Not on the same wavelength: Pr.Nakakita and NHK

January 31, 2014

Professor cancels radio appearance after NHK declines talk on nuclear power issue

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140131p2a00m0na009000c.html 

Public broadcaster NHK has declined to allow a regular guest on its radio program to talk about nuclear power on the grounds of the upcoming Tokyo gubernatorial election, leading him to cancel his appearance on the program.

Toru Nakakita, 62, a professor of economics at Toyo University, canceled his appearance on an NHK morning radio show after he was asked to change the subject for the program from the nuclear energy issue to something else, it was learned on Jan. 30.

Nakakita is a long-time regular guest on the program, which is titled "Radio Asa Ichiban" and is aired every morning from 5 a.m. Monday through Friday. He has had a monthly slot in the program's segment titled "Business Tenbo" (Business outlook) for more than 20 years. He had been scheduled to appear on the program on Jan. 30 to discuss the cost of restarting nuclear reactors and the risk of accidents at nuclear plants.

However, when he sent his script to NHK the day before his appearance, NHK staff in charge told him, "Please do not take up this subject because it could affect voting behavior."

Nakakita, in turn, insisted repeatedly that he was "not supporting any specific person" in connection with the Feb. 9 Tokyo election. He questioned NHK if he should change part of his script, including a sentence saying, "Economic growth can be achieved even with a zero-nuclear policy" -- a phrase that NHK saw as a problem.

He subsequently received a call from the head of the NHK Radio Center, who told him, "Please talk about the issue as you like after the Tokyo election." Nakakita eventually gave up appearing on the Jan. 30 show.

"Shouldn't we be able to offer materials for discussion and allow voters to make a steady choice all the more because it is during the campaigning period?" questioned Nakakita.

A representative at NHK's public relations department said, "Because the nuclear power issue is one of the points of contention in the gubernatorial race, it is necessary for us to be even fairer during the campaigning period. It was difficult for us to take measures through our production method, so we asked him to change the subject."