In 2001, Japan amended its Radio Act so that radio-use fees could pay for the frequency changes needed to move television to digital. The plan was to complete the move to digital terrestrial broadcasting by July 24, 2011.
At noon on July 24, 2011, analog terrestrial broadcasting ended everywhere except Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima. In those three prefectures, the deadline was extended to March 31, 2012.