After the earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan, television has focused a good deal of time on the events in the areas damaged in the event and the Fukushima nuclear power plants that have been leaking radioactive material.
There has also been an obvious increase in the number of public service announcements from the Japan Advertising Council. This agency was started in 1971, during the economic boom in Japan, by Keizo Saji, the then president of Suntory, a beverage (alcohol and soft drinks) manufacturer.
These spots focus on manners, child rearing, and other topics that contribute to society.
The reason that there are so many of these commercials now is because it would be inappropriate to show other commercials that promote the consumption of goods that are unavailable to so many people as a result of the natural disasters.
EFL in Japan 