japansubculture.com -- Jul 12
The cabinet office lodged a complaint with NHK over tough questions asked during a television interview with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, according to weekly magazine Friday.
The article, released this week, claims that Abe's office forced NHK to "prostrate itself (土下座)" after Suga appeared on a television program called "Close up Gendai" that was aired on July 3rd to talk about Japan-North Korea talks and collective self-defence, a topic that has sparked protests in recent months.
When the topic changed to collective self-defense, female newscaster, Hiroko Kuniya (57) asked, "Wouldn't Japan become involved in other countries' wars?" and "It is O.K. to change the reinterpretation of the constitution so easily?"
After the television show, a secretary waiting on the set complained about the content of the program, according to an anonymous NHK employee interviewed by Friday. The secretary complained that some of the questions Kuniya asked had not been among the ones submitted beforehand.
NHK President Katsuo Momii allegedly apologized to Suga, and the upper management of NHK launched an investigation to discover the person responsible for slipping in the pointed questions, according to Friday.
Source: japansubculture.com
Jan 13
Japanese pop group SMAP is on the verge of breaking up after more than 20 years, sources at the band's agency said Wednesday, in a move that would send shockwaves through the Japanese entertainment industry given the band's popularity at home and elsewhere in Asia. (Kyodo) Jan 13
Twelve skiers who were stranded on mountains in Nagano and Fukushima prefectures have all been brought to safety.
(NHK) Jan 12
Snow fell for the first time this season in parts of Tokyo and Yokohama on Jan. 12, with more expected as a low pressure system approaches the Pacific coast. (Asahi) Jan 12
Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus is rolling out its highest-performance model since the LFA supercar to burnish its reputation among buyers of prestige luxury autos. (Japan Times) Jan 11
Monday marked Coming-of-Age Day, bringing with it the usual festivities that saw Japan's 20-year-olds celebrate their newfound adulthood - each in their own way. (Japan Times) Jan 13
Police in Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, have arrested a couple on suspicion of abandoning responsibility for Fujimoto's 3-year-old daughter, whose body was found with burn marks on her face. Police believe the girl's death may have been the result of recurring domestic abuse. (Japan Today) Jan 13
A Japanese high court on Tuesday acquitted a man charged with raping a teenage girl in southwestern Japan in 2012, overturning a lower court ruling that gave him a four-year prison term. (Japan Today) Jan 12
Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 31-year-old man who ran a prostitution ring featuring underage school girls, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Jan. 12). (Tokyo Reporter) Jan 12
Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a door-to-door salesman for allegedly fondling the body of a girl in Akishima City, reports Nippon News Network (Jan. 12). (Tokyo Reporter) Jan 12
The passing of music legend David Bowie shocked his numerous fans around the world - including a Sapporo man who attempted to kill himself in public. (Japan Times) Jan 12
An announcer of public broadcaster NHK was arrested Sunday for allegedly possessing so-called "dangerous drugs" in violation of the law governing medicinal chemicals, the health ministry's drug control division said Monday.
(Japan Today) Jan 11
Actress Keiko Kitagawa and singer Daigo have registered their marriage, the couple announced Monday in their respective personal blogs. (Japan Times) Jan 11
Young men and women have celebrated their "Coming of Age" day in a disaster-hit city in northeastern Japan. (NHK) Jan 11
Police in Yokohama on Sunday arrested a 93-year-old man on suspicion of strangling his 93-year-old wife to death in the nursing facility where they both lived. (Japan Today) Jan 11
A fire broke out at a love hotel in the Kabukicho red-light district on Saturday, two days after a blaze at another inn in the area left one woman dead, reports NHK (Jan. 9). (Tokyo Reporter)