TOKYO (TR) – When a reporter for TV Asahi (Jan. 11) visited a company that provides dubs VHS tapes to digital formats, the scale of the “Magnetic Tape Problem of 2025” was clear at a single glance: piles of cardboard boxes filled with VHS tapes.
“Most of the requests are now home videos. So-called memorable footage,” says Yuji Maruyama, the manager of Dubbing Copy Revolution. “The story of 2025 has spread. So, the number of requests has increased significantly since learning about it.”
Most of the requests are for recording family trips and children’s school entrance ceremonies. The number of requests is double that of the same month last year.
VHS tapes and video decks were born in Japan in 1976 with introduction of the HR-3300 deck by Victor. They became widespread because they allowed people to enjoy movies that could previously only be seen in theaters at home. On top of that, they could be easily recorded and played back repeatedly, making them widespread and a familiar part of everyday life.
However, since the Heisei Era (1989–2019), DVDs and other digital formats became the norm, leading to a halt in the production of video decks. For the tapes themselves, their expiration is approaching, which is the source of “problem.”

“Video tape formats are now obsolete”
In 2019, UNESCO sounded the alarm with its “Magnetic Tape Alert Project.”
“Magnetic audio and video tape formats are now obsolete, replay equipment in working condition is disappearing rapidly and the supply and service of spare parts is fading,” the organization said. “As a result, the routine transfer of magnetic tape recordings is likely to cease around 2025. The only way to preserve these sounds and images in the long term, and to keep them accessible for future generations, is to digitize them and transfer to them to safe digital repositories.”
The background to this is the difficulty of playback itself due to the end of production of playback machines, a decrease in engineers and the deterioration of VHS tapes themselves, which are said to last for up to 50 years. With the aforementioned introduction in 1976, that means their expiration is in 2025, this year.

“It’s not something that can be done all at once”
A museum in Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture is making efforts to digitize media.
“We started working on this about six years ago,” says Takuya Mori, the curator at the Yokkaichi City Museum. “It’s not something that can be done all at once. So, the museum has to work steadily.”
The museum has a large collection of magnetic tapes, including videotapes and cassette tapes, that have been collected since the museum opened in 1993. The contents include footage of festivals before the war and records of the city damaged by the Ise Bay Typhoon. There are many precious images, such as scenery from a car window taken in the 1950s.
“It is very valuable to know how the [festival] floats moved and how big they were at that time,” Mori says.
In order to extend the period in which digitalization can be carried out, the museum needs to be conscious of making good use of all existing playback devices without discarding usable playback devices.
The museum uses eight playback devices, including Mori’s personal belongings and devices donated by citizens. Mori says that if one breaks down, he repairs it himself.
“It is the museum’s mission to keep at least one machine in working condition,” Mori says.
According to Mori, washi paper has proven to the best way to chronicle history.
“‘The Tale of Genji’ and ‘The Pillow Book’ were all written on washi paper,” he says. “So, they have survived for 1000 years. I think that in 20 or 30 years, someone like me will come along and say, ‘This DVD was made using old machines.'”

“Update file formats regularly”
The National Film Archive of Japan handles the preservation, restoration and release of films.
What can we do to preserve the important records that ordinary households and individuals have stored on magnetic tapes such as VHS and 8mm? We asked Mika Tomita, a senior researcher at
Mika Tomita, Chief Researcher at the archive says the key to preservation of content stored on magnetic tapes is digitization.
“For home movies to enjoy at home, you can create and save multiple copies in a file format such as MPEG-4,” says Tomita. “You need to save these multiple digital files on different media such as hard disks or DVDs in case the storage media becomes unusable.”
Many electronics retailers and specialist companies — the aforementioned Dubbing Copy Revolution, for example — offer services to transfer footage from magnetic tapes such as VHS and 8mm to DVD.
The cost of transferring a single 60-minute VHS tape to DVD is between 1,000 and 3,000 yen. It takes up to 2 months. There is also a service that allows you to play the footage on your smartphone using a code for an additional fee.
Tomita points out that digital media requires the latest in technology to ensure compatibility.
“If the OS or version of your computer changes, you may not be able to open your digital files,” Tomita says. “It’s important to update file formats regularly. Furthermore, even if you save them on DVDs, there’s a high chance that the DVDs themselves will deteriorate or the player will no longer work. It’s necessary to transfer storage media every 3 to 5 years.”