NHK President Nobuo Inaba issued another apology on Wednesday regarding the controversial comments made by an external staff member during Chinese-language news broadcasts on NHK’s international and domestic radio channels in August. Inaba acknowledged that NHK had been somewhat insensitive to these risks during a regular press conference.
During the radio news segment aired on August 19, the male staff member in question made several remarks, including stating that Japan’s Senkaku Islands were part of Chinese territory. An investigation conducted by NHK revealed that this staff member had previously expressed concerns about China being a one-party dictatorship and the unpredictability of its political situation. He had also requested NHK not to disclose his personal information and even asked if he could refuse translation work, using the Senkaku issue as an example.
Despite objecting to the script’s content prior to the August 19 broadcast due to concerns about personal safety, NHK still had him read it on air. However, when there was a military coup in Myanmar, NHK removed a staff member who was supposed to read news in Burmese from their assignment out of consideration for potential risks faced by their family back home.
When questioned about why these two individuals were treated differently, an NHK official explained that the Burmese-language news reader provided specific examples of risks they faced, which led to their removal from duty. The official emphasized that it was these specificities that created the distinction in treatment between the two cases.
NHK continues to face criticism for its handling of this incident and is striving to address concerns over impartiality and accuracy in its reporting moving forward.
