Media and Cultural Assimilation: Evidence from NHK Radio
Keywords:
media, culture, language, JapanAbstract
This paper examines the impact of mass media on cultural assimilation by exploiting Japan’s Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) radio monopoly. By broadcasting exclusively in Tokyo-based standard Japanese, NHK introduced a uniform linguistic shock. Using comprehensive linguistic atlases and exogenous variation in radio signal strength driven by topography, I find that NHK radio exposure significantly reduced the linguistic distance from local dialects to the Tokyo dialect. Heterogeneity analysis reveals distinct mechanisms. Radio served as a substitute for physical connectivity, promoting assimilation in isolated regions lacking railway access, but acted as a complement to human capital, with larger effects observed in areas with higher educational penetration.
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