News Chinese NHK announcer calls Senkakus Chinese territory

[thomas]

A Chinese contract worker at Japan's public broadcaster NHK made a controversial statement during a live radio broadcast on 19 August. While reading a news report about graffiti at the Yasukuni Shrine, the staffer deviated from the script to claim that the Senkaku Islands, a disputed territory controlled by Japan but claimed by China, belong to China. NHK has expressed shock and disappointment over the incident. The staffer, a man in his 40s who has worked for the broadcaster for over two decades, is facing termination from his contract. The public broadcaster has launched an investigation into the matter.

NHK commented, "It was inappropriate that a statement unrelated to the news was broadcast, and we deeply apologize. We will thoroughly implement measures to prevent a recurrence." The broadcaster reported on the case on its "News Watch 9" evening news program and separately held a briefing for other media outlets.

Chinese staffer at Japan public broadcaster says disputed islands a Beijing territory on air - The Mainichi

TOKYO -- A Chinese contract staffer at Japan's NHK said the Japanese-controlled, Chinese-claimed Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture were

mainichi.jp

NHK apologizes for on-air claim on ownership of Senkaku Islands | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

 

[thomas]

NHK announced on Tuesday that an executive resigned following a controversial on-air comment by a Chinese contract worker. During a 19 August broadcast, the worker, in his 40s, stated that the Senkaku Islands belong to China, going off-script for about 20 seconds. The executive overseeing broadcasting information in various languages, including English and Chinese, stepped down on Tuesday to take responsibility for the incident. NHK President Inaba Nobuo also announced that he and three other executives would voluntarily reduce their monthly salaries by 50% for one month.

NHK exec resigns over Chinese staffer's unscripted Senkaku remarks

The president of NHK, Japan's public broadcaster, said Tuesday that an executive has stepped down after a Chinese staffer in an overseas radio broadcast described the Japanese-controlled islands as Ch

english.kyodonews.net

NHK releases report on unscripted comments in Chinese broadcast | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

NHK has released its investigative report on inappropriate comments made during a Chinese-language radio news bulletin last month by an outside employee of Chinese nationality.

www3.nhk.or.jp

 

[Lothor]

This is all a bit weird. First, why would NHK need to carry out an investigation (the earlier post)? What is there to investigate? Second, it seems unfair for executives to take the rap for an announcer going rogue.

 

[thomas]

This is all a bit weird. First, why would NHK need to carry out an investigation (the earlier post)? What is there to investigate? Second, it seems unfair for executives to take the rap for an announcer going rogue.

I believe they were blamed for not turning off the microphones sooner and for not implementing safeguards that could have prevented such announcers from going off-script.

NHK failed to keep him from going off-script despite signs of his discontent. [...] An NHK editor and an outside director were with him at the time, but they could not stop the broadcast or lower the volume. Both told NHK that they were unable to respond to the sudden and unanticipated event.

As the article linked below outlines, the Chinese announcer had previously expressed his concerns about reading news that carried Japan's official policies on topics such as the Senkaku islands and Yasukuni. Apparently, he was afraid of a social media backlash.

The man has been translating news articles into Chinese and reading them on programs since he concluded a service contract with NHK in 2002. When the contract was signed, NHK explained about its standards for international programs, which call for correctly conveying the official stance of the Japanese government. During the Aug. 19 news program, the man arbitrarily added words to a report about graffiti at Yasukuni Shrine, which is viewed by China as a symbol of Japan's wartime militarism. "Words of protest, such as 'militarism' and 'die," were written," he said. An NHK editor and an outside director were with him at the time, but they could not stop the broadcast or lower the volume. Both told NHK that they were unable to respond to the sudden and unanticipated event. After the program, the man repeatedly said that an individual cannot take risks for the sake of Japanese propaganda but did not provide detailed explanations. NHK compiled its investigative report based on accounts by the editor, the director and others. It was unable to contact the Chinese staffer.

Chinese NHK staffer cited ‘risk’ of toeing official Japanese line | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

 

[Petaris]

Unfortunately this is what happens when the "news" slowly slides into opinions and/or it is written by politicians.

I don't excuse what this guy did though and it is sad that things like this are becoming more common. I really wish the "news" would stick to just the facts about a matter/situation.

 

[Lothor]

Unfortunately this is what happens when the "news" slowly slides into opinions and/or it is written by politicians.

I don't excuse what this guy did though and it is sad that things like this are becoming more common. I really wish the "news" would stick to just the facts about a matter/situation.

On the subject of sticking to facts, one of the things about Japanese news I dislike is their fact-free reports about people feeling 'anxious' about something (不安が広がる) or eagerly anticipating something (いよいよ花見!), which seem to be designed to manipulate people's mood rather than to inform.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

Not sure about other countries , but "FEAR" of someone or something seems to be in the nightly news or internet warnings everyday. I think the idea behind spreading fear seems to be pick me or vote for me because I'm the only one that can save you. It seems to be a way to cause hate of some groups also. About the only thing I trust now days is the weather and even that's not always 100% right. My brain is always in the "doom & gloom" settings , so maybe it's just my imagination ?

 

[Lothor]

I found this on the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan website, which makes interesting reading, although the conclusions don't surprise me.

Hijacker or hero? | FCCJ

October 2024 | Cover story A Chinese reporter’s on-air protest during a recent NHK radio program has left Japan’s public broadcaster red-faced and exposed a growing chasm over wartime history A 20-second unscripted outburst by a Chinese reporter during a live NHK radio show has underlined the...

www.fccj.or.jp

 

[thomas]

That's a fascinating read, revealing much information the mainstream media didn't cover! If true, it is deplorable that NHK has turned into a state propaganda machine.

As far as the Yasukuni attack was concerned, not only NHK but also other Japanese news outlets just reported about the "toilet" graffiti and never mentioned the word "militarism". I can also relate to his anger over Nanjing. I have always wondered why a massacre was reduced to a mere "incident." In Japanese, Wikipedia refers to it as 南京大虐殺 ("Nanjing Massacre"); in the Japanese media, it is often called 南京事件 (Nanjing Incident, "jiken").

Sadly, his home country, where he escaped, is riding an even fiercer wave of nationalism. I hope he will hold Chinese media to the same journalistic standards.

Thank you for sharing this!

 

[Lothor]

There are a lot of interesting articles on the FCCJ site that describe things happening in Japan in a far more nuanced way than the mainstream media would have you believe. They remind me of the articles that the Japan Times wrote before it became an English language version of the pap that NHK reports. About the word jiken, I believe that the same word is also used for the Sarin attack in 1995, so it's not necessarily a deliberate downplaying of the massacre (for once!).