Asahi Shimbun has been suspended for improper conduct, asking a reporter who is a member of the editorial board to show the interview article of former Prime Minister Abe, who will be published in the weekly magazine, in advance. I decided to take a one-month disciplinary action.
Reporters argue that it is an "injustice measure."
According to the Asahi Shimbun, the disciplinary action was decided by Kenji Minemura (47), an editorial committee member, who called the deputy editor of "Weekly Diamond" on March 10 to publish an article to be published. I asked you to show it.
This article is an interview with former Prime Minister Abe, and according to Asahi Shimbun, reporter Minemura explained that he would like to confirm the contents at the request of the former Prime Minister, but the deputy editor-in-chief said. It means that he was refused.
After that, the Diamond Editorial Department protested against Asahi Shimbun, saying that it was an infringement of the editing right, and as a result of an internal investigation, Asahi Shimbun said, "There was an extremely inappropriate act contrary to news ethics. As of April 13, it was decided that the reporter would be disciplined for one month of suspension.
Reporter of the editorial board "injustice measures"
Reporter Minemura said that he had planned to retire from before, and told his Twitter account that "It was an unjust measure that took less than a week to retire, and it lacked fairness based on an arbitrary investigation. I would like to legally clarify the injustice. "
Asahi Shimbun "Extremely inappropriate and deeply apologized"
Yoshiyoshi Miyata, Editor-in-Chief of Asahi Shimbun's Tokyo Headquarters, said, "The Headquarters stipulates in the reporter's code of conduct that" we will not take any action that raises questions about independence or neutrality. " It is unavoidable to be perceived as putting pressure on the media as a whole, and it is extremely inappropriate. We deeply apologize to Diamond and our readers. I take it as a very serious problem that shakes me. I will give thorough guidance on news ethics again. "
Weekly magazine editorial department "Infringement of editorial rights"
Keisuke Yamaguchi, Editor-in-Chief of the Diamond Editorial Department, said, "It is true that there was an infringement of editorial rights, and we explicitly refused to intervene. The media must always be strongly aware of the sense of distance from power. It's a shame that there was an intervention that lacked neutrality. "
Former Prime Minister Abe's office "Refrain from commenting"
The office of former Prime Minister Abe of the Liberal Democratic Party said, "This matter is between Asahi Shimbun and Mr. Minemura, and the office will refrain from commenting."