Japan Post exec thanked NHK board for rebuking president over illicit insurance sales report
(Mainichi Japan)
TOKYO -- The Mainichi Shimbun has obtained a letter from a top Japan Post Holdings Co. executive thanking the NHK Board of Governors for rebuking the public broadcaster's president Ryoichi Ueda over a program accusing post offices of illicit life insurance policy sales practices.
In the letter dated Nov. 7, 2018, senior executive vice president of Japan Post Holdings Yasuo Suzuki said he appreciated the NHK board's "decisive measure" in reprimanding President Ueda on Oct. 23.
"I extend my cordial gratitude for swiftly taking a decisive measure toward NHK's executive body (including Ueda), in response to our group's request," wrote Suzuki, referring to a demand for action over the postal insurance segment sent to the broadcaster's board by Japan Post Holdings in September that year.
The letter furthermore requested that the board "continue to give strong guidance and supervision" to the broadcaster's leadership.
"We felt that the letter showed his (Suzuki's) intention to stymy our coverage of the issue and the broadcast of any follow-up programs," an NHK source told the Mainichi.
Suzuki is a former vice-minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. In the letter, he declared, "From my position as someone who was once engaged in broadcast administration and was in charge of drafting revisions to the Broadcasting Act aimed at enhancing NHK's governance, I find it necessary to establish and reinforce a broad governance system including final checks on programs by senior and management staff."
The program in question is "Close-Up Gendai Plus" aired on April 24, 2018. Subtitled, "Are post offices involved in coercive sales? Confessions by postal workers," the program exposed post offices' inappropriate practices while selling life insurance policies to elderly people and others.
It was revealed this year that some 183,000 Japan Post Insurance contracts had been sold through post offices nationwide using illicit techniques, including cases of policy switches putting customers at a disadvantage, and charging premiums for both previous and current policies. The NHK "Close-Up Gendai Plus" program was the first to report on the malfeasance.
Suzuki stated in his letter that he had received a missive from President Ueda on Nov. 6, 2018, in which Ueda effectively apologized over a comment made by a staffer in charge of the program to Japan Post Holdings. The program head was quoted as telling Suzuki, "We separate our program making and management, and our president is not involved in production."
Regarding the comment, Suzuki wrote that Ueda told him, "It is extremely regrettable that the explanation was insufficient." Suzuki then replied, "I take this as a closure to this matter as you (the NHK board) have shown sufficient understanding of my intentions."
After NHK aired the April 2018 program, the broadcaster posted a video on its Twitter account asking for information on the postal insurance case for a follow-up program. Japan Post Holdings lodged a protest, saying the video was defamatory. The company went on to make a series of protests and demands, including that the video be removed, and that the broadcaster to be more cognizant of proper governance in light of the show producer's comments.
Rikkyo University professor Hiroyoshi Sunakawa, who specializes in media theory, rapped the NHK board's action, saying, "The severe warning to the NHK president by the board of governors is a matter that can constitute an intervention in a TV program. Suzuki's involvement in the matter as a former internal affairs and communications vice minister long engaged in broadcast administration undoubtedly put pressure on NHK, apparently prompting the broadcaster to give greater consideration to Japan Post Holdings."
The Mainichi Shimbun contacted Suzuki over the letter, but he refused to comment.
(Mainichi)

