Japan’s NHK under fire after ‘broadcast hijacking’ by Chinese reporter over Diaoyu Islands

A Chinese journalist working for NHK sparked controversy by claiming disputed islands in the East China Sea belong to China during a broadcast

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A group of disputed islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. Photo: Reuters/Kyodo

Published: 6:58pm, 11 Sep 2024Updated: 7:19pm, 11 Sep 2024

A senior official with Japan’s national broadcaster NHK has resigned, and four others have been punished with pay cuts after an internal investigation into comments on a live radio broadcast by a Chinese journalist who claimed disputed islands in the East China Sea are Chinese territory.

Releasing the report at a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, NHK President Nobuo Inaba said the incident was a “case of broadcast hijacking”.

“It is an extremely serious situation that violated NHK’s own international programme standards and NHK failed to fulfil its responsibility as stipulated by the Broadcasting Act, which we take very seriously,” Inaba said. “We once again offer our profound apologies.”

The August 19 incident caused uproar among Japanese politicians, who claimed Beijing would seize upon comments aired on Japan’s national broadcaster that supported China’s claims to the territory, although analysts are divided over the significance of the brief deviation.

The Chinese journalist, who has not been identified, said that the Beijing claimed Diaoyu Islands, which are administered by Japan and known as the Senkakus by Tokyo, should be recognised as Chinese.

In his unscripted 20-second comments, he also said that Chinese people should not forget the 1937 Nanking massacre, “comfort women” forced to work in military brothels during World War II and the victims of Unit 731, which used chemical and biological weapons against military and civilian targets.