Tag Archives: art

Carlos Explores Japan’s Radio Nikkei: A Unique Shortwave Listening Experience from Brazil

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Carlos Latuff, who shares the following guest post:


Exploring Radio Radio Nikkei

by Carlos Latuff

It’s been a while since I listened to Nikkei Radio, a Japanese commercial broadcaster that operates on shortwave for a domestic audience. If I remember well, the signal was very weak and, since I don’t speak Japanese, I didn’t know what the content of its broadcasts was about. But today, with the possibility of recording the audio, transcribing it and translating it, it has become more interesting to follow its programs on shortwave here in Brazil, more specifically in Porto Alegre (distance between Nikkei’s transmitter in Chiba, Japan, and Porto Alegre, Brazil: 18779 km).

Nikkei Radio 1 was founded in 1954 and Nikkei 2 in 1963, and at the time it was called Nihon Shortwave Broadcasting Co., better known by the acronym “NSB”. Some Japanese electronics manufacturers have in the past released receivers dedicated to receiving the signal from these stations (see below).

Today, the Japanese company Audiocomm has radio models whose packaging states that this receiver is compatible with Nikkei Radio; note the image alluding to horse racing (see below).

I haven’t been able to acquire any of these devices (yet), since they were basically produced for the Japanese public. But any receiver with shortwave bands can tune into Radio Nikkei. I use my good old XHDATA D-808 with a long wire antenna. In Porto Alegre, the best propagation is between 08:45 AM and 06:15 AM (UTC). In the late afternoon, the signal also arrives, but with a fair amount of static.

Both Radio Nikkei 1 and Radio Nikkei 2 operate on the following frequencies:

Radio Nikkei 1:

  • 3.925 MHz (in case of emergency)
  • 6.055 MHz
  • 9.595 MHz (in case of emergency)

Radio Nikkei 2:

  • 3.945 MHz (in case of emergency)
  • 6.115 MHz
  • 9.76 MHz: (in case of emergency)

On the station’s website https://www.radionikkei.jp/ you can find details of its programming, as well as broadcast times, including a table (in Japanese) with this information, which can be translated with the help of Google Lens.

Radio Nikkei also broadcasts its programming via streaming, however the platform used (radiko) is inaccessible to me here in Brazil (see message below).

Nikkei Radio is majority-owned by the business newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun and the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which means the station focuses mainly on the financial market. However, much of its programming, especially on weekends, is dedicated to horse racing, a popular sport in Japan. In addition to news, talk shows and music, the radio station also broadcasts evangelical preaching (!). One of these religious programs is called “True Salvation” and is sponsored by The Japan Gospel Mission, a Christian Protestant organization.

This heterogeneous mix of business, horses and Jesus Christ makes Nikkei Radio an interesting station to tune into, to say the least.

The radio listening sessions published here were made in the central Porto Alegre, Brazil, between January 15th and 19th, 2025.

(Domo arigato gozai masu Mr. Tagawa Shigeru for helping me with translation).

Click here to view on YouTube.


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Click here to view on YouTube.


Video Short: Tuning In Radio Nikkei 1

Part of Radio Nikkei 1 program “Health Network”, in Japanese. Topic: Winter diet and health. Listened in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

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Carlos’ Shortwave Art and Recordings Explore Extreme Weather

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares his radio log art of recent broadcasts from the Voice of Korea, NHK, and KBS.


Voice of Korea

Carlos notes:

Part of Voice of Korea news bulletin about floods in the DPRK:

“…Shortly ago, floods and heavy rains seriously and consecutively damaged some areas of the country, including North Phyongan and Jagang provinces. In this regard, the 22nd emergency enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea was held in an afflicted area in the city of Sinuiju, North Phyongan Province, from July 29 to 30 to take urgent rehabilitation measures.
Prior to the meeting, the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un inspected the flooded areas, together with the premier of the Cabinet and secretaries of the Central Committee of the WPK.
Many public buildings, facilities, roads and railways, including more than 4,100 houses and nearly 3,000 hectares of farmland, were flooded in the city of Sinuiju and Uiju County located on the lower reaches of the Amnok River…”

https://youtu.be/

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NHK and KBS

Carlos notes:

Excerpts from NHK (Japan) and KBS World Radio (South Korea) news bulletins about heatwaves. Listened in Porto Alegre, Brazil, via shortwave.

Click to view on YouTube.

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Typhoon Gaemi: Carlos’ Recording of Radio ZP-30, RTI, and Radiofax via the Japan Meteorological Agency

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares his radio log art, radiofax, and off-air recordings:

Carlos notes:

The season for hurricanes in the Atlantic and typhoons in the Pacific has arrived, and here I bring you info on typhoon Gaemi via radiofax from Japan Meteorological Agency and radio news from Radio ZP-30 (in German from Paraguay) and Radio Taiwan International (In Spanish via WRMI, US).

Japan Meteorological Agency

Radio ZP-30 and Radio Taiwan International

Click here to view on YouTube.

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Carlos’ Shortwave Art and Recording of NHK (June 24, 2024)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares his radio log art of a recent NHK (Japan) broadcast.


Carlos notes:

Part of NHK news bulletin, in Japanese, about a deadly fire that broke out at a battery factory in Seoul, South Korea.

Click here to view on YouTube.

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Carlos’ Shortwave Art and recording of ZP-30 (June 2, 2024)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares his radio log art of ZP-30 in Paraguay broadcasting in German.


Carlos notes:

ZP-30, Christian radio station in Paraguay broadcasting in German. Listened in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Click here to view on YouTube.

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Carlos’ Shortwave Art and recording of NHK (May 20, 2024)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares his radio log art of a recent NHK (Japan) broadcast noting the helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.


Carlos notes:

Part of NHK news bulletin, in Japanese, about Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in helicopter crash in Iran.

Click here to view on YouTube.

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Carlos’ Shortwave Art and recording of the Voice of Korea (April 23, 2024)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares his radio log art of a recent Voice of Korea broadcast.


Carlos notes: 

Kim Jong Un guides combined tactical drill simulating nuclear counterattack, via Voice of Korea.

Click here to listen via YouTube.

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