​44 of 47 AM radio stations in Japan to switch to FM by 2028

Forty-four of the 47 commercial AM radio stations across Japan plan to switch to FM broadcasting by fall 2028 to improve business performance by reducing the cost of operating both AM and FM broadcasting services, it was announced on June 15.
 
The move to FM broadcasting will be made by all AM radio stations except those in Hokkaido and Akita Prefecture in northern Japan. AM broadcasting services are scheduled to start being suspended as early as fall of 2023 as part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ test of switching to FM, meaning that AM broadcasting services will shrink in phases from 2023 onwards.