A critique of NHK’s News Watch 9 coverage of Japan’s labor statistics controversy. The essay discusses the demanding working environment of Kasumigaseki bureaucrats, the legacy of the Democratic Party government, and the reliability of media narratives and opinion polling in shaping political perception.

2019-02-14.
Last night, for the first time in a while, I watched NHK’s News Watch 9 almost from the beginning.
When the program reached the issue of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare statistics, I became genuinely disgusted.
Arima and Kuwako.
In particular, I was once again struck by how malicious Arima’s behavior is.
During the Moritomo and Kake problems, the documents were nothing more than materials provided by Maekawa, a former bureaucrat.
Yet NHK declared that they had been discovered through a full investigation by the network.
In effect, propaganda aimed at attacking the government was broadcast on what is essentially Japan’s national broadcaster.
After the truth became clear, he never issued even a single correction or apology.
And now the same man once again staged a theatrical explanation.
He is, in some respects, among the most malicious types of commentators.
Japan’s bureaucrats, especially those in Kasumigaseki, are widely known to be among the most capable and hardworking in the world.
Any reasonable Japanese citizen or politician understands this.
The Democratic Party government, in reality, functioned only by leaving everything to the bureaucrats.
That is an undeniable fact.
Yet Arima never mentions that the statistical issue at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare dates back to the period of the Democratic Party administration.
Instead, he simply treated documents suddenly produced by opposition politicians as if they were unquestionably correct.
As usual, they then broadcast commentary from a Western journalist suggesting that Japan’s statistical credibility and national brand were now in doubt.
They also presented the opinion of a young analyst as if it were unquestionably authoritative.
In the end, the program simply echoed the narrative that Arima wished to promote.
The reality is that Kasumigaseki bureaucrats work under extremely harsh conditions.
They must constantly respond to questions from opposition politicians.
It is widely known that the working environment in some ministries, particularly the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, has been among the most demanding in Kasumigaseki.
At the same time, NHK frequently publishes opinion polls based on telephone surveys of only about 1,850 respondents.
These are presented as authoritative measures of national opinion.
Such surveys are conducted mostly during weekday daytime hours.
Moreover, the questions themselves are written by NHK.
Among them is always the question of whether the prime minister’s personality can be trusted.
And yet NHK criticizes the government for changing statistical surveys from full counts to sample surveys.
Such a change is entirely reasonable.
Industries evolve.
New companies emerge constantly in the age of IT, personal computing, and artificial intelligence.
Even the Nikkei index frequently replaces companies in its composition.
Given such changes, it is only natural that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare adjusts the companies included in its survey.
The reporting by Arima on this matter was truly unacceptable.
Japan’s bureaucrats remain among the most diligent and capable public servants in the world.
They endure extreme working conditions because they believe in serving their country.
This stands in stark contrast to media figures who enjoy far better working conditions while spreading misleading narratives.
Claims that the world has lost trust in Japan ignore the fact that such distrust is often the result of the media’s own reporting.
This essay continues.