This essay criticizes NHK’s coverage of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare statistics controversy on the program News Watch 9. It argues that the issue predates the current administration but has been framed as a political attack while ignoring the broader context. The essay also discusses the harsh working conditions of Japan’s bureaucracy and questions the credibility of media opinion polls.

2019-02-14
It is an undeniable fact that the Democratic Party administration functioned largely by leaving everything to the bureaucracy.
Last night, for the first time in a while, I watched NHK’s News Watch 9 almost from the beginning.
But when the program reached the issue of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare statistics, I began to feel truly disgusted.
I was once again struck by how unacceptable the conduct of Arima and Kuwako was.
Especially Arima’s behavior was something I found utterly unforgivable.
During the Moritomo and Kake scandals, the materials in question were nothing more than documents provided by Maekawa, a former bureaucrat whose credibility was deeply questionable.
Yet NHK declared that they had discovered them after conducting a full-scale investigation.
This was nothing less than propaganda designed to attack the government, broadcast on what is effectively Japan’s national public broadcaster.
Even after the truth of the matter became clear, he did not offer a single correction or apology.
That same man again began presenting matters in the manner of a theatrical illustrated lecture.
In a certain sense he represents the most malicious kind of figure.
He embodies a kind of naïve left-wing ideological mindset.
Facing Kuwako, who grew up reading and revering the Asahi Shimbun and who reports as if so-called “Asahi cultural figures” such as Jakucho Setouchi are always the most authoritative voices, he performed this spectacle.
It is widely known among sensible Japanese citizens and politicians that the bureaucrats of Japan’s ministries, particularly those in Kasumigaseki, are among the most capable and diligent in the world.
It is a clear fact that the Democratic Party administration operated by leaving everything to the bureaucracy.
Yet Arima makes no mention that the statistical issues at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare date back to the Democratic Party era.
Instead he simply reports as if documents suddenly produced by opposition politicians were unquestionably accurate.
And as usual, he reinforces the narrative by showing footage of some Western commentator from a publication such as The Economist suggesting that trust in Japan’s statistics and brand is declining.
Domestically he presents the opinions of some young analyst from a think tank as if they were unquestionably correct.
Naturally these comments align perfectly with Arima’s intended narrative.
In reality the statistics issue must be understood within the context of Kasumigaseki itself.
Because it is responsible for the governance of Japan, bureaucrats are constantly forced to respond to questions from opposition politicians who are often poorly informed.
It is widely recognized that this creates one of the harshest working environments in the country.
As readers may know, when Fusae Ota graduated top of her class from the University of Tokyo Faculty of Economics and was serving as a section chief at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, I once met her in Akasaka at the strong recommendation of a close friend from Dentsu.
He was a man from Fukushima who was known within Dentsu as “the lord.”
The meeting time was astonishingly midnight.
That was the earliest hour at which their workday would end.
We passed time at a turtle soup restaurant in Shibuya before heading to the meeting place.
On Ota’s right sat Mr. Murakami of the Murakami Fund and on her left Mr. Matsui, who later became a Democratic Party Diet member.
Together with a Dentsu associate and myself there were four of us.
By the time the restaurant closed and it was nearly four in the morning, the only people still energetic were myself, my friend, and Fusae Ota.
Everyone else had collapsed onto the table and could barely move.
It is well known that the working conditions at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare have long been considered the harshest within Kasumigaseki.
Meanwhile NHK frequently publishes opinion polls based on telephone surveys of only about 1,850 respondents.
These results are presented as accurate reflections of public opinion.
Yet approval ratings for the government—one of the most important indicators in Japanese politics—are derived from these surveys conducted mostly during weekday daytime hours.
Furthermore the questions themselves are drafted by NHK.
Among them is always the absurd item asking whether the prime minister’s character can be trusted.
If that is the case, one might equally ask whether the character and ideology of NHK’s own presenters can be trusted.
NHK conducts such opinion surveys with only 1,850 people.
Yet it criticizes the Ministry for switching from a full survey to a statistical sampling method involving far larger data sets than its own polls.
In reality such a change is entirely reasonable.
The real issue is that the survey had previously been conducted through labor-intensive methods.
It is entirely natural that the sample of companies changed from 2015 onward.
After all, the media themselves constantly emphasize the need for innovation and structural change in industry.
We are living in an era of rapid technological advancement driven by computers, IT, and artificial intelligence.
Even Toyota cannot predict what the next decade will bring.
Many new companies are emerging and becoming central players in society.
Therefore it is only natural that the Ministry shifted its survey targets to include these new firms.
Even the Nikkei average changes its constituent companies more frequently today.
Arima’s conduct today was truly unacceptable.
He is, in my view, nothing less than a traitor to the nation.
Japan’s bureaucrats are among the most diligent and capable in the world.
If they were merely employees in private companies working to enrich corporate founders, without the sense of mission that comes with public service, they would likely have succumbed to overwork long ago.
Yet they endure these conditions because they work for the nation.
They are among the most dedicated workers in the world.
This stands in stark contrast to the staff of NHK.
NHK employees enjoy excellent working conditions and some of the highest average salaries in Japan.
Yet they continue to spread ideological narratives and political correctness while broadcasting misinformation.
And then they claim that Japan is losing trust internationally.
They cannot even recognize that such distrust is the result of their own reporting that eagerly disparages Japan.
This series will continue.