Report Station prominently featured the Guarneri del Gesù used by HIMARI, yet failed to disclose who loaned it to her.
It is customary to make clear the source of such a loan.
This essay questions the bias and lack of transparency in Japanese media coverage of young violin prodigies.

—What Report Station Chose to Hide in Its HIMARI Coverage—
—Why Did It Not Report the Source of the Guarneri del Gesù Loan—

◎Staging Under the Name of Journalism.
There is a grave problem in Report Station’s recent coverage of HIMARI, one that goes beyond mere oversight and calls into question the very stance of the broadcaster as a journalistic institution.
The program prominently reported that HIMARI had tried various violins and finally arrived at this instrument, and that her new partner is a Guarneri del Gesù, one of only about 150 such violins in the world.
Yet the most essential point, which naturally ought to have been explained, was conspicuously withheld to such a degree that one can hardly be blamed for suspecting deliberateness.
That point is this.
Who owns the instrument, and in what form it has been loaned to her.
This is not a simple lack of explanation.
It is staging under the name of journalism.
◎It Is Customary to Make Clear the Source of Such a Loan.
As for her previous instrument, Nippon Violin had clearly announced that the 1717 Stradivarius “Hamma,” owned by Yusaku Maezawa, had been loaned to HIMARI.
It is customary to make clear the source of such a loan.
And yet, this time, regarding the Guarneri del Gesù, which the program itself emphasized as a “legendary instrument,” it says nothing about the lender.
How can this be called anything other than unnatural.
◎An Unnatural Refusal to Tell Viewers the Most Important Background.
Generally speaking, when a very young or young performer is seen using an ultra-high-priced historic instrument of this kind, the background usually involves a foundation, a violin dealer, a corporate owner, or a wealthy private individual who has purchased the instrument and provided it on loan.
That is a matter of common knowledge in the classical music world.
If so, then why was that point deliberately left vague in this report.
If the broadcaster withholds the background that matters most to viewers and offers only a beautiful story, then that is not journalism but guidance.
◎The Bias of Treating Only HIMARI as Exceptional.
Nor is that the only problem.
Report Station has continued to feature HIMARI in a manner that can fairly be described as exceptional treatment.
However, Japan has, besides HIMARI, other extraordinary talents worthy of discussion at the highest international level, including Natsuho Murata.
And yet the program singles out only one performer while concealing those aspects of the surrounding circumstances that might prove inconvenient.
If that is not bias, what is.
For a broadcaster using the public airwaves, this is an extremely serious matter.
◎The Deception at the Core of This Report.
The issue is not that HIMARI was featured.
The issue is this.
If she is using an instrument of such exceptional stature, why does the broadcaster not plainly explain by whom, from where, and in what form that instrument has been loaned.
There, precisely, lies the deception of this report.
It is here that I see the true nature of TV Asahi’s journalistic posture.