In its report, the panel said that subtitles were an effective tool to help foreign residents and tourists understand developments, and would help ensure their safety and security. The subtitles could be created using a translation system developed by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, and displayed on internet-enabled TV sets. They could also be extended to other languages.
A trial run of the system is planned for 2015.
The panel also called for the promotion of closed captions for the Deaf and hearing impaired on TV commercials. While over 90 percent of programs broadcast in Japan by private broadcasters have captions, very few commercials do.
For more information, see this article from the Japan Times.
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