An overview of Masakazu Honda’s disputes with the Japanese Communist Party, his controversy and apology involving Yoshinori Kobayashi, internal reassignment at Asahi Shimbun, and involvement surrounding the human rights protection bill.

Honda’s career illustrates tensions between media, political activism, and internal newsroom power dynamics in modern Japan.
2017-03-21

What follows is a continuation of the previous chapter.

Relationship with the Japanese Communist Party

In 2002, Honda reported on the split between the Japanese Communist Party camp (Gensuikyō) and the Social Democratic Party camp (Gensuikin) over the anti-nuclear movement, attributing the cause of the split to the Japanese Communist Party.
In response, the Japanese Communist Party criticized him, stating, “If one is to conduct interviews and write articles as a newspaper reporter, the minimum responsibility is to view matters with fairness, not through colored glasses.”

Relationship with Yoshinori Kobayashi

Honda criticized the decision not to publish a manga by Yoshinori Kobayashi dealing with the marriage of Crown Prince Naruhito, stating that “a press conference should be held to provide a proper explanation.”
However, Honda’s criticism at that time was also based on a one-sided misunderstanding.
Ultimately, Honda acknowledged his mistake and apologized to Kobayashi, saying, “I am very sorry. I will study more carefully before criticizing others.”

Reassignment

Effective April 1, 2006, Honda was reassigned to the operations center of the Aspara Club, Asahi Shimbun’s membership-based reader service division.
Given that Honda was a reporter who had mainly worked in the social affairs section and had experience covering battlefields in Afghanistan and Iraq, this personnel move was described as appearing “somewhat out of place for a reader services division.”
Regarding the internal circumstances of this reassignment, a former colleague of Honda stated, “There had long been strong pressure from upper management and other departments to transfer him, and eventually the social affairs section could no longer resist. I have heard that he was skillfully pushed out under the company policy of moving long-serving ‘old-timers’ to other departments.”
When Honda was contacted by telephone by Mainichi Shimbun regarding this reassignment, he reportedly responded, “Don’t ask such trivial questions. If you’re a journalist, why don’t you investigate something more worthwhile?” before hanging up.

Developments Toward the Enactment of the Human Rights Protection Bill

After his transfer to the Aspara Club was decided, Honda attended, on March 24, 2006, a “Human Rights and Media Roundtable” hosted by the Central Headquarters of the Buraku Liberation League as one of its members.
Responding to a call by Akishin Tanimoto, Deputy Secretary-General of the Buraku Liberation League, Honda, together with Asahi Shimbun Executive Director Yoshihiko Bandō, was said to be cooperating toward the enactment of the Human Rights Protection Bill.