▶ Netflix adds sign language interpretation to kids' content like 'Pokémon'. The gap with Japanese broadcasting [7/21]

Netflix has announced a partnership with SignUp Media, a provider of sign language interpretation services, to add American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation videos to 200 hours of kids and family content.

The initiative covers 73 titles across 41 franchises (series or related works sharing a world), including Netflix originals like 'Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio' as well as licensed works such as the 'Pokémon' series and 'The Magic School Bus'.

The background to this is the realization that subtitles alone are insufficient.

Of the 466 million people with hearing loss worldwide, 75% of adults have reading comprehension levels equivalent to a 4th or 5th grader, and it is said that deaf children cannot read text fluently until they are 12 or 13 years old.

Subtitles, which assume the ability to 'read,' do not fully function as information accessibility for those whose native language is sign language.

The delivery method is also unique.

Unlike the HBO Max model, which prepares a dedicated ASL version (a version with sign language interpretation added) for each work, SignUp Media operates as a Google Chrome extension, displaying the interpreter in a separate window.

Users can freely change the position and size, and there are plans to allow users to choose the background color of the interpreter in the future, showing consideration for deaf-blind users (people with both vision and hearing impairments) who may find it difficult to follow hand movements.

On the other hand, it is not compatible with family viewing where TV is the mainstream, and the fact that it is not an official feature of the Netflix app could be a barrier to widespread adoption.

In terms of production, 'authenticity' is also emphasized, with thorough casting based on the character's background, such as hiring Asian deaf individuals for works where the protagonist is Asian, and Hispanic deaf individuals for works where the protagonist is Hispanic.

Furthermore, for Pokémon names that do not have existing sign language terms, instead of spelling them out with finger spelling, dedicated sign language expressions (sign names) that capture the characteristics of each character were devised. In song scenes, a dedicated ASL director handles the production, going beyond simple translation to provide adaptations that convey rhythm and emotion.

For the company, this is the first time they have partnered directly with a streaming service to produce content.

'Sign language is a language.'

The question this single statement poses to the Japanese broadcasting and streaming industry is a heavy one.

Sign language is not universal; there are about 300 types worldwide, including American Sign Language (ASL), British Sign Language (BSL), and Japanese Sign Language (JSL), and they differ so much that even within the same English-speaking world, they are not mutually intelligible between the US and the UK.

The reason SignUp chose ASL rather than International Sign is likely because the number of ASL users has reached approximately 1 million worldwide, making it the de facto standard in international settings.

In other words, this partnership is also a rational move aimed at the largest language market.

Turning to Japan, what is the situation?

Since the revision of the Broadcast Act in 1997, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has set goals for the spread of subtitles, audio descriptions, and sign language broadcasting, and in October 2023, it revised the 'Guidelines on Information Accessibility in the Broadcasting Field' to encourage efforts by operators.

However, looking at the reality, while subtitled broadcasting has reached nearly 90% on NHK General TV, sign language broadcasting remains limited to a very small portion.

Sign language programs on commercial broadcasters are almost non-existent, and even those that barely remain are primarily in the 'wipe' format, where the interpreter is inserted in a small window in the corner of the screen.

While NHK's sign language news is of high quality, it faces structural issues, such as the aging of the sign language interpreters who provide it and the urgent need to train younger generations capable of handling video interpretation.

What has hindered its introduction is not technology, but the perception that it is 'not worth the cost'.

The labor-intensive nature of requiring 3 to 4 hours of preparation for one hour of video, the shortage of interpreters, and the assumption that 'subtitles are enough' are the causes.

The SignUp model has bridged these difficulties by combining manual craftsmanship with clever distribution via browser extensions, successfully connecting to the massive demand of Netflix.

For Japan, which has its own unique language in Japanese Sign Language (JSL), this is not a finished product that can be imported as is.

However, it may be that it is not that it 'cannot' be done, but rather that it 'has not been' done.

This case study quietly, yet clearly, confronts us with that fact.