Japan AM Radio Dial 1941

During 1941, Japanese radio audiences had almost 50 local AM radio stations they could listen to for a large part of each broadcasting day.

In 1931, a second network had already been completed in the three main centers of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.

Expansion of the network continued in the rest of the decade that followed, not only in Japan itself, but also in occupied territories such as Formosa [Taiwan], Korea, and Manchuria where sometimes quite powerful stations were built.

On the eve of the bombing of Pearl Harbor in the Territory of Hawaii [December 7 1941], the broadcasting network had extended further to include occupied French Indo-China, and General Tojo Hideki had become Japanese premier a few weeks earlier.

Rapid urbanization of the mainland Japanese population was also taking place during this period of the 1930’s, with almost 40% of the 73.1 million people living in towns and cities by 1940.

The largest urban areas were Tokyo [6.8m], Osaka [3.3m] and Nagoya [1.3m] and each was served by NHK-1 and NHK-2 network stations.

Programs by now were increasingly reflecting the militarist policies of the Japanese government, but audiences still enjoyed a wide range of Japanese and classical Western music, educational programs including English language lessons, physical exercises, and tips for growing vegetables in the cities.

Until very recently, Japan had also been avidly promoting itself to Americans as a vacation destination ‘More for your dollars…. thanks to the yen’ headlining this half-page advertisement in the Christmas 1936 issue of the National Geographic Magazine.

Listeners around the Pacific region who couldn’t visit Japan, could easily hear broadcasts of the two most powerful stations, JOAK-1 on 590 AM and JOAK-2 on 870 AM both broadcasting from modern studios in the heart of the bustling capital city of Tokyo.

Here is our exclusive look at the Japan Radio Dial 1941, the stations that Japanese audiences were listening to on the eve of war.

Frequency [AM]	Call Sign	Location	Transmitter Power [kW]
570	JOCP	Koriyama	0.5
590	JOAK-1	Tokyo	150
600	JOMG	Miyazaki	0.5
610	JOJK	Kanazawa	3
630	JOKK	Okayama	0.5
650	JOUK	Akita	0.3

Frequency [AM]	Call Sign	Location	Transmitter Power [kW]
670	JOTK	Matsue	0.5
680	JOVK	Hakodate	0.5
690	JOBK-1	Osaka	10
700	JOCG	Asahigawa	0.3
700	JOIP	Oita	0.5
720	JORK	Kochi	0.5
730	JOCK-1	Nagoya	10
740	JOSK	Kokura	1

Frequency [AM]	Call Sign	Location	Transmitter Power [kW]
770	JOHK	Sendai	10
780	JOPK	Shizuoka	0.5
790	JOGK	Kumamoto	10
800	JOKG	Kofu	0.5
810	JOIK	Sapporo	10
820	JOFP	Fukushima	0.5

Frequency [AM]	Call Sign	Location	Transmitter Power [kW]
830	JOFK	Hiroshima	10
840	JORG	Hirosaki	0.3
860	JODP	Onomichi	0.5
860	JOUG	Bofu	0.5
870	JOAK-2	Tokyo	150

Frequency [AM]	Call Sign	Location	Transmitter Power [kW]
880	JOQG	Morioka	0.5
890	JOLG	Tottori	0.5
910	JOLK	Fukuoka	0.5
920	JOQK	Niigata	0.5
930	JOAG	Nagasaki	0.5
940	JOBK-2	Osaka	10
950	JOOG	Obihiro	0.5
950	JOVG	Matsuyama	0.5

Frequency [AM]	Call Sign	Location	Transmitter Power [kW]
980	JOXK	Tokushima	0.5
990	JOCK-2	Nagoya	10
1000	JOAP	Naha	1
1000	JOBG	Maebashi	0.5
1010	JOPG	Kushiro	0.1
1020	JOFG	Fukui	0.3
1040	JONK	Nagano	0.5

Frequency [AM]	Call Sign	Location	Transmitter Power [kW]
1040	JOSG	Matsumoto	0.5
1050	JOHG	Kagoshima	0.5
1050	JOTG	Aomori	0.5
1060	JOIG	Toyama	0.5
1070	JOOK	Kyoto	0.3
1080	JOJG	Yamagata	0.5
1100	JODG	Hamamatsu	0.5

Remarkably, most of this broadcasting infrastructure remained in good condition at the end of hostilities just four years later in 1945.

Under Allied occupation, stations such as JOBK in Osaka were transformed into two networks – one using the same call-sign and broadcasting in Japanese for the local population, and another as a local outlet of the US Armed Forces Radio Service. Japanese and American broadcasters worked alongside each other sharing the same studio facilities.

Within just a few more years, independent state broadcasting was established and Japanese commercial radio stations began to quickly flourish alongside both the new NHK network and a declining number of [now] Far East Network stations for US forces still stationed throughout the islands.

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