Japan Press Weekly

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2014 July 2 - 8 [POLITICS]

NHK speaks for PM on collective self-defense issue

Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK, can be rightly regarded as a government spokesman when looking at its news reports on the Abe Cabinet’s policy to lift the ban on Japan’s use of the right to collective self-defense.

News Watch Nine, NHK’s night news show, on June 26 invited Komei Party Chief Representative Yamaguchi Natsuo to the program and Liberal Democratic Party Vice President Komura Masahiko on the following day.

In the program, a news anchor said to Yamaguchi that the time is ripe for the legalization of the collective self-defense right and that he expects the Komei Party to play an active role in this move.

On July 1, the day the Abe Cabinet made a decision to allow Japan to exercise the controversial right, the news program parroted what Abe said in a press conference, ignoring ongoing protest actions against the decision in front of the Prime Minister’s Office.

This one-sided stance clearly violates article 4 of the Broadcast Law which requires broadcasters to report news from various viewpoints, especially if the issue is controversial.

NHK President Momii Katsuto was appointed by Prime Minister Abe. Momii provoked much criticism after he stated, “We cannot say it’s left when the government says it’s right.”

Is NHK going to be a mere public relations firm for the government or a national public broadcaster concerned about relaying public opinion? NHK is facing a turning point in its existence.