Japan Press Weekly

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2015 February 25 - March 3 [POLITICS]

Ex-NHK producer: Abe’s pressure changes role of public broadcasting

Japan’s sole public broadcaster, NHK, has increasingly become subservient to the national government since Momii Katsuto assumed the NHK presidency in January 2014. A former NHK producer points out that the Abe government’s cunning strategy has contributed to changing the broadcaster’s position of attempting to maintain objectivity.

A civic group held a study meeting in Akita City on February 19 to discuss how the public broadcasting station should conduct itself. Musashi University Professor Nagata Kozo, an ex-producer at NHK, gave a lecture at the gathering.

Referring to Momii’s numerous abusive remarks, Nagata said, “He is the most pro-government president I have ever seen.”

When reporters asked Momii on February 5 whether to broadcast a TV program dealing with Japan’s wartime “comfort women” issue this year, he replied that he questions if it is proper to take up that issue before the government stance becomes clear.

Momii attended a meeting with the Democratic Party of Japan on February 18. Regarding the 1995 Murayama Statement which expressed “deep remorse” for Japan’s “colonial rule and aggression” during World War II, he said, “I think the statement is appropriate for the time being, but a future government may abandon it.”

Nagata noted in his lecture that it is the Abe administration that helped such a figure rise to the top position of NHK. He pointed to the fact that in late 2013 Prime Minister Abe Shinzo replaced many NHK Governors, who have the power to appoint and dismiss the president, with his “friends” who share his view that Japan fought a just war in the past.

In 2001, Nagata worked at NHK as a producer of documentary programs. On January 29, the day before NHK was scheduled to air a documentary dealing with the wartime sexual violence by the Japanese military, then Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Abe called NHK executives and told them to “sense” his intent. Right after that, the staff members, including Nagata, received detailed instructions from the management on changing the contents of the program.

In January 2005, Nagai Akira, an NHK producer, held a news conference and accused Abe of exerting pressure on NHK officials regarding the documentary program. NHK, however, repeatedly denied “political intervention” in its news shows.

“NHK abandoned its policy of objective reporting by turning a blind eye to facts,” Nagata said.

Mentioning that NHK rebroadcasts programs in response to viewers’ requests, Nagata underlined the importance of giving direct feedback to the broadcaster.


Past related article:
> NHK shows increasing tendency to put voluntary restraint on programs critical of government policies [January 31, 2015]