An examination of the influence behind Japan’s major journalism awards and the political stance revealed through the tweets of a senior Asahi Shimbun editor.

January 23, 2019
It is now widely recognized that prizes such as the Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association Award are self-serving awards over which the Asahi Shimbun holds enormous influence.
A chapter I published on May 2, 2018 titled “This cannot be overlooked as statements issued by an editorial executive holding a responsible position at the Asahi Shimbun,” has now entered the top ten of goo search results.
The following is from a feature titled “The Dubious Nature of the ‘Abe as Villain’ Narrative” in the latest issue of the monthly magazine Seiron released yesterday.
As readers know, I stopped subscribing to the Asahi Shimbun, so I had no idea they were repeatedly publishing articles like the following.
As readers also know, my intuitive evaluations of individuals based on their physiognomy and behavior have been almost 100 percent accurate, with recent examples including Niigata Governor Yoneyama.
Regarding Hiroshi Samejima, deputy head of the Special Reporting Department whom I first learned of through this article, if Japan had a CIA or FBI and I were its director, I would certainly investigate whether this individual had any contact with agents from the Korean Peninsula or China.
To me, this article was shocking in the same way as when, during my viewing of TV Asahi’s Hōdō Station, Furutachi enthusiastically introduced “Deputy Foreign News Director Ri Chison.”
At the same time, it convinced me that if the totalitarian regimes of China and the Korean Peninsula collapse and their records of operations become public, it will be revealed that countless agents of theirs exist within organizations such as the Asahi Shimbun.
Emphasis in the text other than headlines is mine.
Exposing the “cabinet-toppling” tweets of an Asahi Shimbun reporter.
Mizuho Ishikawa, Guest Editorial Writer, Sankei Shimbun.
A series of curse-like words.
I was stunned when I saw the tweets of an Asahi reporter sent by the Seiron editorial department.
Both I and first-time readers must have been stunned.
They contained a stream of harsh words cursing the Abe administration.
The author is Hiroshi Samejima, deputy head of the Special Reporting Department, who uncovered issues such as inadequate decontamination following the nuclear accident and won the Newspaper Association Award for the series “The Prometheus Trap.”
Who can deny that such anti-nuclear reporting aligns perfectly with the intentions of China and the Korean Peninsula, which seek to destroy Japan’s nuclear technology? Fabricated reporting regarding the Yoshida testimony also appeared in this series. It is now common knowledge that awards such as the Newspaper Association Award are self-serving prizes over which the Asahi holds great influence.
Although Twitter posts are not printed newspaper articles, they cannot be overlooked when issued by an editorial executive in a responsible position at the Asahi Shimbun.
Samejima’s tweets vividly revealed the Asahi’s institutional tendency to make attacks on Abe its “corporate creed.”
It is well known that on March 2 the Asahi first reported the document alteration issue involving the Finance Ministry and the Moritomo scandal, turning it into a major Diet issue.
Immediately afterward Samejima wrote on Twitter:
“We can only suspect that everything the Abe administration releases is a falsified document” (March 2).
“There is no end to the reasons for a cabinet resignation. Favoritism toward friends, false testimony, rape cover-ups, incitement of hate, data falsification… countless suspicions have been covered up until now. No administration has privatized power and deviated from political principles to such an extent. The falsification of official Finance Ministry documents is the inevitable result” (March 4).
I do not know what “rape cover-ups” or “hate incitement” refer to, but it clearly suggests an early call for cabinet resignation and an expectation of toppling the administration.
On March 7 he wrote: “I do not think people who rose under the Abe administration are good people. They merely flattered power and lied. Nor do I think those arrested under the Abe administration are bad people. They were merely targeted for protesting the abuse of power. From now on, public career histories and criminal records will require annotations ‘under the Abe administration.’”
Was the “person arrested by prosecutors” referring to Yasunori Tatsuike, former chairman of Moritomo Gakuen, indicted on fraud charges?
After the contents of the pre-alteration documents became clear, his tweets persistently called for Prime Minister Abe’s wife Akie to be summoned for sworn testimony.
“When the ruling party decides to deliver the final blow to Prime Minister Abe, they will say ‘summoning Mrs. Akie Abe is unavoidable.’ Only then will he finally give up. The best way to force Abe’s resignation is to raise public opinion demanding her testimony. Foreign media are also reporting ‘suspicions surrounding the Abe couple.’ Mrs. Akie Abe is the symbol of Abe-style crony politics” (March 12).
“No matter how much officials are blamed, Prime Minister Abe will shift responsibility downward and cut loose. But there is one person he cannot blame on others: Mrs. Akie Abe. To force cabinet resignation, that is the point that must be attacked. Summon her for testimony” (March 14).
These remarks are in line with Asahi editorials that have repeatedly demanded her Diet appearance.
On March 16 he wrote: “An indispensable question for weekend opinion polls is: ‘Do you believe Prime Minister Abe’s statement that his wife was not involved?’ If ‘do not believe’ exceeds half, he should resign immediately. A prime minister thought to be a liar by the majority of citizens is impossible.”
In fact, Asahi conducted a poll on March 17–18 including this same question, with 72% saying they could not accept the prime minister’s explanation and 65% saying Mrs. Akie should explain in the Diet.
Samejima’s tweets reveal the Asahi’s internal strategy.
To be continued.