Japan Press Weekly

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2013 December 18 - 24 [POLITICS]

An ally of PM Abe elected as NHK President

A businessperson who has a close connection with Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has become NHK President-elect, marking the third NHK president in a row connected to the government network.

Abe has constructed a structure to politically back up the new president in addition to the four board members he already appointed as members of the NHK Board of Governors.

The 12-member board on December 20 chose Momii Katsuto, a special advisor to Nihon Unisys, Ltd. as NHK President.

Journalist Matsuda Hiroshi commented that the selection indicates the Liberal Democratic Party’s intention to control the NHK decision-making structure.

For nearly half a century after the war, persons from the worlds of academy and journalism or from NHK itself had assumed the post of NHK President.

However, Abe in 2007 during his first administration sent his crony Komori Shigetaka, the president of Fuji Film Holdings, to the NHK governors as chair. Then, Fukuchi Shigeo, an advisor to the Board of Asahi Breweries, Ltd. who was also a member of Abe’s inner circle, took up the position. The ougtoing president is a core member of the same like-minded circle, Matsumoto Masayuki, vice president of Central Japan Railway Company (JR Tokai).

Matsuda stated, “Viewers pay NHK fees because they expect this public broadcaster to be neutral, fair, and ‘independent’. If NHK under the new president betrays their expectations, its credibility will be severely threatened.”

Past related article:
> PM Abe tries to fill NHK top echelons with his friends [November 7, 2013]