[Sjef Verhoeven] still loves radio and enjoys the challenge of listening ... the device is versatile and can pick up shortwave as well as the usual broadcast bands, with the right configuration.

This is KDDI Corp.’s Yamata Transmitting Station, the nation’s only facility broadcasting shortwave radio programs to overseas listeners. The station started broadcasts on Jan. 1, 1941.

Radio transmission in the 1.7-30 MHz frequency range worldwide. Like AM radio, shortwave signals reflect back from the ionosphere and follow the curvature of the earth. As a result, shortwave (SW ...