A new modality of audiovisual translation? Covert translation of presenter scripts in Japan's globally aired English-language TV music show

This article sheds light on an unresearched translation modality that forms a pillar of program production for Japan’s publicly funded, globally aired, round-the-clock English-language television channel, NHK World-Japan TV. The modality in question is the translation of presenter scripts written in one language (Japanese) and delivered to camera exclusively in another (English). Through a critical self-reflexion on the lead author’s construction and application of translation guidelines aimed largely at optimizing comprehensibility for viewers of the NHK World-Japan TV music show J-MELO, new lines of Translation Studies research into this underrepresented modality and its significance in the wider context of international TV broadcasting are suggested.