FM Broadcasting In Japan
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The
frequency modulation Frequency modulation (FM) is a signal modulation technique used in electronic communication, originally for transmitting messages with a radio wave. In frequency modulation a carrier wave is varied in its instantaneous frequency in proporti ...
radio broadcast band in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
is 76-95
MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...
. The 90-108 MHz section was used for television for VHF channels 1, 2 and 3 until the analog shutdown occurred on July 24, 2011. The narrowness of the Japanese band (19 MHz compared to slightly more than 20 MHz for the CCIR band; until the mid-2010s, it was a 14 MHz band) limits the number of FM stations that can be accommodated on the dial. In late 2013, the
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications The is a Cabinet (government), cabinet-level ministry in the Government of Japan. Its English name was Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) prior to 2004. It is housed in the 2nd Building of the Centr ...
published a report proposing the expansion of the FM band to 95 MHz; at the time, the Japanese FM band was from 76-90 MHz. Many stations that had been previously only available on the AM band were issued preliminary licenses to broadcast from 90-95 MHz. The first station to go on air in the expanded band was Nankai Broadcasting, which began test broadcasts on 91.7 FM on November 3, 2014.


Receiver issues

Many Japanese radios are designed to be capable of receiving both the Japanese FM band and the CCIR FM band, so that the same model can be sold within Japan or exported. The radio may cover 76 to 108 MHz, the frequency coverage may be selectable by the user, or during assembly the radio may be set to operate on one band by means of a specially-placed
diode A diode is a two-Terminal (electronics), terminal electronic component that conducts electric current primarily in One-way traffic, one direction (asymmetric electrical conductance, conductance). It has low (ideally zero) Electrical resistance ...
or other internal component. Conventional analog-tuned (dial & pointer) radios may be marked with "TV Sound" in the 90-108 section. If these radios were sold in the US, for example, the 76-88 section would be marked TV sound for VHF channels 5 and 6, with the 88-108 section band as audio FM.


Used automobile resale issues

Second-hand
automobiles A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
imported from Japan contain a radio designed for the Japanese FM band, and importers often fit a "converter" to down-convert the 87.5-108.0 MHz band to the frequencies that the radio can accept. In addition to showing an incorrect frequency, there are two other disadvantages that can result in undesired performance; the converter cannot down-convert in full the regular international FM band (up to 20.5 MHz wide) to the only 14 MHz wide Japanese band (unless the converter incorporates two user-switchable down-convert modes), and the original antenna may perform poorly on the higher FM band. Another problem is that RDS is not used in Japan, whereas most modern car radios available in Europe use this system. Also the converter may not allow pass-through of the MW band (if desired). A better solution is to replace the radio and antenna with ones designed for the country where the car will be used, but this can be difficult where custom-built radios are fitted.


See also

*
List of radio stations in Japan The list of radio stations in Japan lists all the national/regional Radio broadcasting, radio stations in Japan. Because of governmental regulation, Japan has a relatively small number of radio stations. Japan also has a comparatively smaller numb ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fm Broadcasting In Japan Radio in Japan