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Joint ABU General Assembly and ABU TV Song Festival Press Conference held at NHK Hall in Tokyo

ABU President Mr Ryoichi Ueda (NHK, Japan) convened a press conference at NHK hall in Tokyo to announce the 2019 ABU General Assembly as well asthe ABU TV Song Festival, its first-ever time to be conducted in Japan.

Mr Ueda opened the press conference and made remarks about the ABU GA and the ever-forward moving effect of technology and social media has on broadcasting. He remarked that people have more choices at their disposal regarding how they consume information and entertainment and they now seek diverse audience experiences through different platforms. Broadcasters must offer variety and use the latest technology and platforms to amplify the audience experience, he stated. He placed high value on the General Assembly and how the Union’s members can benefit from the diversity present in its membership and emphasised that the members present at the GA share and learn and overcome challenges, together.
ABU Secretary General Dr Javad Mottaghi spoke and thanked the ABU and NHK and expressed his thanks for being excellent hosts. He said he was happy to be having the GA in Tokyo since the last GA held in 2010. He went on to say the GA is an invaluable opportunity for members to discuss, network, learn and share with fellow broadcasters.”Our members are extremely varied in culture, religion and economies but face common challenges. The GA is the forum for them to benefit from each other.”

Some of the artists/groups participating in the Festival also attend the press conference and included presenters Shingo Murakami (Kanjani∞) and Yuki Sugiura (NHK). Participating artists in attendance were Dimash Kudaibergen (Kazakhstan), Hey! Say! JUMP(Japan) and a special appearance by child group Foorin and Foorin team E. The artistes took questions from the members of the press and all expressed gratitude for the occurrence of the ABU Song Festival. This joint concert by popular artists of the Asia-Pacific region has been organized alongside the ABU General Assembly since 2012 to promote the development of broadcasting culture through exchanges in the entertainment field. Recorded scenes of the festival will be broadcast in ABU member countries at a later date while in Japan and globally, the event will be shown domestically on NHK General TV on 28th December 2019 and internationally on NHK WORLD-JAPAN, on Dec 30th and 31st.