NHK WORLD-JAPAN provides the latest information on Japan and Asia through television, radio and online to a global audience. It is the international service of Japan’s public broadcaster NHK. [Features] - 19 languages available Arabic, Bengali, Burmese, Chinese, English, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Thai, Turkish, Urdu, Ukrainian, Vietnamese - Latest news on Japan and Asia - Push notification of emergency information on earthquakes, tsunami and Weather Emergency Warning *Chinese, English, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese - TV and radio live streaming and 7-day catch-up - Multilingual video and audio programs on demand more
Ratings & Reviews
3.8 out of 5 490 Ratings
Not Bad
11/20/2018
小老鼠朋友
NHK was long a family favourite. Their English service nowadays is pretty basic, however, functioning mostly as a travel brochure for Japan. That’s nice enough. But I miss some of the programmes they used to port from regular NHK such as Minna no Uta, but no longer have.And their Chinese service seems drastically scaled back of late. Under the “multilingual” heading, one can access some programmes under simplified Chinese, but only one under proper Chinese (正體中文). This is the same with their website, which is odd as all they need is to automatically convert.NHK World is alright. It lacks some of the quirky character of yesteryear, somehow. But good that they keep producing.
Not Bad 11/20/2018
小老鼠朋友
NHK was long a family favourite. Their English service nowadays is pretty basic, however, functioning mostly as a travel brochure for Japan. That’s nice enough. But I miss some of the programmes they used to port from regular NHK such as Minna no Uta, but no longer have.And their Chinese service seems drastically scaled back of late. Under the “multilingual” heading, one can access some programmes under simplified Chinese, but only one under proper Chinese (正體中文). This is the same with their website, which is odd as all they need is to automatically convert.NHK World is alright. It lacks some of the quirky character of yesteryear, somehow. But good that they keep producing.
I like it, but...
06/27/2020
Jp notes
Overall I like it. A few things bug me, though. 1) I’d prefer fewer voiceovers and more subtitles. I’m trying to learn Japanese, and their limited number of English talent is, well, annoying and distracting. At least give an option to hear the original Japanese or dubbed. 2) They don’t seem to have enough bandwidth dedicated to the service. I don’t have problems streaming any services except NHK World. It’s not all the time, but it’s enough to be annoying. 3) Ditch the hourly news programs. I like the news programs, but they’re on far too frequently. 4) I’d like to see more programming that’s available on NHK in Japan. I get that this is free and in Japan you’re supposed to pay, but I’d like to see more programming that isn’t all about the tourism. Don’t get me wrong — as an outsider that’s also incredibly valuable. But would love to see more dramas that are being viewed in Japan.
I like it, but... 06/27/2020
Jp notes
Overall I like it. A few things bug me, though. 1) I’d prefer fewer voiceovers and more subtitles. I’m trying to learn Japanese, and their limited number of English talent is, well, annoying and distracting. At least give an option to hear the original Japanese or dubbed. 2) They don’t seem to have enough bandwidth dedicated to the service. I don’t have problems streaming any services except NHK World. It’s not all the time, but it’s enough to be annoying. 3) Ditch the hourly news programs. I like the news programs, but they’re on far too frequently. 4) I’d like to see more programming that’s available on NHK in Japan. I get that this is free and in Japan you’re supposed to pay, but I’d like to see more programming that isn’t all about the tourism. Don’t get me wrong — as an outsider that’s also incredibly valuable. But would love to see more dramas that are being viewed in Japan.
A mixed bag
07/23/2023
Feefer2
I was glad to find this app on the iTunes App Store for both Apple TV & iPhone, but was a bit disappointed to discover that although the picture quality is significantly-better than it is provided by Spectrum cable on one of their channels, unfortunately the Apple TV app doesn’t support fast-forward or rewinding using the Apple TV remote (the pause, volume buttons and mute functions as expected). Worse, exiting the program stream means the user has to start over from the beginning of the stream (it doesn’t remember where you exited the stream); this makes it impractical to use.Out of curiosity, I downloaded the iPhone app, and although it supports Chromecast in app (& iPhone app allows fast-forwarding and rewinding), the video quality is significantly worse than when watching with the Apple TV app. And although the iPhone iOS app supports Chromecast (which I have on my TV), surprisingly it doesn’t offer or support Airplay (which obviously is the preferred choice for Apple TV).The NHK app strikes me as a good app, but as if the developers lost interest in Apple support, so they failed to add even basic features to make it useable.
A mixed bag 07/23/2023
Feefer2
I was glad to find this app on the iTunes App Store for both Apple TV & iPhone, but was a bit disappointed to discover that although the picture quality is significantly-better than it is provided by Spectrum cable on one of their channels, unfortunately the Apple TV app doesn’t support fast-forward or rewinding using the Apple TV remote (the pause, volume buttons and mute functions as expected). Worse, exiting the program stream means the user has to start over from the beginning of the stream (it doesn’t remember where you exited the stream); this makes it impractical to use.Out of curiosity, I downloaded the iPhone app, and although it supports Chromecast in app (& iPhone app allows fast-forwarding and rewinding), the video quality is significantly worse than when watching with the Apple TV app. And although the iPhone iOS app supports Chromecast (which I have on my TV), surprisingly it doesn’t offer or support Airplay (which obviously is the preferred choice for Apple TV).The NHK app strikes me as a good app, but as if the developers lost interest in Apple support, so they failed to add even basic features to make it useable.
Excellent access to Japanese culture & News
07/22/2017
Blue h2o
I've visited Japan twice and always come home wanting more. Recently discovered the NHK World app for my iPad and for my AppleTV.From news shows (without any kind of typical western slant) you can keep up on newsworthy events from Japan, Asia, the USA and the rest of the world. Some of the news anchors/reporters don't have the typical western polish, but honestly, I find that very refreshing.They have many shows designed to inform you about Japanese culture with a heavy emphasis on travel. The iPad app also has access to basic Japanese language learning and lots of fun shows that will introduce you to Japanese culture.
Excellent access to Japanese culture & News 07/22/2017
Blue h2o
I've visited Japan twice and always come home wanting more. Recently discovered the NHK World app for my iPad and for my AppleTV.From news shows (without any kind of typical western slant) you can keep up on newsworthy events from Japan, Asia, the USA and the rest of the world. Some of the news anchors/reporters don't have the typical western polish, but honestly, I find that very refreshing.They have many shows designed to inform you about Japanese culture with a heavy emphasis on travel. The iPad app also has access to basic Japanese language learning and lots of fun shows that will introduce you to Japanese culture.
What’s New
Version History
Some minor improvements
9.0.1
10/01/2025
Some minor improvements
9.0.0
09/19/2025
Some minor improvements
8.9.1
04/23/2025
Some minor improvements
8.9.0
04/10/2024
Some minor improvements
8.8.0
10/31/2023
Some minor improvements
8.7.0
06/01/2023
Some minor improvements
8.6.1
03/29/2023
Complied with GDPR requirements Some minor improvements
8.6.0
02/20/2023
Some minor improvements
8.4.0
04/06/2022
Some minor improvements
8.3.0
12/16/2021
Now available in 18 languages including Turkish and Traditional Chinese Some minor improvements
8.2.0
05/18/2021
Some minor improvements
8.1.1
02/02/2021
VOD casting feature's bug fixed Some minor improvements
8.1.0
05/12/2020
Most recent version includes design/function updates and performance improvements. Now available in 17 languages with radio program listening and expanded news, live streaming, and on demand services.
8.0.0
11/12/2019
- Some minor improvements
7.1.8
08/26/2019
Some minor improvements
7.1.5
11/14/2018
- Added Earthquake and Tsunami notification feature in Chinese - Some minor improvements
7.1.4
11/01/2018
Some minor improvements
7.1.2
07/04/2018
Some minor improvements
7.1.1
04/02/2018
- Added the Push Notification service * Notice of Earthquake information in Japanese domestic * Notice of Tsunami Warnings/Advisories in Japanese domestic * Breaking news - Improved stability
7.1.0
01/22/2018
Some minor improvements for iOS 11
7.0.2
10/19/2017
- Renewed UI - Added news contents - Support for Google Cast - Minor improvements
7.0.1
07/21/2017
- Renewed UI - Added news contents - Support for Google Cast
7.0.0
07/18/2017
Some minor improvements
6.1.1
02/21/2017
- iOS 10 support - Some minor improvements
6.1.0
12/12/2016
Some minor improvements more
Version 9.0.1
10/01/2025
App Privacy
App Privacy
The developer, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. This information has not been verified by Apple. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
To help you better understand the developer’s responses, see Privacy Definitions and Examples .
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Data Not Linked to You
The following data, which may be collected but is not linked to your identity, may be used for the following purposes:
Analytics
Identifiers
User ID
Usage Data
Product Interaction
Other Usage Data
The developer, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
Identifiers
Usage Data
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
