Published on August 31, 2019.
Based on an essay by Fujiwara Kazue published in the monthly magazine Sound Argument, this chapter critically examines NHK’s structural problems, bias in documentaries on modern and contemporary history, emotional manipulation through musical emotion, and value-laden or emotional remarks by news anchors.
It argues that a public broadcaster should devote itself to reporting and explaining facts, not to the producers’ interpretations or theatrical direction.

Published on August 31, 2019.
The ETV Special “Questioning Wartime Sexual Violence,” which took up the Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal that declared Emperor Showa guilty of rape without being based on any legal system, and.
The following is from an essay by Fujiwara Kazue, published under the title “Logically Demolishing It” in the special feature, Is It Really “Everyone’s NHK”?, in this month’s issue of the monthly magazine Sound Argument, released yesterday.
All people of keen insight should know that she possesses an extremely clear mind and is truly no ordinary person.
This month’s issue of Sound Argument, too, is a must-read not only for all Japanese citizens but also for people throughout the world.
The preface is omitted.
Biased Documentaries.
Up to this point, I have discussed NHK’s structural problems, but from here on I would like to examine concretely whether the content of NHK’s news programming is proper and conforms to the requirements of public broadcasting: independence and autonomy, fairness and justice, and impartiality.
Among NHK’s news contents, what is especially often questioned is its documentary programming.
NHK’s documentaries basically include many excellent works, and they make us strongly recognize the importance of public broadcasting; on the other hand, in some works dealing with modern and contemporary history, bias based on a one-sided historical view can indeed be recognized.
Typical examples are the ETV Special “Questioning Wartime Sexual Violence,” which took up the Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal that declared Emperor Showa guilty of rape without being based on any legal system, and the NHK Special “JAPAN Debut: The First-Class Country of Asia,” which made abundant use of the method of 【cherry-picking】, arranging only convenient information and leading to a conclusion; these drew much criticism from many quarters.
A common feature of these modern and contemporary history documentaries is that background music that draws out negative emotions continues to resound endlessly and keeps stimulating the viewers.
Through this 【musical emotion】, viewers are guided into having negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, anger, sadness, and unhappiness.
Even in the Reiwa era, this kind of biased reporting continues, and the NHK Special “Thus ‘Freedom’ Died,” broadcast on August 12, 2019, was incoherent content lacking a valid inductive principle.
This work developed an unverifiable 【just-so story】 claiming that the assertions of a weak medium called Nihon Shimbun manipulated the government and deprived Japan of freedom, and it fell into the 【post hoc ergo propter hoc】 fallacy, uncritically identifying events that occurred before and after as cause and effect.
What public broadcasting needs is the “reporting” and “explanation” of facts, and the producers’ arbitrary “interpretations” and “direction,” such as musical emotion, which lead to mass guidance, are harmful to the people.
As long as it continues producing such works, NHK is unfit as a public broadcasting station.
Inappropriate News Comments.
NHK’s news is extremely excellent in that it reports the main points of factual relationships simply, directly, and calmly, and clarifies the issues.
The announcers’ announcing ability is also high, and almost none of the sensational accents often seen in commercial broadcasting can be recognized.
However, if one asks whether it completely satisfies the requirements of public broadcasting, such as independence and autonomy, fairness and justice, and impartiality, one cannot necessarily say that it does.
In studio talk, there are often situations that lack awareness as public broadcasting, such as anchors expressing personal values—since they are reading scripts, in reality the values of the “program”—or making emotionally appealing remarks.
I will examine this using News Watch 9 as an example.
〈Toward Unusual Strengthening of Export Controls on South Korea〉
Announcer Arima: It is truly regrettable.
It is regrettable that things have come to this.
(July 1, 2019).
〈Toward Unusual Strengthening of Export Controls on South Korea〉
Announcer Kuwako: You mean this is not good for either Japan or South Korea, don’t you?
Announcer Arima: I hope we can avoid a situation in which political friction affects economic activity.
(July 2, 2019).
〈Where Are Japan–South Korea Relations Heading?〉
Announcer Kuwako: It is worrying, isn’t it, that even movements are emerging that damage the friendly relations built up with Korean people until now.
Announcer Arima: That is exactly the point.
I do not want to lump together the current Moon administration and the Korean people as a whole.
(July 16, 2019).
〔Annotation〕The role of public broadcasting is not to express to viewers the specific values, emotions, or wishes of the program, but to logically check the three powers of the state and overseas power holders.
To suddenly express regret or make demands without explaining rational grounds deviates from the role of public broadcasting.
〈Twenty Million Yen Needed for Old Age〉
Announcer Kuwako: This means that an era has come in which the state recognizes that people can no longer leave old age entirely to the state.
It is severe, isn’t it?
(June 7, 2019).
Announcer Arima: I would like them to explain how the pension system said to be secure for one hundred years is secure.
(June 12, 2019).
〔Annotation〕To begin with, the “one hundred years of security” of pensions indicates that the pension system itself is secure for one hundred years, and it does not mean that the state guarantees all of the people’s living in old age.
If public confusion is being amplified by such ignorant remarks, then there is no qualification for public broadcasting.
〈Where Will Nuclear Waste Go?〉
Announcer Kuwako: When you hear that even though candidate sites have not yet been decided, it will take another thirty years from investigation of the disposal site to construction, it does not feel realistic, does it?
Announcer Arima: I even feel anxiety that it may simply drift along as it is.
(April 18, 2019).
〈Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Tank Treated Water〉
Announcer Kuwako: In Fukushima, the remaining one fishing port was finally reopened two weeks ago, wasn’t it?
I think it is natural not to want the water in the tanks to be released into that sea or into the atmosphere.
(August 9, 2019).
〔Annotation〕If an entity that should professionally analyze the safety of measures such as geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste and release of treated water from nuclear power plants and suppress harmful rumors appeals to emotion and endlessly amplifies those rumors, then it has no qualification as public broadcasting.
As described above, in this essay I analyzed NHK’s structure and broadcast content and pointed out its problems.
Public broadcasting should be governed not by the three powers or by broadcasting stations, but by the people, and under this principle I believe that what is important is to logically demolish the current system and build public broadcasting that every citizen can accept.