Society

Media giants Fuji TV, Sankei Shimbun in spotlight for fake opinion polls

Jun 20 (Japan Times) - Fuji Television Network Inc. and newspaper publisher Sankei Shimbun Co. revealed on Friday that their joint opinion polls over the past year included answers fabricated by a contractor.

The two companies, both linked to giant Fuji Media Holdings Inc., said they will withdraw TV programs and stories that used the results of the tainted surveys and stop conducting them until they can devise a system to prevent such problems from recurring.

The were conducted between May 2019 and May this year, with fake answers inserted in 14 of them, including surveys on Cabinet approval ratings.

Bogus answers were used in 14 Fuji-Sankei surveys conducted between May 2019 and May this year. Among them were Cabinet approval rating surveys.

According to Fuji Television officials, Adams Communications Co. was commissioned to conduct telephone surveys on some 1,000 respondents for each poll, but subcontracted about half of the calls to Nippon Telenet without permission from Fuji TV or Sankei.

Do Bears Prefer Acorns or Berries?

Bear sightings across Japan have already climbed to nearly twice the level recorded during the same period last year, prompting entry bans in mountain areas behind Kyoto’s Ninna-ji Temple and the cancellation of hiking events in Kansai, while new research suggests that the key to reducing encounters may lie in understanding what bears eat in each region.

Copper Thieves Target Japanese Shrines

Copper roofing panels were stolen from several shrines in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, including a city-designated cultural property, in the latest case amid a nationwide surge in copper thefts targeting shrines and temples across Japan, where soaring metal prices have fueled crimes that leave historic religious buildings damaged, exposed to the elements, and facing repair costs of millions of yen.

1200-Year-Old Temple on Miyajima Reduced to Ashes

Flames broke out on the morning of May 20th on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to one of Japan's World Heritage sites, destroying Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen.

From Bento Boxes to Garbage Bags, Rising Costs Hitting Daily Life Across Japan

Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East is beginning to affect daily life in Japan, as concerns over crude oil supplies spread to restaurants, cleaning services and even household garbage disposal systems across the Kansai region.

Tochigi Robbery-Murder Suspect’s Wife Posted Dance Videos on Social Media

A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

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