Photo/Illutration Liberal Democratic Party leader Sanae Takaichi speaks to reporters after her meeting with Komeito chief Tetsuo Saito at LDP headquarters in Tokyo’s Nagatacho district on Oct. 7. (Takeshi Iwashita)

A remark caught on a live mic about newly elected Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi triggered a public backlash and forced a formal apology from a major Japanese news agency.

Jiji Press Ltd. confirmed on Oct. 9 that one of its photojournalists said, “I’ll make sure approval ratings drop,” while waiting for Takaichi to appear for a press scrum.

The remark, which went viral, raised serious concerns about media impartiality and professionalism.

The incident occurred on the evening of Oct. 7 at LDP headquarters in Toyko’s Nagatacho district, three days after Takaichi won the LDP presidency.

Reporters and photographers from various news outlets were waiting for Takaichi to emerge from a meeting with executives of Komeito, the LDP’s junior coalition partner.

As the meeting ran longer than expected, some media members began chatting among themselves.

Nippon Television Network Corp. was livestreaming the event, and its microphone picked up laughter and offhand remarks, including, “Ugh, that’s awful.”

Other comments indicated a bias toward the new LDP leader.

“I’ll make sure approval ratings drop,” the male photojournalist said.

Another similar comment was, “I’ll only release photos that’ll make approval ratings drop.”

By the evening of Oct. 8, an edited clip of the livestream highlighting the remark had been viewed nearly 37 million times on X.

The video also spread rapidly across YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

Many social media users said the remark was “unforgivable, even if made in jest,” and accused the media of bias.

Some sought the identity of the person who made the remark.

In a statement posted on its website on Oct. 9, Jiji Press acknowledged that the comment was made by one of its photographers during a private exchange with a staff member of another news outlet.

“Even though the remark was made in casual conversation, it has cast doubt on the fairness and neutrality of our reporting,” Kiyomitsu Fujino, managing editor and board director at Jiji Press, said.

He added that the photographer has been “strictly reprimanded.”

The agency also expressed its intention to apologize to Takaichi and other LDP officials, acknowledging that the comment caused “strong discomfort.”

Another much-criticized remark heard during the waiting period was, “She’s probably wearing an earpiece and getting instructions from (Taro) Aso.”

However, Jiji Press said this comment was not made by any of its staff.

Nippon Television initially left the full livestreamed video available for replay. However, the archived version has since been edited to remove the offhand remarks and now shows only the portion where Takaichi fields questions from reporters.

Nippon TV explained that such editing is a standard process.

“Non-essential segments are cut when preparing content for on-demand viewing,” the company said. “The voice in question did not belong to any of our personnel.”

Shotaro Tsuda, a professor at Keio University’s Institute for Journalism, Media and Communication Studies, said, “In today’s climate, where traditional media are already under intense scrutiny for ‘biased reporting,’ this remark—though perhaps intended as casual chatter—is undeniably inappropriate.”

He added: “With cameras everywhere these days, journalists’ words and actions are constantly exposed to public scrutiny. They should approach their reporting with the awareness that they are always being watched.”

(This article was written by Ryuta Sometaya and Ryo Sanada.)