Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) has found itself in a pickle over the strong expressions it uses to issue tsunami warnings on TV and radio.
Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) has found itself in a pickle over the strong expressions it uses to issue tsunami warnings on TV and radio.It altered its guidelines on wording in November 2011, citing lessons learned from the earthquake and tsunami disaster earlier in the year.But a number of survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake complained, saying the broadcasts were painful reminders of the heartbreak they suffered.Now NHK is again rethinking what expressions to use.Kenichi Ishida, NHK’s managing director responsible for broadcasting, told a regular news conference on Dec. 19 that the organization will come up with revisions on wording early next year.When an earthquake measuring lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 hit northeastern Japan on Dec. 7, prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency to issue tsunami warnings, NHK newscasters reinforced the warnings with wording like, “Remember the Great East Japan Earthquake,” to urge viewers to flee to higher ground and safety.“There is no change in our belief that we should use strong words to call for evacuations,” Ishida said. “But we are inclined to believe that we need further deliberations on which verbal expressions to use.”When the Great East Japan Earthquake struck on March 11, 2011, NHK used softer expressions. Many listeners and viewers did not realize that a huge disaster was in the making and did not flee in time, resulting in more deaths.