Many TVs have a "bilingual" button, for switching between Japanese and English (or another language), for the small number of programs, mainly news and movies, that are available in both languages. Bilingual programs are usually marked with a B or a 2 in TV schedules.

In addition to regular digital broadcasts, several companies provide digital satellite TV broadcasts, and the leading provider is Sky Perfect. Cable is provided by J-com, among others.

NHK, the public broadcaster, has two channels: "General" and "Educational". Anyone who has a TV must pay NHK a subscription fee of ¥2690 per two months. There are discounts if you pay for six or twelve months at a time. In any given region of Japan, there are also about five free commercial channels.

Japanese television broadcast frequencies may differ from those of your home country, in which case your foreign television will not work in Japan.