- 14 Mar 2002
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Interview of Yokota's daughter was not propaganda: Fuji TV
=> http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=236095
Has anyone in Japan seen that interview?
Fuji Television Network Inc on Saturday defended broadcasting an interview of the daughter of a Japanese national North Korea abducted 25 years ago, saying the footage was not used for North Korean propaganda. "We have never been involved in North Korean propaganda and we will not be in the future," said a statement released by the private broadcaster. On Friday evening, Fuji TV aired footage of the exclusive interview with Kim Hye Gyong, 15. Her mother, Megumi Yokota, was abducted at age 13 in November 1977 from the city of Niigata, Niigata Prefecture. North Korea has listed Yokota as dead.
Fuji TV and two national Japanese dailies conducted the one-hour interview with Kim at a Pyongyang hotel Friday afternoon. Immediately after airing the footage in a special two-hour program, Fuji TV received criticism from viewers saying the network was used for propaganda, Fuji TV said. The network said it was also denounced for posing "inappropriate" questions, such as asking the young girl whether she knew her mother was abducted from Japan to North Korea and what she knew about the relationship between the two countries.
The statement said the interview was realized after we asked Pyongyang for permission to conduct it so as to produce new revelations. "The stance will not change as we are making coverage and reporting news by understanding the feelings and situation of abductees and their families," said the statement, which was released after Megumi's parents criticized the coverage at a news conference Saturday. Toru Hasuike, whose younger brother Kaoru recently returned to Japan for the first time since being abducted in 1978, also criticized the media coverage. "It is so obvious that the interview was orchestrated by North Korean authorities," Hasuike said.
"It was an attempt by North Korea to dismantle a support group of families advocating that abductees return to Japan," he added. Hasuike warned the media that five abductees currently in Japan can also watch such coverage. "It is possible that our efforts to try to convince them (to return to Japan permanently) may fail," he said. Pyongyang told the Japanese government that Megumi Yokota married a North Korean man, gave birth to Kim, and committed suicide in 1993. (Kyodo News)
=> http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=236095
Has anyone in Japan seen that interview?