Why does Japanese TV News and magazine programs have "mandatory" subtitles/legend?


_(I never thought I would ask one of these questions and even considered if it
was off topic but this is a very distinct feature of the language as it is
really used. Is it due to some characteristic of the language I don't know?)_

I am to referring the condensed sentences/phrases that appear in the corner of
the screen or as very concise versions of the what the newsreader is saying
not the 字幕 that can be switched on and off or the "ticker-tape" style on BBC
or CNN, which is always about a different subject. See link below for
examples.

I have not noticed this elsewhere in the world and wonder, does it date back
to a time before 字幕 for the hard of hearing became very standard (25 years
ago?) or could it even be because people may not recognise the "chinese words"
in the reporting unless they can see the characters (which would be good to
know because I have the same problem!). The visual nature of the characters
certainly lends itself better to subtitles than say roman alphabet.

Link:  
<https://www.google.co.jp/search?q>=テロップ&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=yZ8zU4_nD8fIlAXT6ICYBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CDUQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=929




As evidenced by [this question on
oshiete](http://oshiete.goo.ne.jp/qa/949261.html), Japanese people don't
really know either. The asker doesn't understand why there are subtitles being
placed on screen, even for when someone like the Prime Minister is saying
something in clear Japanese. The answerers agree, that they don't understand
why, and put forward their best guesses.

[Here, too](http://komachi.yomiuri.co.jp/t/2004/0719/008379.htm?o=0), is a
long-term resident gaijin asking why subtitles appear without having turned on
closed captioning. The highest-rated guess is that producers do it to keep
people watching. The rest of Japanese television (commercials, variety shows)
are so frenetic and covered with decoration that such an effect, however
modest, can hold interest for longer.

While I'm sure it helps for differentiating homophones, or understanding
someone with a unique accent/dialect, I think it caught on as a general
attention-catching technique, so even someone speaking perfectly clear
Japanese will have their words transcribed on screen.

