NHK Report Reveals Incident Involving Chinese Announcer Going Off Script
Japan’s public broadcaster NHK held a press conference on September 10 regarding an incident that occurred on August 19 involving a Chinese announcer going off-script and stating that the Diaoyu Islands (Senkaku Islands) belong to China. NHK Chairman Nobuo Inaba described the announcer’s actions as “hijacking the broadcast” and emphasized the severity of the situation. Experts in Japan expressed regret over the announcer’s irrational behavior, attributed to indoctrination by the Chinese Communist Party.
Following the incident, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga expressed regret, stating that the comments made by the Chinese announcer were completely incompatible with Japan’s position. Minister of General Affairs Takeaki Matsumoto urged NHK to recognize its role as a public broadcaster and take measures to prevent such incidents from happening again. Members of parliament criticized the event as a case damaging national interests.
The incident has been unprecedented in Japan’s broadcasting history, causing shock in Japanese society. On August 26, NHK established an investigation and rectification team led by Vice Chairman Tatsuhiko Inoue to investigate the matter and discuss ways to prevent similar incidents in the future.
According to the investigation report released by NHK on September 10, in order to take responsibility for the incident, the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Executive Director, and Director of NHK will have half of their salaries reduced for a month. Another director responsible for international broadcasting resigned from his position. The Director of NHK’s International Broadcasting Bureau had his salary reduced, and four staff members of the bureau faced disciplinary actions. Additionally, the President and Executive Director of NHK International Media Services, the company that employed the Chinese announcer, also had their salaries reduced accordingly.
Following the incident, NHK implemented a series of remedial measures, including issuing apologies to listeners and clarifying Japan’s stance on related issues on various media platforms, such as the 9:00 PM comprehensive TV news broadcast on the same day. NHK also reported the incident to the world through English broadcasts and other media channels.
The day before releasing the investigation report, NHK filed a lawsuit against the Chinese announcer for “hijacking the broadcast,” seeking compensation of 11 million yen (approximately $78,200) to cover NHK’s loss of credibility. Depending on the results of further investigations and the circumstances of the incident, NHK expressed its intention to consider pressing criminal charges against the announcer.
Tsukasa Shibuya, President of the Asia-Pacific Exchange Association, expressed to Epoch Times that the individual involved “believes that being anti-Japanese equals patriotism (loyalty to the party)” and despite having lived in Japan for many years, remains trapped in the trap of the Chinese Communist Party’s so-called “patriotic education,” portraying him as a pitiful Chinese individual.
According to NHK’s investigation report, following the incident, many Japanese citizens contacted NHK to inquire about the situation. As of September 8, NHK received 4,280 negative evaluations from the public. Some of the main opinions expressed were skepticism towards NHK’s handling of the incident and doubts about their sincerity in addressing the issue.
Newspaper editorials have also weighed in on the matter, with the Nikkei Shimbun publishing an editorial on September 16 titled “NHK’s ‘Anti-Japanese Remarks’: Response to Hijacking Incident Too Lenient,” criticizing NHK’s leniency in responding to the incident. The editorial highlighted the need for a thorough investigation and potential criminal prosecution to uncover the truth behind the hijacking incident.
On September 12, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun editorialized under the title “Cannot Tolerate NHK’s Senkaku Comments,” pointing out the need for NHK to exercise strict self-discipline and fulfill its role as a public broadcaster, especially in light of the evolving international situation where broadcasting can be exploited for information warfare.
The Asahi Shimbun also released an editorial urging NHK to reflect on the incident and restore its credibility. Similarly, the Yomiuri Shimbun editorial “NHK’s Senkaku Comments – What Does Allowing Radio Waves to be Privatized Mean” described the incident as a “hijacking of the airwaves,” emphasizing the potential dissemination of misinformation and prejudice detrimental to national interests.
Yasushi Mizuno, representative of the Media Disturbance Research Institute, wrote that the incident of the program being hijacked by the Chinese announcer was a significant failure, labeling NHK as a victim of a “22-second radio wave terror attack.”
Japanese citizen Masamichi Takahara expressed his outrage in an interview with Epoch Times, noting that many Japanese citizens voiced their anger on various platforms like X and Facebook. He emphasized that it was unacceptable for a publicly funded broadcaster like NHK to broadcast views aligned with the Chinese Communist Party’s agenda instead of representing the Japanese perspective.
Takahara highlighted that Japan is a country of mature legal systems and freedom of speech, allowing individuals to express their views freely. However, he noted that hijacking public media to convey personal opinions, especially those intended to divert attention from critical issues, is inappropriate.
The NHK investigation report provided details of the incident that had raised concerns among the Japanese public and shed light on the background of the incident.
On the morning of August 19, the Chinese announcer arrived at work as usual with no signs of abnormal behavior. Upon seeing the Japanese script mentioning graffiti on stone pillars resembling Chinese characters, he asked the supervisor about the English letters in the script. The two reviewed videos and photos aired by NHK but found no English characters, leading the announcer to express anger over the unclear scripts that could pose personal risks when broadcast in Chinese. He questioned NHK’s responsibility in this matter, but the report did not detail the supervisor’s response to his queries.
The announcer continued with his duties normally and entered the live studio five minutes before the usual ten-minute mark. Between 1:01 and 1:15 PM, NHK broadcasted news updates in Mandarin to its audiences via shortwave and satellite.
While delivering a news segment on the graffiti incident at the entrance of the Yasukuni Shrine, the announcer suddenly inserted three unscripted statements not present in the original text: condemning the graffiti as “toilets” and “down with militarism,” asserting that the Diaoyu Islands and its affiliated territories have historically belonged to China, and mentioning historical atrocities like the Nanjing Massacre and comfort women issue.
After the broadcast ended at 1:15 PM, the Mandarin news segment was auto-uploaded to NHK’s international broadcasting website. The supervisor requested a re-broadcast, which the announcer refused and indicated resignation, handing over images of the original script taken with his mobile phone before leaving.
While the supervisors noticed the off-script remarks, they were unable to respond promptly due to the suddenness of the situation.
Subsequently, when questioned about his motives for going off-script, the announcer cited his reasons as being unable to bear the risks personally for the national propaganda of Japan. He repeatedly stated that he had no further comments and would communicate through a representative in the future.
Around 8 PM, a senior official from NHK’s international media service company contacted him via phone to express NHK’s “stern protest” and terminated his employment contract citing a breach of agreement. The announcer requested related written correspondence before his departure.
The male Chinese announcer, aged 48, had been under contract with NHK since 2002 for Chinese translation and broadcasting duties in its international news division. From 2018, NHK outsourced its contracts and related tasks to an international media services company, which continued the contract with the Chinese announcer.
When initially contracted in 2002, NHK interviewers had discussed potential conflicts in translation and reporting with Chinese government policies, highlighting NHK’s standards for international programs and verifying his competence.
It was revealed post-incident that apart from his NHK duties, the announcer engaged in undisclosed side jobs, including writing articles and appearing under a different name for a Hong Kong-based media company. In some cases, such as in reports on the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant’s treated water issue, he used the term “nuclear waste water” favored by the Chinese Communist Party.
At the workplace, the Chinese announcer maintained a reserved demeanor, with colleagues having limited knowledge of his personal background. In 2016, he privately expressed to a supervisor his concerns about China’s authoritarian governance and unpredictable political situation, urging not to disclose personal information like his age publicly.
On August 21, NHK attempted to reach out to the announcer for further clarification, to which he responded over the phone that he couldn’t bear the risks personally for Japan’s national propaganda. Subsequently, he notified that all future communications should be directed through a representative. Following this, NHK was unable to reach him again.
On August 26, the Chinese announcer, using the handle @樹語treetalk on Weibo, disclosed that he had returned to China, sharing cryptic messages like “Reset, Return, Safety, No regrets. 22 years, 22 seconds … Everything condensed into 22 seconds.” His Weibo profile was labeled “Verified: Former NHK Chinese employee,” and his posts indicated that he celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival in his homeland after a significant period.
According to reports by Sing Tao Daily, the Chinese announcer goes by the name Hu Yue and had returned to China after the incident.