Abiru of the Sankei Shimbun is one of the few journalists in Japan who rigorously investigates facts before writing.
His reporting on sensitive historical and political issues demonstrates the importance of evidence-based journalism.
The column highlights why such reporting still matters.

2016-03-27
The following is from the serialized column by reporter Abiru on page 5 of the March 24 issue of the Sankei Shimbun.
I came to know him in the course of learning the truth about the comfort women issue.
He is one of the very few journalists in Japan today who properly investigates facts and then writes articles.
Last year, when I came to know Masayuki Takayama, I realized that Abiru’s presence makes sense precisely because Takayama was his senior.
All emphasis within the text, except for the headline, is mine.
Regarding the Japanese Communist Party, now a core component of the opposition alliance, the government decided at a cabinet meeting on the 22nd on a written reply stating that it “remains an organization subject to investigation under the Subversive Activities Prevention Act” and that there has been “no change in its policy of violent revolution.”
For the party, which wishes to project a softer image ahead of this summer’s House of Councillors election, and for the Democratic Party and others promoting a joint front known as “Min-Kyo cooperation,” this must have been a very troublesome reply.
“We are now moving forward with even five opposition parties, including the Communist Party, joining forces to overthrow the Abe Shinzo administration and abolish the war legislation, even to the extent of election cooperation.
I sense an intention to mount an unjust attack against such efforts,”
said Communist Party Secretary-General Yoshio Yamashita at a press conference on the 22nd, strongly objecting to the reply.
The government side, however, brushed it off by saying, “That is how the security authorities view it” (Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga).
A misbuttoning.
Upon reading this reply stating that the Communist Party remains an organization under investigation, the author was reminded of a certain politician.
This was former Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who during his days as a leader of the student movement at Tokyo Institute of Technology—then under police surveillance—was called “the man in the fourth row” because he always stayed in the fourth line to avoid arrest when clashes with riot police occurred.
This was because I had once heard the following words of regret from Junko Sassa, the first Director-General of the Cabinet Security Office and former head of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Security Division, in June 2011 during the Kan administration.
“Kan was a subject of investigation and was adept at hiding behind others, so even when we arrested people up to the third row, we fell just short of arresting him.
But now, when I think about it—with Kan having taken the helm of the nation—it might have been better to arrest him even if it required pushing the limits.”
This can be said to be an example of how misbuttoning or leaving even one button undone can have a major impact on society later on.
When asked about the government’s latest reply, Sassa made the following point.
“In 1950, under orders from Stalin, the Communist Party staged an armed uprising and carried out violent revolutionary struggles known as the Molotov cocktail campaigns.
That is why the Subversive Activities Prevention Act was created.
Have they sincerely reflected on and critically examined those actions?”
To be continued.