By YUSUKE MIYATA/ Staff Writer
August 20, 2024 at 14:14 JST
The NHK Broadcasting Center in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) apologized after its Chinese news presenter said on the air that the disputed Senkaku Islands belong to China, although they are also claimed by Japan and Taiwan.
The presenter made the statement during a live Chinese-language radio program broadcast on the afternoon of Aug. 19. The program was aired for Chinese-speaking audiences in Japan and overseas.
His remarks about the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea followed a news story about graffiti found at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine. The off-script comments lasted about 20 seconds.
“It was inappropriate that statements unrelated to the news were broadcast and we deeply apologize,” the public broadcaster said in a statement issued the same day. “We will take thorough measures to prevent a recurrence.”
The newscaster, a Chinese national in his 40s, translates and reads news articles for NHK under contract with the broadcaster's affiliated organization.
NHK said it has lodged a strong protest against the newscaster through the affiliated organization.
The organization plans to terminate its contract with him, according to NHK.
The Chinese news presenter reportedly said he would respond through a representative. His motive for the remarks about the Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu Islands in China, remains unknown.
The Japanese government bought three of the islands, which are located in Okinawa Prefecture, from private ownership in September 2012.
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