70% of families have digital TV receiver

The government said Friday it estimates 69.5 percent of Japanese families had acquired TVs or tuners to receive terrestrial digital broadcasting signals as of the end of September, up 8.8 points from March.

The increase came as the government offered Eco-points for purchasing new TVs designed to receive such signals as well as new air conditioners and refrigerators, under an economic stimulus package that allows consumers to convert the points into gift coupons and the like.

But the diffusion rate for terrestrial digital broadcasting receivers failed to reach the government's target of 72 percent by that month, which was set by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry.

"Families might have taken advantage of the Eco-point campaign to buy second or third TVs with such receivers," a ministry official said. "We will mobilize every possible policy measure to increase the diffusion rate."

Japan is set to end analog broadcasting and shift completely to the digital format in July 2011.

The ministry based the diffusion rate estimate on a survey carried out on 13,000 people throughout Japan in September.

By prefecture, Nara had the highest rate, at 78.4 percent, followed by Ishikawa and Okayama. In Okinawa, which previously had the lowest rate, of 37.1 percent, in March, diffusion soared to 55.3 percent. The lowest rate in September was 55.2 percent in Iwate.