Number of Unpaid NHK Reception Fees Declines for the First Time in Six Years

Number of Unpaid NHK Reception Fees Declines for the First Time in Six Years

In fiscal 2025, the number of households and business establishments that have installed televisions and entered into reception contracts but have not paid their reception fees over a long period (unpaid count) was approximately 1.742 million, a decrease of about 3,000 from the previous fiscal year. This marks the first decline in six years.

To curb the rising number of unpaid fees, NHK has implemented various measures and strengthened its collection efforts, including the establishment of the 'Special Reception Fee Countermeasures Center' in October last year. NHK will continue to enhance measures in fiscal 2026 to promote fair contribution to reception fees.

Trend in Unpaid Numbers

Background

The number of unpaid reception fees increased by nearly one million over the five years from fiscal 2020, reaching approximately 2.5 times the level of fiscal 2019 by fiscal 2024. To halt this increase, NHK has intensified efforts across the organization, including written notifications, broadcast announcements, face-to-face explanations, and the establishment of the 'Special Reception Fee Countermeasures Center' in October last year. These efforts included civil procedures such as payment demands. As a result, the number of unpaid cases at the end of fiscal 2025 turned downward for the first time in six years.

Regarding Payment Demands

In fiscal 2025, NHK carried out 1,368 payment demand procedures—about 11 times the number from the previous year. Of these, 1,219 were conducted after the center was established in October last year. In fiscal 2026, NHK plans to implement civil procedures via payment demands in all prefectures across Japan, expanding to over 2,000 cases annually—the largest scale in history.

Future Plans

In fiscal 2026, NHK will continue to strengthen measures aimed at fair contribution to reception fees and make every effort to deepen public understanding of the fee system, enabling more people to willingly and fairly pay their reception fees.