LDP: No sex-slave show on NHK propaganda broadcasting corp

[Taro Toporific]

LDP pressure led to cuts in NHK show
A program on a mock war-crime trial was revised.
The Asahi Shimbun, Jan 12
The public Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) apparently caved in to the demands of two conservative politicians and drastically revised a 2001 program dealing with sexual violence in World War II.
Footage of a mock trial that found the emperor responsible for the Japanese military's sex-slave system was cut. And parts of the testimony given by a former ``comfort woman'' from China were also omitted.
The edited version has led to a lawsuit....more...

[Samurai_Jerk]

Thank God they took care of that problem. I was worried someone might learn the truth.

I'm looking forward to watching this tomorrow: Japan's War in Colour

[Taro Toporific]

I'm looking forward to watching this tomorrow: Japan's War in Colour

They are showning Japan's War in Colour on the History Channel here too.

[Skankster]

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IS JAPAN SWINGING RIGHT ??
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[Captain Japan]

I'm looking forward to watching this tomorrow: Japan's War in Colour

They are showning Japan's War in Colour on the History Channel here too.

I think that is one of the channels my worthless cable company ITSCOM actually sends me. I'm gonna check the schedule.

[Taro Toporific]

I'm looking forward to watching this tomorrow: Japan's War in Colour

They are showning Japan's War in Colour on the History Channel here too.

I think that is one of the channels my worthless cable company ITSCOM actually sends me. I'm gonna check the schedule.

It's called various things in the listings in Japan: "World War in Color" and "WWII in Color"

[cstaylor]

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IS JAPAN SWINGING RIGHT ??
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Did it ever go left at the government level?

[Ketou]

I think any attempt to move left was quashed more often by the occupying authorities!

[Mulboyne]

Just as the PM visits Yasukuni "in a private capacity" so Abe and Nakagawa speak with NHK "in a private capacity". I wonder if there are different shoes you need to wear to distinguish between private and public actions.

Japan Times: Abe admits telling NHK to censor TV program
Senior Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Shinzo Abe admitted Wednesday that he told NHK to edit its coverage of a mock trial that found Emperor Showa guilty of war crimes before it was aired in 2001, raising questions about government censorship of the media. The government has denied that Abe's conduct constituted state interference in public media, even though he was deputy chief Cabinet secretary at the time
...In response to the Asahi report, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Abe and Nakagawa must speak for themselves. He said the government might ask them to further explain the matter. The nation's broadcasting law stipulates there should be no external interference with broadcasters. When asked if Abe and Nakagawa's actions might have infringed on this law, Hosoda said he has not confirmed whether the newspaper report is true. He dismissed the suggestion that Abe's action could be interpreted as government intervention in the media on the grounds that Abe was deputy chief Cabinet secretary at the time. After Abe issued his statement, Hosoda maintained that the government does not plan to question him. He said the government does not believe Abe was acting in his capacity as deputy chief Cabinet secretary.

[Captain Japan]

Just as the PM visits Yasukuni "in a private capacity" so Abe and Nakagawa speak with NHK "in a private capacity". I wonder if there are different shoes you need to wear to distinguish between private and public actions.

I remember when Koizumi made his first visit to Yasukuni back in 2001. A big deal was made about - in terms of justifying it as a personal visit - how he paid for the flowers he brought with his own "pocket money."

[Captain Japan]

NHK censored TV show due to 'political pressure'
Japan Times

NHK altered its 2001 documentary on a mock tribunal over Japan's wartime sexual slavery before it was aired because of "political pressure" from senior lawmakers in the Liberal Democratic Party, the TV program's chief producer said Thursday.

NHK producer Satoru Nagai mops away tears during a news conference at a hotel in Tokyo.

"We were ordered to alter the program before it was aired," Satoru Nagai told reporters in Tokyo. "I would have to say that the alteration was made against the backdrop of political pressure."

[blackcat]

What a facist prick of a place japan is.

THE JAPAN DENAIL SYNDROME is here in full swing from the rapist PM all the way down.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, asked if Abe had violated NHK's guaranteed independence, said: "I don't think so."

"guaranteed indepencence" more TATAMAE BULLSHIT in reality.

"The press should not be one-sided. You should see to it that you report in a fair manner," Koizumi said

ONE SIDED???? :P JAPANS MEDIA????

FUCK ME have a look at the way foreigners are portrayed (esp chinese) fuck, do they get reports in a FAIR MANNER?

This country is getting worse and closer to the past DAY BY DAY.

[Bongo]

These fucking IDIOTS deserve everything they get due to their pathetic apathy. Not so hard to see how they got involved in the second world war is it? LDP politicians are now openly discussing imposing economic sanctions against NK in preparation for a WAR!
This is probably the most dangerous political period this country has seen since the Showa Era!

[blackcat]

BONGO

you are 100% right

the trouble is japanese are braiwashed into being "japanese" and are a hysterical nation, the world cup was amazing how so few people had common sense, nearly all j`s i spoke to thought every tourist was a hooligan.

The J media are a crime in themselves..

[Mulboyne]

NHK formally complained to the Asahi and have asked for an apology. They claim an internal investigation shows no interference from Nakagawa & Abe.

Asahi: NHK, LDP lawmakers deny any `political pressure' to alter show
Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) and two ruling party politicians flatly denied allegations that the public broadcaster substantially altered a program about Japan's wartime sex abuse because of "political pressure." The denial came after an NHK whistle-blower told reporters Thursday that Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers Shinzo Abe and Shoichi Nakagawa demanded NHK revise the program before it was aired in 2001. "There was no such fact that the program contents were altered under the political pressure of Mr. Abe and Mr. Nakagawa," said Akiyoshi Sekine, NHK's executive director-general of broadcasting.
In a statement released Thursday, Sekine said NHK executives met with Nakagawa on Feb. 2, 2001, three days after the program was aired on Jan. 30, not before the broadcast. He admitted a meeting with Abe took place on Jan. 29, but said officials only "briefed (Abe) on the program's concept and purposes."
... Reversing his earlier comments, Nakagawa, now the trade minister, said Thursday that NHK officials met him Feb. 2. He denied he pressed NHK to alter or cancel the program. On Monday, before The Asahi Shimbun broke the story, Nakagawa admitted he met NHK executives the day before the broadcast. "NHK said it would change this and that, but would still air it, so I said, 'No,'" he told the newspaper then. However, on Thursday, Nakagawa said in Paris, "My Tokyo office found through all-out efforts that I discussed the program with NHK officials only after the broadcast." He said the officials came to explain NHK budget requests and he told them the program apparently lacked fairness. Abe, now acting LDP secretary-general, said in a statement Thursday reports that he summoned and pressed NHK officials to alter the program were "totally wrong."
NHK on Friday handed a written protest to The Asahi Shimbun that said the newspaper's reports "distorted facts" and thereby damaged the broadcaster's credibility. The newspaper stood by its reports, saying it repeatedly interviewed the lawmakers, NHK officials and others.

[DJEB]

nearly all j`s i spoke to thought every tourist was a hooligan.

The key is when you have no memory of how off-base your prejudices were after they have been proved wrong.

"What? Our own kids are a horrible criminal menace? I'd buy that for a dollar! Let's demonise 'em!"

[gmb]

[NeoNecroNomiCron]

[tatsujin]

[quote="The UK Guardian"]
Beset by political and financial scandal, Japan's public broadcaster is under pressure. Justin McCurry explains

After almost 60 years in the business, Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, must have become accustomed to mixed reviews.
To its many supporters, the broadcaster is synonymous with accuracy and probity, a cerebral alternative to the daily diet of pap offered by its commercial rivals.

Its critics, however, see only a self-satisfied monolith that shies away from challenging cultural and political norms - and all at the viewer's financial expense.

But even those opposing factions can agree that NHK is facing one of the most troubled periods in its history. The broadcaster is reeling from a series of embezzlement scandals involving employees, and charges that it has handled the ensuing fallout in a high-handed manner.

This week, it faced fresh allegations that it had buckled in the face of political pressure over a documentary about the Japanese army's wartime brothels.

The public expects better from an organisation that offers respite from inane chat and variety shows with a mixture of news, sport, documentaries and educational programmes, and which is not beholden to advertisers and - in theory at least - to politicians.

However, the most recent revelations threaten to blow that last assumption apart. On Wednesday, Shinzo Abe, a senior figure in the ruling Liberal Democratic party, admitted that he had urged NHK officials to alter the contents of the documentary on wartime sex slaves.

He had learned in advance that the programme would devote airtime to a mock trial, conducted in 2000, that found the wartime emperor, Hirohito, guilty of permitting the sexual enslavement of tens of thousands of Asian women by the Japanese imperial army during the second world war.

"I found out that the contents were clearly biased and told [NHK] that they should broadcast from a fair and neutral viewpoint, as they are expected to do," Mr Abe, who was the government's number two spokesman at the time, said.

The programme that went out failed to mention the guilty verdict against Hirohito, and reduced the time originally allotted to testimonies from former sex slaves and repentant ex-soldiers.

Rumiko Nishino, a leading member of the women's rights group that conducted the mock trial, said NHK had been guilty of "an extraordinary act that sold the soul of journalism".

The group filed a lawsuit against NHK and two outside production companies over the cuts. Last March a court exonerated the public broadcaster, but ordered one of the production companies to pay compensation. All the parties involved have appealed.

On Thursday, the pressure on NHK intensified when the programme's senior producer said there had been political interference. "We were ordered to alter the programme before it was aired," Satoru Nagai told reporters. "I would have to say that the alteration was made against the backdrop of political pressure."

His statement contradicts earlier NHK claims that the programme's editor had made the cuts at his own discretion. Crucially, he said the editorial changes had been made with the full knowledge of the NHK president, Katsuji Ebisawa.

But Mr Abe today denied applying pressure to programme makers. NHK, too, denied that it had been forced to alter the contents of the programme and demanded an apology and correction from the Asahi Shimbun, which ran the original story. The Asahi said it was sticking to its version of events.

A second LDP politician, the trade and industry minister, Shoichi Nakagawa, said he had spoken to NHK executives only after the programme was broadcast.

Meanwhile, viewers are engaging in an unprecedented display of civil disobedience over NHK's handling of the embezzlement scandals.

The broadcaster depends on license fees for almost all of its funding, which last year totalled 678.5bn yen (&pound]

[vir-jin]

Its critics, however, see only a self-satisfied monolith that shies away from challenging cultural and political norms - and all at the viewer's financial expense.

They broadcasted a 10 minutes documentary on vir-jin's J-life and tasks last year. Turned out to be a very boring, nationalistic commercial for Japanese Arts- even FG's do it That's good news I read today

The public has spoken

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: NHK protests 2nd Asahi article on TV show
NHK sent a written protest to The Asahi Shimbun on Tuesday, saying a report by the newspaper printed the same day about the alleged alteration of an NHK television program contained information that was not true.
The Asahi Shimbun had said in the article that NHK officials met with then Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe and LDP House of Representatives member Shoichi Nakagawa, currently economy, trade and industry minister, on Jan. 29, 2001, reportedly over the content of an NHK television series on World War II. But the NHK executive who was interviewed told his colleagues Tuesday that he had "met Mr. Abe. But I told (the Asahi Shimbun reporter) that I didn't really remember meeting Mr. Nakagawa."
NHK said it had asked The Asahi Shimbun to issue a correction. In the protest letter, NHK said, "The report contradicted what our executive said he told the reporter, and we're very suspicious about the reporting process that was followed." The Asahi Shimbun said: "The article in Tuesday's morning edition accurately reported the NHK matter uncovered by our reporter. We consider our reporting process appropriate."

Asahi: Asahi special page defends NHK story
In Tuesday's Asahi, summaries of comments by Nakagawa and Abe both before and after the Jan. 12 report were printed. Nakagawa admitted on Jan. 10 that he met with NHK executives before the revised program was broadcast. An Asahi reporter asked Nakagawa, "Did you ask that the program be cancelled?" Nakagawa's response was: "You can say that's what I said." But a day after the Asahi report appeared, Nakagawa told reporters the meeting was held after the broadcast and he never asked that the program be revised or cancelled.

[Mulboyne]

NHK News just aired a long feature on this dispute. The NHK guy in charge of the programme, Matsuo, has categorically denied telling the reporter he felt pressure from LDP officials. He thinks the Asahi reporter had a "fixed idea" of a story he wanted to write. He is demanding a correction and an apology.
He contends that the "whistleblower", Nagai, merely spoke based on "rumours and speculation" and it is unforgiveable that the Asahi base a report on that alone.
Abe claims that an Asahi reporter approached him at his home late at night suggesting that NHK had admitted pressure which he now sees as a kind of "trap". I see wagons circling. The Asahi had better have kept good records or else they are going to be apologizing soon.

[Mulboyne]

The Asahi is calling Matsuo a liar.

Asahi: Asahi refutes NHK official's claim
Charging that comments by a former head of broadcasting had seriously damaged public trust in the newspaper, The Asahi Shimbun on Wednesday lodged a protest with Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) seeking an apology and correction from the public body. The protest stems from a news conference held at NHK on Wednesday at which Takeshi Matsuo accused the Asahi of distorting comments he had made. In a report published Tuesday, the Asahi attributed comments about political pressure leading to changes in an NHK program on a mock war crimes trial to "an NHK official." Matsuo said Wednesday that he was the source of those comments, an assertion confirmed by Asahi.
... The Asahi stood by its report and criticized Matsuo for disavowing his earlier comments. "It is very regrettable that someone in a responsible position in the media would repudiate his own comments," the Asahi protest read.

[Taro Toporific]

The Asahi is calling Matsuo a liar.

[url=http://www.asahi.com/english/nation/TKY200501210185.html]Asahi: Asahi refutes NHK official's claim[/url

It's a "He said, she said" situation.
Wanna guess who is gonna be NHK's bitch?

[American Oyaji]

ten to one someone has a tape with Matsuo saying that.

[FG Lurker]

Producer mistrusts NHK probe of censorship charge
Japan Times, January 20, 2005

A senior producer at NHK said Wednesday he does not trust the results of an in-house probe into allegations that the public broadcaster altered a documentary program about a mock trial on Japan's wartime sex slavery aired in 2001 due to political pressure.

Satoru Nagai had asked NHK's compliance panel in December to investigate the case, claiming the company violated the Broadcasting Law, which guarantees freedom of broadcasting, when it was pressured by Liberal Democratic Party heavyweights Shinzo Abe and Shoichi Nakagawa.

(Full Story)

[Mulboyne]

Asahi demands apology, correction from NHK
The Asahi Shimbun said Friday it will notify Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) in writing that it would face legal action if it did not respond in good faith to Asahi's request for a correction and apology for defaming the newspaper's honor. Asahi executives held a news conference Friday to explain their reasoning behind the notice. In its written notice to NHK, the Asahi Shimbun referred to a news conference on Wednesday by Takeshi Matsuo, who was NHK's executive director-general of broadcasting in January 2001, when the controversial documentary went to air.
"The comments made by Matsuo in response to questions by Asahi reporters were as reported and that is an undeniable fact," the Asahi notice said. It added: "During a news program on a public broadcasting network that should be objective, fair and neutral, a broadcast was aired for long periods that was devoted exclusively to defending themselves. The reporting stance of ignoring the Asahi's explanations must, from the standpoint of the Broadcast Law, be viewed with major doubts.'"

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: NHK: Asahi reporter tried to put lid on scandal
In a startling claim, NHK said Friday that an Asahi Shimbun reporter recently proposed to a former NHK official that they "adjust" their conflicting views in the ongoing dispute over political pressure allegedly exerted on an NHK television show aired four years ago. "Could we meet somewhere in private? Perhaps we can compare and adjust our statements (on the content of an article published in the Asahi on the issue)," the Asahi reporter said to NHK's Takeshi Matsuo, NHK executive director in charge of broadcasting at the time of the program's airing, in a phone conversation Tuesday, according to an open letter NHK sent to The Asahi Shimbun. Matsuo had called the reporter to protest the article, which he claimed was inaccurate and misrepresented what he said.

[Mulboyne]

Kyodo via Yahoo: NHK finds itself in scrum after decision on rugby broadcast

NHK broadcast a rugby match live Saturday as was originally scheduled, as the public broadcaster received scores of requests for live coverage after it decided to show a taped broadcast at a later time so it could edit out scenes showing referees' uniforms bearing a corporate name. NHK decided to change the original programming plan Friday citing a breach of contract by the Japan Rugby Football Union for unilaterally adopting the new clothing, which features the logo of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. Officials from the football union held a news conference Saturday and admitted they had failed to negotiate with NHK over the issue. An NHK spokesman said requests from the public and an apology from the union prompted the broadcaster to return to its original plan and broadcast the event live.

[Captain Japan]

Pollees slam NHK's sneaky previews for politicians
Mainichi

Nearly 70 percent of pollees told a Mainichi opinion survey that it was wrong for major broadcaster NHK to explain the content of programs to politicians before they are aired.

The Mainichi carried out the poll on Friday and Saturday in the wake of NHK's denial of an Asahi Shimbun report that NHK edited a documentary program on wartime sex slavery because of pressure from top Liberal Democratic Party politicians.

NHK has admitted that officials explained the program to the politicians before it was aired, but has denied that they were pressured into changing its content.

Of the pollees, 69 percent said that informing politicians about the content of certain programs prior to their screening was wrong, while 21 percent believed such a practice was acceptable.

This will surely kill NHK:

Forty-three percent said the system should be abandoned, while 31 percent suggested the system be replaced with pay-per-view programming....the rest...