Photo/Illutration NHK airs an announcement on Aug. 26 apologizing for unauthorized comments made by its newscaster and reiterating the government's official stance on the disputed Senkaku Islands. (Captured from the program)

Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) has issued a fresh apology after its Chinese newscaster made unauthorized comments about the disputed Senkaku Islands and other sensitive topics during a Chinese-language international broadcast.

In an announcement aired nationally on Aug. 26, NHK emphasized that the newscaster's comments contradicted the Japanese government's official stance on these issues and violated the broadcaster's international programming standards.

The public broadcaster acknowledged that the incident was a serious breach of its broadcasting obligations.

Also that day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi urged NHK to take steps to prevent a recurrence.

"It is regrettable that such an incident has occurred," the government's top spokesman said.

During a live radio program aired on Aug. 19, the Chinese news presenter deviated from the prepared script to assert that the Senkaku Islands, known as Diaoyu Islands in China, belong to China.

The group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea is controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan.

The newscaster also made additional unscripted comments about the “comfort women,” individuals mostly from Asian countries who provided sex to the Japanese military before and during World War II, often under coercion.

NHK has since terminated the contract with the Chinese presenter in his 40s.

During the televised announcement on Aug. 26, NHK stated it will launch an investigation into whether the newscaster has made similar unauthorized statements in the past.

It also pledged measures to strengthen its governance of international broadcasts.

The network aired the same apologies and pledges in Chinese on its international radio broadcast.

In a separate announcement, NHK revealed that the newscaster had made additional off-the-script comments during the Aug. 19 program.

While reporting on a news story about graffiti found at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, the Chinese employee mentioned that the words “Militarism” and “Drop dead” were written on a stone pillar at the shrine entrance.

These details were not included in the prepared script, according to the broadcaster.

NHK also corrected a previous statement regarding the incident. The broadcaster had initially stated that the Chinese newscaster had protested NHK's “historical revisionism” during the program.

However, it later corrected this to “historical revisionist propaganda.”

These additional details came to light following comments from listeners, and NHK apologized for its oversight.

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