Jun
22
In Praise of NHK World
June 22, 2012 | Leave a Comment
I don’t know exactly when NHK World came to the UK. I suspect it was in 2011 shortly after the tsunami hit Fukushima. I first noticed it on the Freesat service around August 2011 and I’ve been tuning in more and more frequently for the quirky delivery, refreshing bluntness of its reports, strict almost religious devotion to educating the world about Japanese ways and the surprising lack of ads . . . This goes out to NHK World (with apologies to John Cooper Clarke):
I’ve seen all sorts of gadgets, tiny new-fangled
I’ve seen Swiss banks reported — from a Japanese angle
Earthquakes, tsunamis, a vision of nuclear hell
The news somehow sweetened when your R is an L
I’ve been regaled with great tales by the great Konishiki
The Sumo leviathan formerly fat now just freaky
The news as it should be — delivered straight; matter of fact
No bells, no whistles, an occasional lack of tact
Verbally vivacious syllables they struggle to supply
You’ll never hear the world loquacious but I’d like to see ’em try
When it’s daytime in London, it’s half three in Yokohama
The presenters don’t mind, it’s good for the karma
Battling on bravely, eyelids drooping
They look like drugged up clubbers queuing in Tooting
There’s even a cookery show called Itadakimasu
That U is redundant but the food it’s top class
Bickering presenters having a blast
But where the hell in London do you get Okinawan sea grass?
In the cess-pit of state-sponsored TV, propaganda and lies
Hail to one of the good guys — they don’t even advertise!