‘A Crisis in Japan’ ～public broadcasting company subverts democracy

 Nearly 1,000 people gathered for an event in Osaka on June 21 to demand that the chairperson and two board members of Japan’s public broadcasting company NHK resign for making controversial remarks.

 MOMII Katsuto expressed at his first press conference as an NHK chairperson that war-time brothels existed in every country, not only Japan, and his political gaffs continued flowing every so often since. HYAKUTA Naoki, a board member and a popular novelist, claimed that countries around the world ignored the Chinese propaganda that Japanese troops carried out a massacre in Nanjing.

 Professor Emeritus of Tokyo University DAIGO Satoshi pointed out at the event that it is abnormal for a public television station to only release news as an implemental body for Prime Minister Abe's administration.

 IKEDA Eriko, a former director, and NAGATA Kozo, a former chief producer--both of NHK--made a report on complications that ABE Shinzo (chief cabinet secretary at the time) applied pressure on NHK in 2001 to revise its documentary on comfort women.

 SAKAGUCHI Norio, a lawyer, talked about a legality of a concrete measure to suspend fee payment for NHK viewers because the company is failing to observe its code of ethics. He remarked that only citizens' power could help set NHK straight and laid out a framework of a legal team.

 (By NAGATA Kozo, Musashi University professor)

公共放送の危機は民主主義の危機～「どうする！公共放送の危機」関西集会に950人

 
6 月21日、大 阪・中之島公会堂で、「どうする！公共放送の危機」6・21関西集会が開かれました。小糠雨が降る中、会場には950人が結集し、NHK籾井会長、百田尚 樹・長谷川三千子経営委員の罷免を求めました。醍醐聡東大名誉教授は、三氏の問題発言だけでなく、安倍政権の道具と化したNHKニュースの異常さを指摘。 池田恵 理子・永田浩三の元NHKディレクターは、ETV2001番組改変事件とその後の放送現場の変化について報告しました。阪口徳雄弁護士は、NHKの受信料 の一時停止や保留の正当性と弁護団の体制について語りました。（報告：レイバーネット会員 武蔵大学教授 永田浩三）

Protests against NHK: 62 civic groups demand resignation of president, two rightist governors

Citizens' groups led by Japan Action Resolution of the "Comfort Women" Issue staged protests against NHK (Nippon Hoso Kyokai), Japan's public broadcasting station, in Tokyo on Feb. 1 and 12, demanding resignation of its new president MOMII Katsuto and two nationalist governors, novelist HYAKUTA Naoki and philosopher HASEGAWA Michiko.

In the action held in the evening of Feb. 1, a week after the new NHK chief's first press conference where he made a controversial remark on "comfort women," protesters handed a letter to a staff member of the broadcaster's customers relations office NHK Heart Plaza. According to a participant, the staff member was much more bureaucratic than the real bureaucrats. " He identified himself only by his family name and refused to tell us his full name or give us a name card, because, according to him, he was not meeting with us as an individual. He said that all he would do is to take the letter to the secretariat of the president and he had no authority to say anything to us. He didn't allow our members who had cameras to enter the room where we met and demanded that we leave as soon as the time originally given had passed." On Feb. 12, some 80 protesters held a rally in front of the main gate of the NHK HQs at the time when the executive board members of the broadcaster were  meeting. Among the rally participants, there were three people who formerly worked for NHK as staff member or board member. Prior to the rally, representatives of Japan Action Resolution of the "Comfort Women" Issue and three other organizations met with staff members of Heart Plaza for half and hour and handed a letter of protest signed by 62 civil groups. (By SATO Kazuyuki and A)

NHK籾井会長、百田・長谷川両委員は辞任せよ！～全国62団体の賛同携え抗議アクション
NHK 経営委員会が開かれた2月12日の日中、東京・渋谷区にあるNHK前で、「籾井会長、百田・長谷川両委員は辞任せよ！－安倍総理・経営委員会の任命責任を 問う」抗議行動（第2弾）が実施されました。呼びかけは日本軍「慰安婦」問題解決全国行動で、当日提出した「申し入れ書」には、全国から62団体が賛同。 門前集会には、元NHK経営委員や元NHK職員3名を含む、約80人が結集しました。まず11時40分、４団体４名の代表（WAM・VAWW-RAC・ オール連帯・全国行動）がハートプラザに行き、経営委員会への「申し入れ書」を提出。NHK側担当者に約30分間、趣旨説明をしました。（佐藤和之） 

霞ヶ関官僚よりはるかに「官僚的」なNHK～籾井会長「慰安婦」発言に抗議
２ 月１日の対ＮＨＫ抗議行動に行きました、私が正面入り口で、ＮＨＫ籾井会長への抗議文を手渡しする「申し入れ行動」に参加しました。ＮＨＫハートプラザは 「なんでも相談してください」という担当のはず。しかし、対応したその責任者は、姓を「マツザキ」と名乗りながら、「私の名前は言わない。名刺はない。個 人で会うのではないし、答える権限もないし、答えない。抗議文を会長室に持っていくだけ。はい、時間です！」という対応。２名のカメラマンが入ってきた が、そのマツザキ氏に「カメラは絶対ダメ」として退場させられました。霞が関の国家官僚なんかより、はるかに「官僚的」でした。（A）