NHK shares disaster coverage experience

The head of NHK, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, has told a conference of public broadcasters how it responded to the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

NHK President Masayuki Matsumoto spoke at the annual conference of Public Broadcasters International in Singapore on Friday. The session focused on the role that public broadcasters should play in extreme situations.

Matsumoto explained that NHK staff regularly train with helicopters and robotic cameras to prepare for immediate coverage in the event of a disaster.

He said they take the utmost care to provide speedy and accurate information to prevent mass panic.

Matsumoto said NHK's programs centered on disaster relief right after the March 11th disaster. He said NHK continues to offer extensive coverage, but the focus has now shifted to providing information to help the disaster survivors.

Matsumoto said NHK will continue to give the world an honest and forthright depiction of ordinary Japanese as they strive to rebuild their lives.

He also said that passing on the records of a massive disaster is a duty for any public broadcaster, and NHK wants its records to be used around the world.

Representatives of Britain's BBC and South Korea's KBS were among those who attended the conference that wraps up on Friday.

Friday, October 28, 2011 15:29 +0900 (JST)