{"id":24212,"date":"2025-11-26T09:55:33","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T14:55:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/nhk-execs-on-bringing-high-quality-docs-to-japanese-viewers-international-audiences\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T09:44:43","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T14:44:43","slug":"nhk-execs-on-bringing-high-quality-docs-to-japanese-viewers-international-audiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/nhk-execs-on-bringing-high-quality-docs-to-japanese-viewers-international-audiences\/","title":{"rendered":"NHK Execs on Bringing High-Quality Docs to International Audiences"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Japan\u2019s public broadcaster NHK has established itself as a reliable source of high-quality factual programs over the years. Just this week, it won the International Emmy for best arts programming for <em>Ryuichi Sakamoto: Last Days<\/em>. Yuko Fukuyama, senior producer for international co-productions, tells\u00a0<em>TV Real<\/em>\u00a0about how the pubcaster is co-producing and innovating to bring unique programs to the market, while Kazuko Taguchi, general manager of the content distribution department at NHK Enterprises, discusses how these titles are not only reaching Japanese viewers but appealing to audiences around the world.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TV REAL:<\/strong>\u00a0Is NHK involved in co-productions? What advantages do co-productions offer?<br \/>\n<strong>FUKUYAMA:<\/strong> Yes, NHK is very involved in international co-productions, and they are very important. The greatest benefit is that we are able to bring together budgets, talents and resources to create impactful programs. This is becoming ever more important in an age where public media around the world is facing budget constraints due to changes in the media landscape. Viewer expectation for grand-scale programming remains high,\u00a0and NHK is always looking for new styles of storytelling and event programs with new discovery\/big impact on a global scale.<\/p>\n<p>Co-production is becoming vitally important in tackling global issues. Now, as the world is becoming so polarized and divided, it is becoming more and more difficult for one country or region alone to solve problems that affect all of us, such as climate change and global conflict. It is all the more important that like-minded broadcasters and media companies around the world join hands to look for seeds of resolution. That is one of the reasons why NHK has joined the Global Doc, an initiative led by France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions, where public media companies join forces to support and co-finance ambitious documentary projects with global appeal.<\/p>\n<p>As the media industry becomes more diverse and fragmented, we believe that these partnerships play an important role in making sure that aspiring filmmakers are supported and that well-researched, high-quality content is made and delivered to the public.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TV REAL:<\/strong>\u00a0Can you give some examples of recent NHK co-productions?<br \/>\n<strong>FUKUYAMA:\u00a0<\/strong>Take\u00a0<em>Run Against Time: The Snowman Race in Bhutan<\/em>, a co-production between NHK, Bhutanese public broadcaster BBS and French production company GEDEON Programmes. This is a documentary that covers the world\u2019s toughest trail race covering 186 kilometers of mountainous terrain in the Himalayas over four nights and five days. This film uses the athletes\u2019 powerful words to convey the largely unseen reality of global warming through the spectacular, gradually disappearing natural landscape and grueling challenges of the race.<\/p>\n<p>Another example is\u00a0<em>Deep Ocean: Kingdom of the Coelacanth<\/em>, a co-production between NHK, ZDF\/ARTE and OceanX. This project conducted a 72-hour consecutive observation filming expedition and succeeded in capturing the world\u2019s first-ever video images of a group of coelacanths and their behavior indicative of reproduction. For this project, being able to partner with OceanX was a major breakthrough, enabling us to operate three submersibles simultaneously, which includes two transparent, spherical submarines.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TV REAL:<\/strong>\u00a0How is NHK translating its innovation and creativity for international audiences?<br \/>\n<strong>FUKUYAMA:<\/strong>\u00a0Co-productions are an effective way to bring Japanese stories to the global audiences; these include everything from science documentaries that analyze the mechanism of megaquakes and disaster-prevention measures to natural history documentaries that explore the wonders of Japanese wildlife. We feel it is important that we share the Japanese experience and wisdom with our international partners.<\/p>\n<p>A good example of this is\u00a0<em>The Lost Castle of Azuchi<\/em>, a co-production between NHK and GEDEON Programmes, which blends history and science to uncover the mysteries surrounding one of Japan\u2019s most enigmatic architectural wonders. Another good example is\u00a0<em>Hidden Japan<\/em>, set to premiere internationally next summer. This is a two-part series that explores the beauty of Japanese nature through the uniquely Japanese concept of \u201cen.\u201d While \u201cen\u201d is often translated as \u201cconnection\u201d or \u201crelationship\u201d in English, it carries a deeper, more nuanced meaning\u2014referring to the invisible bonds or fateful ties between people and the world around them. Given the enduring global interest in Japanese culture, the project has attracted strong attention from international producers since its development stage and will be co-produced with European partners.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TV REAL:<\/strong>\u00a0Which NHK programming genres have been selling the most internationally?<br \/>\n<strong>TAGUCHI:<\/strong>\u00a0NHK\u2019s dramas enjoy strong popularity across Asia, while internationally, its documentaries covering diverse genres\u2014science, wildlife and art\u2014continue to attract broad audiences. Our recent factual slate featuring Japan\u2019s creative power, from behind-the-scenes stories of hit manga to the delicate craftworks of artisans, has been performing exceptionally well.<\/p>\n<p>Among the standout documentaries are\u00a0<em>Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron<\/em>, a two-hour documentary chronicling the seven-year production of the Oscar-winning\u00a0<em>The Boy and the Heron<\/em>, filmed with exclusive access to Studio Ghibli, and\u00a0<em>Ryuichi Sakamoto: Last Days<\/em>, an intimate portrayal of one of the greatest musicians of our time, documenting how he faced death and lived his final days through personal diaries and private footage. The documentary won the prestigious Rose d\u2019Or, the Prix Italia and [an International Emmy].<\/p>\n<p>Most recently, NHK\u2019s documentary\u00a0<em>Behind the Scenes: Detective Conan<\/em>, the first long-term, in-depth interview with the creator of the Japanese hit manga series\u00a0<em>Detective Conan<\/em>, also known as\u00a0<em>Case Closed<\/em>, has been acquired in six countries and regions across Asia, Europe and the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TV REAL:<\/strong>\u00a0NHK has a history of producing high-quality documentaries. How have these been received by channels and streaming services around the world?<br \/>\n<strong>TAGUCHI:<\/strong>\u00a0As mentioned, very well. In addition to the [previously mentioned documentaries], we were very delighted to see our postwar history special\u00a0<em>Kamikaze: An Untold History<\/em>\u00a0acquired by both the BBC and Asharq Documentary, the leading Arabic-language free-to-air factual channel. Drawing on 15 years of extensive interviews with U.S. and Japanese former military personnel as well as experts, the program combines these testimonies with a meticulously crafted \u201chometown map\u201d that traces every life lost and incorporates the latest analysis of archival footage and documents. Together, these elements reveal how an entire nation was engulfed by a collective madness during the final days of the war.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NHK\u2019s Yuko Fukuyama and Kazuko Taguchi discuss how the Japanese pubcaster is co-producing and innovating to bring unique programs to the market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":289,"featured_media":24213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,69],"tags":[11817,851,773,11752],"class_list":["post-24212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-interviews","category-top-stories","tag-kazuko-taguchi","tag-nhk","tag-nhk-enterprises","tag-yuko-fukuyama","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>NHK Execs on Bringing High-Quality Docs to International Audiences - 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