A lecture delivered in Okinawa sparked controversy over how it was reported by local media. Issues such as Okinawa’s current situation, national defense, and China’s growing influence became central themes in the dispute. This section examines the gap between speech and reporting and the broader question of media framing.

What I spoke about were the current situation in Okinawa, the importance of national defense, and the threat posed by China.
2018-01-15.
The following is from a roundtable feature published in this month’s issue of the monthly magazine WiLL titled “Entering a State of Battle with the Okinawa Times,” featuring Naoki Hyakuta, Kaori Arimoto, Masako Ganaha, and moderated by Ippei Orishima.
Harassment, false accusations, retaliation, malicious distortion… Is this what a news organization does!!.
A retaliatory article by the Okinawa Times.
Orishima.
On October 27, the Okinawa Times quoted the contents of a lecture delivered by Naoki Hyakuta in Nago City, Okinawa Prefecture, and developed criticism using its front page.
Hyakuta.
Last month I gave a lecture in Okinawa, and a reporter from the Okinawa Times named Takeshi Abe was present at the venue.
His title is head of the Northern Reporting Department.
After the lecture ended, reporter Abe said to me, “Mr. Hyakuta, there was hate speech in your lecture today.”
Of course I made no such remarks.
However, reporter Abe would not back down and kept pressing me persistently.
Ms. Ganaha immediately began a live online broadcast, and tens of thousands of people watched the exchange between me and reporter Abe in real time.
Reporter Abe’s outrageous accusations were broadcast nationwide live, and he and the Okinawa Times were publicly embarrassed.
Reporter Abe then wrote a retaliatory article in the Okinawa Times.
There is a column called “Daigen Shogen,” something like the Okinawa Times’ version of “Tensei Jingo,” and he used this space to write many unfounded criticisms of me.
Apparently still not satisfied, he even used the front page to criticize me.
There were headlines such as “Hyakuta’s Unique Logic,” “Renewed Dangerous Approach Theory,” “No Basis for Labeling as Agents,” “Mentions China and Korea, Denies Discrimination,” “Emphasizes Sacrifices Outside Okinawa,” and “Maintaining a Military ‘Only Natural,’” followed by articles discussing each point and describing my lecture content.
Some of what I said is written, but in places it is maliciously distorted.
The real problem is the final article with the headline “Our Reporter Named 22 Times.” I will read a portion.
“Even if a decent reporter writes the truth, it is crushed by the desk above. Or it is forcibly biased. They also want promotion. Mr. Abe has already sold his soul to the devil. He has a wife at home. He has a daughter. I don’t know, though. If China takes over the Ryukyus, Mr. Abe’s daughter will become a plaything of the Chinese.” It also says, “Most newspapers in Okinawa are not newspapers. They are propaganda sheets.”
There is also a passage saying, “When our reporter Abe applied in advance and went to cover the lecture, he was guided to a seat in the front row center,” and this phrasing too feels somewhat spiteful.
Arimoto.
It is written in a way that leads readers to think he was dragged to the front row and made into a spectacle.
Hyakuta.
The facts are as follows.
Before the lecture, the organizer said to me, “A reporter from the Okinawa Times is here. Shall we ask him to leave?” but I replied, “We cannot do that. Let him properly listen to the lecture,” so the organizer prepared the best seat in the front row center.
Reporter Abe wrote in “Daigen Shogen” that my hostility toward him was extreme.
He claimed I named and criticized him 22 times.
That is absolutely not true.
What I spoke about were the current situation in Okinawa, the importance of national defense, and the threat posed by China.
Because reporter Abe was seated in the front row, when the topic turned to the Okinawa Times or Ryukyu Shimpo, I sometimes asked, “For example, Mr. Abe, what do you think?”
Yet it is written as if I made a spectacle of him and continuously spoke ill of him.
It is even written that I said, “Your daughter will become a plaything of the Chinese,” and that I mocked and insulted him, but that is not true at all.
I would like you to watch the video of the lecture.
Arimoto.
If words alone are extracted into print, it can feel as if the person was made into a spectacle and spoken to in a very harsh tone, but if you watch the actual footage, you will see that the reality is entirely different.
Hyakuta.
It is a bit long, but I would like you to listen to that portion uncut, without any unnecessary editing on our part (see next page).
To be continued.