The public broadcasting service in Japan, the NHK, is a nongovernmental, noncommercial, and nonprofit making organization that is financed solely by fees collected from viewing households. At present, 80% of the total number of households in Japan have a contract with NHK and 96.5% of these households have actually paid the receiving fee to NHK. As a broadcasting organization, NHK is one of the world's largest in scale with five radio and television channels, more than 60 program producing and material gathering stations, more than 3,000 transmitter sites, and more than 1,680 programs produced and broadcast each week. A crisis in financing has arisen as expenditures are rising with inflation and income from receiving fees from new sets is decreasing. NHK is working hard at building audience support for both programing and continued fee payment as a method of continued financing for the public broadcasting service, although some audience resistance to this method is being evidenced. The NHK is focusing on continued cooperation with the national government and will strive to maintain its independence without reducing program hours or production. (MKM)