To understand the Moritomo Gakuen controversy, one must first grasp the historical influence of the Asahi Shimbun.
This essay examines symbolic figures, media complicity, NHK’s broadcast of the Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal, and how that event became a basis for South Korea’s compensation claims.

Understanding the Moritomo controversy requires confronting Asahi Shimbun’s postwar influence and the media’s role in legitimizing a symbolic tribunal later used for compensation claims.

2017-03-22

To understand what the Moritomo Gakuen uproar truly is, one must first understand what kind of newspaper company the Asahi Shimbun is.
After all, until August three years ago, the truly chilling fact that this newspaper company had effectively dominated Japan is part of postwar Japanese history.
In particular, there are countless individuals at the Asahi Shimbun who are indispensable to the theme of this essay—indeed, it would not be an exaggeration to say all of them.
First, one must know Hotsumi Ozaki as a symbol of their mentality.
Next, as a symbol of their disposition to fabricate articles without hesitation in order to realize their distorted ideology, one must know Masakazu Honda.
(In truth, Katsuichi Honda should be addressed here, but I have already discussed him previously.)
Without understanding these figures, the true nature of the matter will never come into view.
Even so, as a result of the Asahi Shimbun’s dominance of Japan until August three years ago, NHK was, in the year 2000, enthusiastically broadcasting an utterly unbelievable event known as the Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal.
At present, almost all television viewers who are accepting the Moritomo Gakuen controversy exactly as the mass media presents it are surely completely unaware of what this event actually was.

Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal
The Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal was a protest activity by private organizations, modeled as a “court,” aimed at pursuing responsibility regarding Japan’s comfort women issue.
Its Japanese subtitle was “The 2000 Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery.”
Its English title was The Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery.
It was organized primarily by the Violence Against Women in War Network Japan (VAWW-NET Japan), held in Tokyo in 2000, and in 2001 issued its “final judgment” and demands in the Netherlands.
The protest activity referred to itself as a “court,” and its statements as “verdicts.”
In reporting, it was described as a “mock tribunal,” and legal terms such as “verdict” were placed in quotation marks to distinguish it from an actual court of law.
This tribunal is used by the South Korean government as a basis for seeking compensation over the comfort women issue.
(From Wikipedia)