Hoogerbrug I Seeing Culture by Ear The Function of Radio Broadcasting in the Socialisation and Cultivation of Two Communities in Northern Japan Jeanine Hoogerbrug 1081802 August 10th, 2016 ResMA Thesis First Reader: prof. dr. I. B. Smits Second Reader: dr. M. Winkel Research Master: Asian Studies Leiden University Word count: 35.839 Word count (excluding appendices): 30.599 Word count (main text only): 28.115 Hoogerbrug II Seeing Culture by Ear The Function of Radio Broadcasting in the Socialisation and Cultivation of Two Communities in Northern Japan by drs. J.E. Hoogerbrug Submitted for the degree of Master of Arts in Asian Studies (research) Faculty of Humanities Leiden University Hoogerbrug III Contents TRANSCRIPTIONS ............................................................................................................................................. IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................................... V INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................. 1 SECTION I: RADIO STUDIES – CONCEPTS AND METHODOLOGY ............................................................ 6 1. RADIO BROADCASTING AND ITS SOCIETAL FUNCTION ...................................................................... 6 1.1 RADIO STUDIES ............................................................................................................................................. 7 1.1.1 Studies on Radio .................................................................................................................................... 8 1.1.2 Radio Studies as an Academic Discipline ............................................................................................. 9 1.1.3 Contemporary Radio Studies ............................................................................................................... 10 1.2 POSITIONING RADIO IN EVERYDAY LIFE...................................................................................................... 12 1.2.1 Media Convergence and Community Radio ........................................................................................ 14 1.2.2 Radio’s Influence on Society: Social Capital and Uchi 内 and Soto 外 .............................................. 17 1.2.3 Analysing Community Radio via Cultural Indicators.......................................................................... 20 SECTION II: ANALYSING COMMUNITY RADIO IN JAPAN ....................................................................... 23 2. RADIO BROADCASTING IN JAPAN ........................................................................................................... 23 2.1 THREE IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS RELATED TO RADIO IN JAPAN ............................................................ 23 2.2 LISTENING RATES AND THE POPULARITY OF RADIO .................................................................................... 25 2.3 BROADCASTING ON DIFFERENT LEVELS ...................................................................................................... 27 2.3.1 National Radio and Regional/Prefectural Radio ................................................................................ 27 2.3.2 Community Radio ................................................................................................................................ 30 2.3.3 Receiving (Community) Radio Inside and Outside of Japan ............................................................... 35 3. FILLING THE AIRWAVES: RADIO CONTENT ANALYSIS ...................................................................... 37 3.1 PROGRAMMING: WHAT IS BEING BROADCAST ............................................................................................ 38 3.1.1 Morning Messages .............................................................................................................................. 39 3.1.2 Lunchtime Line-up ............................................................................................................................... 44 3.1.3 Afternoon Announcements and Finishing the Day .............................................................................. 47 3.2 TIMETABLE: WHICH INFORMATION IS EMPHASISED .................................................................................... 51 3.2.1 Practical Information .......................................................................................................................... 52 3.2.2 Everyday Stories .................................................................................................................................. 52 3.2.3 Education and Special Interest Corners .............................................................................................. 52 3.2.4 Music ................................................................................................................................................... 53 3.3 QUALIFYING: HOW ARE TOPICS DISCUSSED ............................................................................................... 54 3.3.1 Health, Safety and Money Matters ...................................................................................................... 54 3.3.2 Attention for the Community and What Lies Beyond ........................................................................... 55 3.3.3 Stimulating Local Culture, Language and History .............................................................................. 56 3.4 MATCHING: WHICH ELEMENTS ARE COMBINED ......................................................................................... 58 3.5 SAME INTENTION, DIFFERENT ROUTES ........................................................................................................ 59 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................................... 62 WORKS CITED ................................................................................................................................................... 65 APPENDICES ...................................................................................................................................................... 72 Hoogerbrug IV Transcriptions Following Japanese conventions, this thesis structures Japanese personal names by first mentioning the surname/family and then the given name. No distinction is made based on the person’s (current) geographical living and/or working position (e.g. Japan, the United States or The Netherlands). When the source is in Japanese, the authors name is added in characters to the Works Cited List. Furthermore, when it comes to terms, titles, cities or short quotations, this thesis includes the pronunciation (italicised), the Japanese characters and (if needed) the translation. The pronunciation is transcribed following the Hepburn-system. This means that to indicate a long vowel, a-o-u receive a macron (¯) and e-i are followed by another ‘i’ when written as such in Japanese or also a macron when it is lengthened in katakana script. Hoogerbrug V Acknowledgements “I swam the oceans, I saw the cities, I climbed the mountain tops and you were with me, And when I came home, your arms were open and I felt protection in that moment … In your own way, with your own two hands, you gave me everything I needed every single time, So I say: hey, even in hard times, you are the hope that I believe in, You’re my peace of mind” -- “The Artist Inside” by Don Diablo featuring JP Cooper (2012), heard on Dutch radio After finishing a project like this Research Master Thesis, it becomes clear once more that it has been a collaborative effort. This is why it is only right to thank those who supported my writing and my academic accomplishments in general. A genuine word of gratitude goes to prof. dr. Ivo Smits for his flexibility, trust and kick-starting guidance. And not just this once, but for three theses long. I am very indebted to Dr. Guita Winkel who consented to being the equally flexible second reader to this piece and the overall supervision provided by Leiden University faculty members has been crucial in the proper completion of the Asian Studies Research Master programme as a whole. A ‘thank you’ is also directed towards Mrs. Katō Yumi, chairwoman of the board of directors at FM Wappy. Although my questions were doubtfully formulated for lack of a proper research focus, she was patient in answering them on August 7th, 2015 and she showed great enthusiasm for a foreign interest in her beloved FM Wappy. Who remain are my parents, Hanneke van der Schoor and Gerrit Hoogerbrug. Endless appreciation is directed at you both. To my mother for keeping it real, for listening to my frustrations and ‘distracting’ me with fun stories and surprising actions. And to my father, for sometimes knowing what I want to write before I know it myself. Because of all his hours reading, checking and being my sounding board, every academic career that I have been blessed to receive, should actually be his as well. I hope you will both remain ‘my peace of mind’ for many years to come. Hoogerbrug 1 Introduction “As every radio listener knows, it’s amazing how much you can see with your ears.”1 -- Epigram (or ‘pot-shot’) by Ashleigh Brilliant, number 5892 Even though it is meant as an entertaining epigram, the quote above expresses