TV licence or not paying the fee every year as the British law states will be up to 1000 sterling pounds. But in Japan, they're even bigger:

1. Fines from 500M to 1.36B yen
2. Confiscation of the TV set
3. Imprisoment from 15-50 years(Prefecture dependant)

If you don't have it up-to-date, you're watching whilst others pay, and at the same time, RISKING BIG PENALTIES!!!!!!!




"TV Licence evasion: never fair, never right, ALWAYS ILLEGAL"

In the 8 months I've been here I have had no problems. A few months ago a woman knocked at my door, when I answered she said something in Japanese and "NHK". I knew she was there to collect the license money for my television (which I never watch). I pretended not to understand Japanese (not difficult), and after trying her best to explain to me that I was supposed to pay the license fee, she gave up and left. So far she has never come back.

I was not fined, my tv was not confiscated, and I'm not in jail.

What about if the only reason you own a TV is for the sake of playing game systems, or DVD players, etc., and you don't have cable or anything to watch on it?

You didn't understood the 3rd paragraph i wrote

Expect the sufferment someday, for the evasion scheme

You didn't understood the 3rd paragraph i wrote

I lived there for over three years and not once did anyone ask for money from NHK (the government sponsored public stations).

I never had a license to watch TV, either.

Most gaijin I know do this, and not one has ever paid a yen for public TV, nor have they ever been fined.

I would like to see if you can find evidence of anyone ever paying a fine like that.

Yep, I did the same thing. The first year I really was puzzled and wasn't sure what they wanted (but found out later from talking to some friends). The 2nd year I understood enough, but played dumb anyway, and they soon gave up and moved on to the next apartment. No penalties and they never came back.

Interesting...

So how much is the licensing fee?