Asahi Shimbun makes long-overdue corrections over ‘comfort women’

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001478078
EDITORIAL / Asahi Shimbun makes long-overdue corrections over ‘comfort women’
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7:20 am, September 08, 2014
The Yomiuri Shimbun
After a review of its reports on the so-called comfort women issue, which has become a huge thorn in the side of Japan-South Korea ties, The Asahi Shimbun has admitted its mistakes in the reports—albeit partially—and retracted some of the contents.

The retractions allude to reports on remarks by Seiji Yoshida, who claimed to have forcibly taken away local women from Jeju Island, South Korea, to make them serve as comfort women. During World War II, Yoshida was said to be the former head of the mobilization department of the Shimonoseki Branch of Romu Hokoku-kai, an organization in charge of recruiting laborers.

In September 1982, the newspaper reported—without verification—the remarks of Yoshida, who claimed to have “hunted up 200 young Korean women in Jeju Island.”

Misperceptions about Japan

The report added fuel to anti-Japan sentiment in South Korea, and also became a basis of misperception of Japan spreading through the world. In its Tuesday morning edition, the Asahi concluded—for the first time—that Yoshida’s remarks were baseless, and finally retracted the newspaper’s reports regarding the remarks.

We cannot help but point out the correction should have been made at a much earlier stage. Doubts about Yoshida’s remarks have been raised as early as 1992. The newspaper’s negligence in allowing the issue to linger for more than 20 years is deplorable.

The Asahi has, by its own account, reported about Yoshida on at least 16 occasions. Historian Ikuhiko Hata raised doubts over Yoshida’s remarks in 1992, but the newspaper has long refrained from making a correction.

In March 1997, The Asahi Shimbun carried a special article on the reports about the comfort women issue. However, the newspaper only said it was unable to confirm the authenticity of Yoshida’s remarks.

Yoshida’s remarks were cited by a 1996 U.N. Human Rights Commission report compiled by Radhika Coomaraswamy, helping propagate a misunderstanding in the international community that the forcible recruitment of comfort women took place.

Another serious problem with the Asahi’s reports is the mix-up between comfort women and female volunteer corps.

In a front-page article carried in January 1992, the Asahi stated that “South Korean women became the major target of forcible recruitment conducted in the name of the female volunteer corps. The estimated number [of victims] range from 80,000 to 200,000.”

The report was issued just before then Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa’s visit to South Korea. It prompted the government to conduct an investigation into the comfort women issue, resulting in a statement issued by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono, which expressed the government’s “sincere apologies and remorse” to former comfort women.

In Tuesday morning’s edition, the Asahi admitted its mistake over the mix-up for the first time, saying that the female volunteer corps refers to groups of women mobilized for work in munitions factories and elsewhere during wartime and are “completely different” from comfort women.

“We have been working not to confuse the two since 1993,” the newspaper said in the Tuesday edition. However, the Asahi’s reports have prompted the false understanding that even girls of primary school age were recruited as comfort women.

The Asahi defended its coverage by saying in its two-page spread: “Little progress had been made in investigating the comfort women issue at that time. Some documents to which [Asahi] reporters referred contained statements in which the female volunteer corps was mixed up with the comfort women.” Then the special feature said that some other national dailies had also published articles containing a similar mix-up.

In reporting on the female volunteer corps and Yoshida in initial stages, The Yomiuri Shimbun also ran some stories including factual errors. In the late 1990s and onward, however, we corrected such errors through our editorials and other articles.

Assertions unchanged

We question the Asahi’s assertions about how so-called comfort women were kept at facilities to provide sex for soldiers. Though the heart of the matter was whether they were recruited by force, the national daily argued that great importance must be attached to the fact that those women were caught in a situation marked by “a coercive nature” with which they had been “deprived of freedom.”

In initial stages, the Asahi continued to insist the crux of the problem was that these women had been forcibly recruited, citing testimony from Yoshida and other sources. However, the testimony and data used by the paper as a basis for its reasoning were later disproved. Then the Asahi started to argue that the retention of those women in facilities had a coercive nature.

The Asahi’s assertion has remained fundamentally unchanged in this respect, as illustrated by its latest feature, which stated that the essence of the problem lies in the fact that “women were deprived of freedom in brothels, and their dignity was violated.”

There is no doubt that a large number of women, including those from the Philippines and Indonesia, had their honor and dignity injured during World War II. There may have been cases deemed inexcusable from a present-day human rights perspective, even if no coercive action was taken by the prewar government and the military.

Still, it is necessary to discuss two issues related to the whole controversy as separate matters—that is, how to deal with sex-related issues facing soldiers and whether the Japanese wartime military was involved in forcibly recruiting women for the provision of sex.

Questions can be asked as to the appropriateness of calling the Japanese government to task by insisting coerciveness was prevalent in the provision of sex by those women in a broad sense of the term. We believe focusing on such questions is an attempt to sidestep the real issue.

Gaining a proper perception of history requires thorough efforts to uncover the whole truth behind any historical issue.

Better Japan-ROK ties needed

South Korean President Park Geun-hye strongly opposed a report issued by the Japanese government in June regarding the results of investigations into how the so-called Kono statement on comfort women was drafted and issued in 1993, using Coomaraswamy’s U.N. report and other data as a basis for her assertion. Her unbending hard-line stance on Japan is unlikely to change.

The government should not easily compromise on the controversy. It must persist in urging South Koreans to gain a proper understanding of our government’s stance on the comfort women dispute.

Relations between Japan and South Korea are strained today. There has been no summit meeting between the two nations for more than two years. We hope the media and the public in both nations will come to have an accurate grasp of all the facts, a task essential for their respective efforts tEDITORIAL / Asahi Shimbun makes long-overdue corrections over ‘comfort women’
inShare
7:20 am, September 08, 2014
The Yomiuri Shimbun
After a review of its reports on the so-called comfort women issue, which has become a huge thorn in the side of Japan-South Korea ties, The Asahi Shimbun has admitted its mistakes in the reports—albeit partially—and retracted some of the contents.

The retractions allude to reports on remarks by Seiji Yoshida, who claimed to have forcibly taken away local women from Jeju Island, South Korea, to make them serve as comfort women. During World War II, Yoshida was said to be the former head of the mobilization department of the Shimonoseki Branch of Romu Hokoku-kai, an organization in charge of recruiting laborers.

In September 1982, the newspaper reported—without verification—the remarks of Yoshida, who claimed to have “hunted up 200 young Korean women in Jeju Island.”

Misperceptions about Japan

The report added fuel to anti-Japan sentiment in South Korea, and also became a basis of misperception of Japan spreading through the world. In its Tuesday morning edition, the Asahi concluded—for the first time—that Yoshida’s remarks were baseless, and finally retracted the newspaper’s reports regarding the remarks.

We cannot help but point out the correction should have been made at a much earlier stage. Doubts about Yoshida’s remarks have been raised as early as 1992. The newspaper’s negligence in allowing the issue to linger for more than 20 years is deplorable.

The Asahi has, by its own account, reported about Yoshida on at least 16 occasions. Historian Ikuhiko Hata raised doubts over Yoshida’s remarks in 1992, but the newspaper has long refrained from making a correction.

In March 1997, The Asahi Shimbun carried a special article on the reports about the comfort women issue. However, the newspaper only said it was unable to confirm the authenticity of Yoshida’s remarks.

Yoshida’s remarks were cited by a 1996 U.N. Human Rights Commission report compiled by Radhika Coomaraswamy, helping propagate a misunderstanding in the international community that the forcible recruitment of comfort women took place.

Another serious problem with the Asahi’s reports is the mix-up between comfort women and female volunteer corps.

In a front-page article carried in January 1992, the Asahi stated that “South Korean women became the major target of forcible recruitment conducted in the name of the female volunteer corps. The estimated number [of victims] range from 80,000 to 200,000.”

The report was issued just before then Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa’s visit to South Korea. It prompted the government to conduct an investigation into the comfort women issue, resulting in a statement issued by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono, which expressed the government’s “sincere apologies and remorse” to former comfort women.

In Tuesday morning’s edition, the Asahi admitted its mistake over the mix-up for the first time, saying that the female volunteer corps refers to groups of women mobilized for work in munitions factories and elsewhere during wartime and are “completely different” from comfort women.

“We have been working not to confuse the two since 1993,” the newspaper said in the Tuesday edition. However, the Asahi’s reports have prompted the false understanding that even girls of primary school age were recruited as comfort women.

The Asahi defended its coverage by saying in its two-page spread: “Little progress had been made in investigating the comfort women issue at that time. Some documents to which [Asahi] reporters referred contained statements in which the female volunteer corps was mixed up with the comfort women.” Then the special feature said that some other national dailies had also published articles containing a similar mix-up.

In reporting on the female volunteer corps and Yoshida in initial stages, The Yomiuri Shimbun also ran some stories including factual errors. In the late 1990s and onward, however, we corrected such errors through our editorials and other articles.

Assertions unchanged

We question the Asahi’s assertions about how so-called comfort women were kept at facilities to provide sex for soldiers. Though the heart of the matter was whether they were recruited by force, the national daily argued that great importance must be attached to the fact that those women were caught in a situation marked by “a coercive nature” with which they had been “deprived of freedom.”

In initial stages, the Asahi continued to insist the crux of the problem was that these women had been forcibly recruited, citing testimony from Yoshida and other sources. However, the testimony and data used by the paper as a basis for its reasoning were later disproved. Then the Asahi started to argue that the retention of those women in facilities had a coercive nature.

The Asahi’s assertion has remained fundamentally unchanged in this respect, as illustrated by its latest feature, which stated that the essence of the problem lies in the fact that “women were deprived of freedom in brothels, and their dignity was violated.”

There is no doubt that a large number of women, including those from the Philippines and Indonesia, had their honor and dignity injured during World War II. There may have been cases deemed inexcusable from a present-day human rights perspective, even if no coercive action was taken by the prewar government and the military.

Still, it is necessary to discuss two issues related to the whole controversy as separate matters—that is, how to deal with sex-related issues facing soldiers and whether the Japanese wartime military was involved in forcibly recruiting women for the provision of sex.

Questions can be asked as to the appropriateness of calling the Japanese government to task by insisting coerciveness was prevalent in the provision of sex by those women in a broad sense of the term. We believe focusing on such questions is an attempt to sidestep the real issue.

Gaining a proper perception of history requires thorough efforts to uncover the whole truth behind any historical issue.

Better Japan-ROK ties needed

South Korean President Park Geun-hye strongly opposed a report issued by the Japanese government in June regarding the results of investigations into how the so-called Kono statement on comfort women was drafted and issued in 1993, using Coomaraswamy’s U.N. report and other data as a basis for her assertion. Her unbending hard-line stance on Japan is unlikely to change.

The government should not easily compromise on the controversy. It must persist in urging South Koreans to gain a proper understanding of our government’s stance on the comfort women dispute.

Relations between Japan and South Korea are strained today. There has been no summit meeting between the two nations for more than two years. We hope the media and the public in both nations will come to have an accurate grasp of all the facts, a task essential for their respective efforts to build a future-oriented relationship between the two neighbors.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 6, 2014)Speecho build a future-oriented relationship between the two neighbors.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 6, 2014)Speech



http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/12/world/asia/japanese-newspaper-retracts-fukushima-disaster-story-and-fires-editor.html?_r=0


Japanese Newspaper Retracts Fukushima Disaster Report and Fires Editor
By AUSTIN RAMZYSEPT. 11, 2014
Photo

The Asahi Shimbun was distributed on a Tokyo street last year. Credit Franck Robichon/European Pressphoto Agency
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TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Asahi Shimbun, Japan’s second-largest daily newspaper, retracted an influential news report on the Fukushima nuclear disaster on Thursday after weeks of criticism from other news organizations.

The move, which included an apology, came a month after the newspaper retracted a series of articles on another hot-button issue: the women from Korea and elsewhere who were forced by Japan to serve in military brothels during World War II. The articles used reports about the practice by one Japanese man whose particular accusations have been widely discredited.

Japan acknowledged in a landmark apology in 1993 that the women had been forced to work in the brothels.

The retractions occurred amid an outpouring of angry accusations that the newspaper had damaged Japan’s international reputation with the mistaken articles, especially those on the Imperial Army’s role in forcing so-called comfort women to serve in military brothels during World War II. The intensity of the attacks, particularly from right-wing news media and politicians, has led many to warn of a politically motivated campaign to undermine the newspaper, one of Japan’s most prominent liberal voices.

“We hurt readers’ trust in our reports,” Tadakazu Kimura, Asahi Shimbun’s president and chief executive, said at a news conference Thursday evening.

Mr. Kimura announced that he was dismissing Nobuyuki Sugiura, Asahi Shimbun’s executive editor, and would punish other editors involved in the Fukushima reporting. Mr. Kimura said he would decide whether he himself would resign after carrying out a “drastic restructuring plan.”

In May, the newspaper cited testimony by the Fukushima plant manager Masao Yoshida in reporting that about 650 workers disobeyed orders and fled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant at a critical moment during the disaster in 2011.

In recent weeks other Japanese news organizations have reported on Mr. Yoshida’s testimony. Reports from The Mainichi Shimbun, The Yomiuri Shimbun and The Sankei Shimbun, three other leading newspapers, and the Kyodo News agency portrayed his comments differently, saying the exodus was the result of miscommunication.

Mr. Yoshida, who is regarded by many in Japan as a hero for preventing a wider disaster, asked before he died last year that the contents of his interviews not be made public. The government, however, released the text of his interviews on Thursday, saying that the release was necessary to clarify the public record.

“Only a part of the record of Mr. Yoshida’s testimony has been picked up and reported by several papers,” said Yoshihide Suga, the top government spokesman. “His original concern that his story would develop a life of its own without verification came to be realized. We think it would lead to a result that is against his will if we don’t disclose it.”

Since the Fukushima disaster, the liberal Asahi Shimbun has campaigned against nuclear power in its editorial pages, saying it regretted its earlier support. The conservative Yomiuri Shimbun has been critical of Asahi’s coverage, saying its report on Mr. Yoshida’s testimony “caused serious misunderstandings among the international media.”

Continue reading the main storyContinue reading the main story
The Asahi Shimbun’s coverage of another delicate topic has also come under scrutiny in recent weeks. Last month the newspaper retracted 16 articles, the first published in September 1982, citing a Japanese Imperial Army veteran who said he had rounded up Korean women to serve as sexual slaves during World War II.

While most historians agree that Japan forced thousands of women to work in a network of wartime brothels, some have long questioned the particular evidence given by Seiji Yoshida, a soldier who later became a writer. Shinzo Abe called him a “con man” in a speech in November 2012, shortly before taking office as prime minister. (Japan did not use Mr. Yoshida’s statements in developing the country’s formal apology to the women.)

Mr. Abe, a nationalist who has vowed in the past to end what he calls a masochistic view of Japan’s history, told a radio program on Thursday that he would not comment directly on The Asahi Shimbun. But he said, “I think it is true that, by the false reporting on comfort women, for example, a lot of people have suffered, and Japan was discredited in international society,” the broadcaster NHK reported.

The Asahi Shimbun said that it sent reporters to Jeju Island in South Korea in April and May to try to corroborate Mr. Yoshida’s claims of his personal involvement in rounding up women to serve as sexual slaves, but that after interviewing about 40 people, they were unable to do so. Mr. Yoshida died in 2000 and had declined to help in previous efforts to investigate his claims, the newspaper said.

In February, Mr. Abe ordered an investigation into the government’s apology for the sexual slaves. That effort prompted criticism from China and South Korea, which say Japan has not come to terms with the brutality of its wars against its neighbors. His government has since said it would not revise the apology.

There is broad evidence to support the existence of wartime sexual slaves, The Asahi Shimbun wrote last month in an article questioning whether the retraction of the articles citing Mr. Yoshida was being used to undermine Japan’s apology on the issue.

The newspaper came under further criticism last week after it spiked a column from a well-known contributor, Akira Ikegami, who said that the paper’s retraction of the comfort women articles was too late and did not go far enough, and that the newspaper should apologize. After criticism from readers and members of its own staff, the paper reversed course and published the column.

Makiko Inoue and Hisako Ueno contributed reporting from Tokyo.
































http://mainichi.jp/english/english/perspectives/news/20140911p2a00m0na013000c.html

Yoshida 'comfort women' testimony reported by Asahi caused global misunderstanding
Asahi Shimbun articles about Seiji Yoshida's testimony. (Mainichi)
Asahi Shimbun articles about Seiji Yoshida's testimony. (Mainichi)

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There are no signs of an end to criticism of the Asahi Shimbun daily's Aug. 5 and 6 assessments of its past coverage of the wartime "comfort women" issue and its follow-up story on Aug. 28.

The core of the problem is testimony provided by the late Seiji Yoshida to the effect that he "hunted up" Korean women to make them serve as comfort women for Japanese soldiers during World War II.

The Asahi said it retracted articles on Yoshida's testimony after concluding that it was a fabrication. His testimony has had immeasurable influence on South Korean and international public opinion. Confusion over the matter has made it difficult to resolve the comfort women issue that is closely related to the dignity of people and historical perceptions. It has also prevented the international community from understanding Japan's position.

The testimony by Yoshida, who claimed that he had headed the mobilization section at the Shimonoseki branch of the Yamaguchi Prefectural Romu Hokokukai labor organization, which was in control of day laborers, was widely regarded as evidence that Korean women were forcibly taken away to serve as comfort women, and spread mistaken awareness of the issue throughout the world. Since 1982, the Asahi Shimbun had most enthusiastically covered Yoshida's testimony. Still, its article reviewing its coverage of his testimony failed to mention the reports' impact.

The comfort women issue suddenly emerged as a diplomatic matter between Japan and South Korea after the Asahi ran an article on Jan. 11, 1992, claiming that a document suggesting the Japanese military was involved in comfort stations had been discovered. The document was said at the time to constitute proof that overthrew the Japanese government's claim that the military was not involved in matters pertaining to comfort women and the claim that "private agencies were dragging around" comfort women.

Then Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, who visited South Korea shortly afterwards, had no choice but to offer repeated apologies to then South Korean President Roh Tae-woo.

The Asahi Shimbun treated the document, which was a notice on the recruitment of comfort women domestically, as if it targeted Korean women. Moreover, the daily stated in its explanation about comfort women that mainly Korean women were forcibly taken away as "volunteer corps" after the Pacific War broke out, adding that the number of such women was said to reach 80,000 to 200,000. This gave the public the strong impression that comfort women were forcibly taken away under the name of "volunteer corps." Yoshida's testimony was regarded as specific proof of this story.

Following the Asahi's coverage, South Korean newspapers intensively reported on the comfort women issue, infuriating the country's public. On Jan. 16, 1992, when then Prime Minister Miyazawa visited South Korea, the Dong-A Ilbo daily reported that some of the young girls who were taken away as volunteer labor corps (at the age of around 12 and 13) were subsequently conscripted as comfort women.

In June this year, the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe released a report of its assessment of the August 1993 statement issued under the name of then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono on the comfort women issue. The report mentions that the Asahi Shimbun coverage caused anti-Japan criticism in South Korea to heat up.

Following the heat-up of domestic public opinion, the South Korean government released an interim report on the situations of comfort stations for the military under Japan's colonial rule on July 31, 1992. A section of the report read: "Since around 1943 ... comfort women were recruited by hunting up women in a similar way to that of hunting up African slaves in the 19th century." The report stated that Yoshida testified to this in the second chapter of a book he authored. It was based on the assumption that Yoshida's testimony was accurate.

South Korean papers covered Seoul's investigative report with special emphasis on Yoshida's statement, with splash headlines such as "Women and girls hunted" (the Chosun Ilbo) and "Hunting up slaves" (the Dong-A Ilbo). South Korean people have thus come under the impression that comfort women had been forcibly taken away -- the South Korean government's official view.

On the other hand, historian Ikuhiko Hata, who specializes in modern history, raised doubts about Yoshida's testimony in the April 30, 1992 edition of the Sankei Shimbun daily and in the June issue of the monthly magazine "Seiron," which went on sale on May 1 that year, based on a fact-finding survey he conducted on Jeju Island, where Yoshida claimed that comfort women were hunted up. However, Yoshida's testimony was not immediately denied.

The Asahi Shimbun published a story on May 24, 1992, saying that Yoshida would visit South Korea to offer an apology. Western media outlets also reported Yoshida's testimony. In June 1992, the Associated Press introduced Yoshida as "the only Japanese to have publicly confessed involvement in the systematic kidnapping of women from Korean villages to be raped over and over again by Japanese soldiers during World War II." In a report dispatched to the world, the news agency quoted Yoshida as saying that he was "just like the Nazi officials who operated the gas chambers."

U.S.-based NBC also aired an interview with Yoshida, in which he said, "We tried to pick one or two women from each village -- young, healthy women. Criteria is whether they are suitable for comfort woman or not."

In August 1992, the New York Times quoted Yoshida as saying that he had seized perhaps 2,000 women. "It may be the worst abuse of human rights in Asia in this century," he was quoted as saying. At the same time, the daily quoted Hata as warning that all news organizations were being deceived by Yoshida.

The Kono statement was compiled shortly before the Miyazawa Cabinet resigned in 1993. It does not adopt the view that Korean women were forcibly taken away to serve as comfort women but admits that there was coercion of comfort women, saying, "in many cases they were recruited against their own will."

Sakutaro Tanino, who played a key role in compiling the statement as then head of the Cabinet Councillors' Office on External Affairs, has told the Mainichi Shimbun, "He (Yoshida) was well known to the public at the time. Younger officials of the Cabinet Councillors' Office on External Affairs met him about twice. However, he was exited and was unable to talk calmly. So we didn't reflect what he said in the statement."

However, Yoshida's statement continued to influence the world.

A report that the U.N. Commission on Human Rights issued in January 1996, known as the "Coomaraswamy report," defines the comfort women system as "military sexual slavery" and recommended that the Japanese government pay state compensation, apologize to victims and punish perpetrators.

The report says the wartime experiences of Seiji Yoshida are recorded in his book, in which he confesses to having been part of slave raids in which, among other Koreans, "as many as 1,000 women were obtained for 'comfort women' duties under the National Labor Service Association as part of the National General Mobilization Law."

Meiji University professor Yasuaki Onuma, who has long been involved in efforts to get to the bottom of the comfort women issue, points out problems with the Coomaraswamy report. "It contains incorrect quotes and its academic level is low on the whole," he says.

The report's explanation of the comfort women system is based on "The Comfort Women: Japan's Brutal Regime of Enforced Prostitution in the Second World War" authored by Australian journalist George L. Hicks. Based on Yoshida's book, Hicks states that slave hunting was conducted whenever other methods failed.

Shortly after the Sankei Shimbun reported Hata's view on the issue, a reporter at the Asahi Shimbun's Tokyo city news department met with Yoshida and "asked Yoshida to introduce relevant individuals and submit data to corroborate his testimony, but the reporter said Yoshida rejected the request," the Asahi's assessment says. The Asahi asked Yoshida for a meeting again for its special coverage of the comfort women issue on March 31, 1997, but Yoshida rejected the request, the daily says. The Asahi wrote in its special feature that year that it could not be confirmed whether what Yoshida said was true because the paper was not sure at the time whether his testimony was a fabrication, according to its assessment.

Former Asahi Shimbun executive editor Yoshibumi Wakamiya, who was serving as managing editor of the daily's political news department in 1997, told the Mainichi Shimbun, "Naturally, there were calls for retracting or correcting earlier reports in the special coverage at the time. I also made such assertions. It's really regrettable that the paper failed to do so (earlier)."

In September 2006, the first Abe Cabinet was launched. Abe had insisted that the Kono statement be reviewed. However, a draft resolution urging the Japanese government to apologize over the comfort women issue was submitted to the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs in January 2007, and was adopted at a House plenary session on July 30 that year. Parliaments of the Netherlands, Canada and the European Union subsequently adopted similar resolutions urging Japan to apologize over the issue.

The U.S. House resolution recognizes the comfort women system as "forced military prostitution by the Government of Japan" and bitterly criticizes Japan, saying the system was "unprecedented in its cruelty and magnitude, including gang rape, forced abortions, humiliation, and sexual violence resulting in mutilation, death, or eventual suicide in one of the largest cases of human trafficking in the 20th century."

A document explaining the comfort women system to congressmen, which was attached to the draft resolution, also mentions Yoshida's book.

The statue of a comfort woman erected in Glendale, California, is pictured in this photo taken on Sept. 9. A monument next to the statue says there were more than 200,000 comfort women. (Mainichi)
The statue of a comfort woman erected in Glendale, California, is pictured in this photo taken on Sept. 9. A monument next to the statue says there were more than 200,000 comfort women. (Mainichi)
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At the same time, monuments for former comfort women have been erected in several places in the United States, mainly at the request of South Korean organizations. The epigraph on the monument in Palisades Park, New Jersey, says, "In Memory of the more than 200,000 women and girls who were abducted by the armed forces of the government of Imperial Japan, while that in Glendale, California, states, "In memory of more than 200,000 Asian and Dutch women who were removed from their homes ... to be coerced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Armed Forces of Japan." These are based on South Korea's assertions. As such, the view comfort women were "forcibly taken away" still persists.

-- Mainichi reporting humbly faces up to facts --

The Mainichi Shimbun has always faced up to the facts humbly in reporting the news.

News coverage can have huge impact on society and cause diplomatic friction, just as the Asahi Shimbun's coverage of the comfort women issue is said to have caused worldwide misunderstanding that the former Japanese military was systematically involved in snatching away Korean women for the comfort women system. We feel that we have the responsibility as a news organization to promptly correct any mistake and provide a convincing explanation to the public.

This is a special feature about the content of the Asahi Shimbun coverage of the comfort women issue and its impact, and a report on how the Mainichi Shimbun has covered the issue.

At the same time, we at the Mainichi Shimbun are concerned that confusion over this matter could hinder efforts to nurture forward-looking relations between Japan and South Korea. We are also worried that Japan cannot win understanding from the international community, which has discussed the protection of women's human rights on many occasions.

The Mainichi Shimbun is determined to humbly cover the facts with an eye to the future. (By Hajime Ogawa, General Managing Editor, Tokyo Head Office)

Mainichi Shimbun articles about Seiji Yoshida. (Mainichi)
Mainichi Shimbun articles about Seiji Yoshida. (Mainichi)
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-- How the Mainichi Shimbun covered the comfort women issue --

The Mainichi Shimbun has published two articles on Seiji Yoshida. The stories covered Yoshida's visit to South Korea on Aug. 11, 1992, to "apologize for the past." On the city news page in its Aug. 12, 1992 Tokyo morning edition and the city news page in its Tokyo morning edition the following day, the Mainichi Shimbun reported that Yoshida offered an apology directly to former comfort women and others concerned. Both reported simply what Yoshida did on that day, each with a two-column headline.

Regarding the mix-up of comfort women and volunteer corps, when the Mainichi Shimbun published an article about former comfort women Kim Hak-sun in the "Hito" ("Person") column in the morning edition on Dec. 13, 1991, the story said girls and women aged at least 14 were taken away from the Korean Peninsula as members of the volunteer corps, etc. and made to serve as comfort women for the military. This was based on explanations provided by supporters of former comfort women and other sources. In the "Asia Now" column in its evening edition on Jan. 22, 1992, the Mainichi Shimbun stated that comfort women and the volunteer corps are separate, and has since made efforts to ensure that the mix-up is not repeated.

The Mainichi Shimbun reported on the front page of in its Aug. 7, 2013 morning edition that a Korean man's diaries describing his experiences working at comfort stations in Myanmar and Singapore were found in South Korea. The diaries could be described as important primary sources for calm discussions on the comfort women issue. However, no diary has been found from the time he may have been involved in the recruitment of comfort women on the Korean Peninsula.

In response to South Korea's tough stance on the issue, the Mainichi Shimbun called for calm discussions in its editorial.

-- Asahi fails to identify 16 articles that it says were based on Yoshida's testimony --

In its assessment, the Asahi Shimbun stated that the paper "has run, as far as it can confirm, at least 16 articles" regarding Yoshida's testimony. It said, "We have made the judgment that the testimony that Yoshida forcibly took away comfort women on Jeju was a fabrication. We retract our articles on him."

The Asahi only explained that the first story on the matter was run on the city news page of its Sept. 2, 1982 Osaka morning edition, but gave no further details about the 16 articles.

The Mainichi Shimbun contacted the Asahi Shimbun over the dates of publication of the 16 stories, but the Asahi's public relations department declined to answer, saying, "We will report what we must report to our readers in our paper or on Asahi Shimbun Digital."

-- Ex-Mainichi Seoul bureau chief Masaharu Shimokawa: 'I was sure his apology was a performance' --

I first covered Yoshida when he appeared at a rally in Seoul on Aug. 12, 1992 saying, "I'd like to apologize over the forcible taking away of comfort women." About 10 former comfort women were invited to the rally at a hall reserved by the association of the bereaved families of Pacific War victims, which also organized the event. Yoshida apologized for "having been involved in forcibly taking away Korean people as part of my duty."

However, when he said the Japanese government should build a high-speed railway line between Seoul and Busan to express its regret over the issue, I felt his comments were bizarre. So I wrote an article simply describing what happened during the rally and sent it to Japan.

After the rally, a Japanese supporter said, "Can anyone drive Mr. Yoshida to the hotel? So I offered to do so because I wanted to get some time to interview him. After getting into the car, I asked which hotel he was staying at, and he mentioned one of the most luxurious hotels in Seoul. I said, "You're staying at a nice hotel, aren't you?" I was surprised when he said, "A Japanese TV station covered my travel expenses."

When I wrote this in the "As I See It" column, I was unable to write that Yoshida was a "dubious" character, so instead I wrote, "I couldn't help but stare at his face." I was convinced that his apology was nothing but a performance.

Related story:

How Asahi Shimbun assessed its coverage of 'comfort women' issue

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/perspectives/news/20140830p2a00m0na013000c.html

September 11, 2014(Mainichi Japan)





http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201408300039

U.N. panel urges Japan to enact law to prohibit hate speech
August 30, 2014

By ICHIRO MATSUO/ Correspondent
The United Nations called on Japan to enact legislation to "firmly address" growing incidents of hate speech against ethnic Koreans and other minorities.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued its concluding observations on Aug. 29.

The panel also urged Japan to conduct an investigation and apologize to "comfort women" who were forced to provide sexual services to wartime Japanese military personnel.

The concluding observations were the third set issued to Japan since it joined the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1995. Although the document is not legally binding, it does contain about 30 items that the panel felt the Japanese government should work on, including discrimination against foreign workers.

In response to recent demonstrations targeting ethnic Koreans in Tokyo and Osaka, the panel for the first time dealt with the issue of hate speech incidents in Japan.

The panel called on Japan to "firmly address manifestations of hate and racism as well as incitement to racist violence and hatred during rallies."

Japan has no legislation prohibiting hate speech, nor legal definition in the Western sense of what constitutes hate speech.

In addition, the panel expressed concern about the spread of hate speech through the Internet and other forms of social networking. It called on Japan to "take appropriate steps to combat hate speech in media, including the Internet."

The panel also called on the government to "pursue appropriate sanctions against public officials and politicians who disseminate hate speech."

It recommended the passage of legislation to restrict hate speech, as well as a specific law to prohibit all forms of racial discrimination.

In July, the U.N. Human Rights Committee released its own report calling on the government to ban hate speech.

The latest report by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination also covered the comfort women issue and called on Japan to "conclude investigations on violations of the rights of comfort women by the Japanese military" and to "pursue a comprehensive, impartial and lasting resolution" of the issue through "sincere apology and the provision of adequate reparation."

The panel also called on the government to "condemn any attempts at defamation or denial" of the issue.

By ICHIRO MATSUO/ Correspondent hate speechCommittee on the Elimination of Racial Discriminationethnic Koreanscomfort womenlegislationInternet



http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001478078





http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/asahi-apologizes-for-erroneous-fukushima-comfort-women-reports

Asahi apologizes for erroneous Fukushima, comfort women reports
NATIONAL SEP. 12, 2014 - 03:25PM JST ( 96 )TOKYO —
The publisher of one of Japan’s leading newspapers apologized to readers Thursday for several serious errors in its reporting, retracting an article that claimed workers abandoned their posts during the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Asahi’s publisher Tadakazu Kimura, speaking at a hastily arranged news conference on Thursday night, made the apology after a confidential government document cited in the daily’s report was finally released to the public with no mention of a mutiny by plant workers.

“I offer profound apologies to our readers and people at Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO),” the 60-year-old publisher said.

He said he would decide whether or not to resign after enacting “revival through sweeping reform.”

The article, published on May 20, said 90% of workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant had left the complex, disobeying the plant chief’s order to stay put in the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.

TEPCO operates the plant. A massive earthquake and tsunami crippled its cooling systems and sent reactors into meltdown in March 2011.

The daily said about 650 employees, or 90% of the plant’s workforce, retreated to another seaside TEPCO nuclear plant (Fukushima Daini) 12 kilometers away when the nuclear crisis worsened a few days after the accident.

The official document released Thursday recounted the testimony of plant chief Masao Yoshida to a government investigative panel, with no trace of staff “disobeying Mr Yoshida’s order” as Asahi had claimed. Yoshida died of cancer in July last year.

Other dailies which also had access to the then confidential statement had already cast doubt on the article.

In the same news conference, Kimura also admitted a highly contentious report published 32 years ago on the topic of Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women was also false.

That report cited a Japanese writer who claimed to have witnessed the kidnapping of women on the South Korean island of Jeju for the purposes of sex slavery, which has since been discredited by independent research by rival newspapers and academics.

Asahi admitted in early August that its 1982 article on the comfort women and follow-up reports were based on a “false” statement by the witness, but Kimura’s apology was the publication’s first in relation to it.

“I apologize to readers for publishing the erroneous articles and being too late in making the correction,” he said.

The admission of the mistake has boosted the country’s conservative forces, which have insisted there was no “sex slavery” at the frontline brothels and that many of the comfort women were highly paid prostitutes.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a radio talk show Thursday the comfort women report had “agonised many people and impaired Japan’s reputation in the international community.”

With few official records available, researchers have estimated up to 200,000 women, many from Korea but also from China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan, served Japanese soldiers in “comfort stations”.

© 2014 AFP





http://www.huffingtonpost.kr/2014/09/11/story_n_5804000.html

아사히신문 '후쿠시마 원전' 오보 파문
도쿄=연합뉴스 | 작성자 조준형 특파원
게시됨: 2014년 09월 11일 23시 22분 KST 업데이트됨: 2014년 09월 11일 23시 22분 KST 1

'위안부 연행' 요시다 증언기사 이어 '원전소장' 요시다 조서기사 취소

진보성향의 일본 유력지 아사히(朝日) 신문이 두 건의 '요시다 오보 파문'으로 중대한 위기를 맞았다.

기무라 다다카즈(木村伊量) 아사히신문 사장은 11일 기자회견을 열고 2011년 후쿠시마(福島) 제1원전 사고 당시 현장 책임자였던 요시다 마사오(吉田昌郞·작년 7월 사망·58세)씨에 대한 청취조사 결과(일명 요시다 조서)를 소개한 지난 5월 자사 기사에 대해 "틀린 기사라고 판단했다"며 기사를 취소하겠다는 뜻을 밝혔다.

아사히는 5월20일자 기사에서 자체 입수했다는 요시다 조서 내용을 인용, 후쿠시마 제1원전 근무자의 90％에 해당하는 약 650명이 사고 당시 요시다 당시 소장의 명령을 어기고 10㎞ 떨어진 제2원전으로 철수했다고 보도했다.


아사히는 요시다 조서 내용 중 "제2원전으로 가라고 말하지 않았다", "제1원전에 가까운 곳 중 발전소 내부인지 여부에 관계없이 방사선량이 낮을 만한 곳으로 일단 피해 지시를 기다리라고 말한 셈"이라는 등의 내용을 근거로 이같이 보도했다.

그러나 다른 언론사들의 후속 보도와 11일 정부가 전면 공개한 요시다 조서 원문에 따르면 요시다는 아사히가 보도한 진술 외에 "잘 생각해보면 제2원전으로 간 것이 훨씬 올바른 것이라고 생각했을 것"이라고 진술한 것으로 나타났다.

1

기무라 다다카즈(木村伊量) 아사히신문 사장이 11일 자사의 오보와 관련한 기자회견 석상에서 안경을 만지고 있다.

이는 결국 요시다는 부하들이 제2원전으로 간 것에 대해 '명령위반'이라는 생각을 하지 않았음을 보여주는 것으로, 아사히의 보도와 상충한다는 지적이 나왔다.

기무라 사장은 오보에 대해 "통한의 극치"라며 "독자 여러분, 도쿄전력(후쿠시마 원전 운영사)의 여러분에게 깊게 사과드린다"고 말했다. 그는 이어 "기자의 결의 부족과 검증 부족이 겹쳤다"며 "독자의 신뢰를 훼손한 것을 무겁게 받아들인다"고 부연했다.

그는 또 "경영의 최고 책임자로서 나의 책임도 피할 수 없다"며 "근본적 개혁의 대략적인 길을 만들어 놓은 뒤 신속하게 진퇴에 대해 결단하겠다"고 말했다.

기무라 사장은 1976년 아사히 신문 기자로 입사해 정치부장, 유럽총국장 등을 거친 뒤 2012년 6월 사장으로 취임했다.

이로써 아사히 신문은 최근 1개월 사이에 '요시다'라는 이름의 인물을 둘러싼 2건의 대형 오보 파문으로 신뢰에 상처를 입었다.

아사히는 앞서 지난 8월5∼6일 특집 기사를 통해 제주도에서 다수 여성을 강제연행해 위안부로 삼았다는 일본인 요시다 세이지(吉田淸治·사망) 씨의 주장을 토대로 작성한 자사의 과거 기사들이 오보임을 인정하고 취소했다. 이후 일본 자민당 요인들과 요미우리, 산케이 신문 등 보수 언론은 연일 '아사히 때리기'에 나섰다.

기자회견에서 기무라 사장은 군위안부 관련 오보에 대해서도 "잘못된 기사를 게재한 것, 그리고 그에 대한 정정이 늦은 것에 대해 독자 여러분에게 사과드린다"고 밝혔다. 또 기사를 취소하기까지의 경위, 국제사회에 미친 영향 등에 대해 제3자 위원회를 설치해 검증하겠다고 부연했다.

이런 가운데 아베 신조(安倍晋三) 총리는 11일 라디오 방송에 출연한 자리에서 "군위안부 오보에 의해 많은 사람이 고통받고 국제사회에서 일본의 명예가 손상된 것이 사실이라고 말해도 좋을 것"이라고 말했다.

1879년 창간한 아사히는 요미우리 신문과 함께 일본의 양대 종합지로 꼽힌다. 인터넷 백과사전 위키피디아가 일본 ABC협회의 조사결과(작년 7∼12월 판매 부수 기준)를 인용한 바에 따르면 조간신문 약 754만부, 석간신문 273만부를 각각 발행, 발행 부수 면에서 요미우리에 이어 일본 2위에 자리해 있다.

더 보기: 아사히신문 사장 아시히 오보 미디어 기무라 다다카즈 일본 木村伊量 후쿠시마 제1원전 국제
수정 사항 제안









http://www.47news.jp/korean/politics_national/2014/09/097565.html



coment

아사히신문 사장, “위안부 기사 검증 3자위원회 설치”…‘요시다조서’ 기사도 “취소”(2보)
14/09/11 21:34


‘요시다조서’와 ‘위안부 기사’에 관한 사죄를 하고 있는 아사히신문 사장(오른쪽)=11일 오후, 도쿄도 주오구(中央区) 【교도통신】2014/09/11

아사히(朝日)신문사의 기무라 다다카즈(木村伊量) 사장은 11일, 기자회견을 갖고 도쿄전력 후쿠시마(福島) 제1원전 사고와 관련, 이 원전의 요시다 마사오(吉田昌郎) 전 소장이 당시 상황을 진술한 ‘청취결과서(조서)’에 대한 아사히신문의 보도를 “잘못된 기사로 판단했다”며 취소할 것이라고 밝혔다.

아사히신문사는 올해 5월, 조서 등을 기초로 “원전 직원의 90%가 요시다 씨의 대기명령을 위반하고 철수했다”고 보도했다.

기무라 사장은 “요시다 조서를 읽고 해석하는 과정에서 평가를 잘못했다. 독자의 신뢰에 큰 상처를 줬다”며 보도부문 최고책임자인 스기우라 노부유키(杉浦信之) 이사의 편집담당 직무를 해제하고 관계자를 엄중하게 처벌하겠다고 말했다. 자신의 책임에 대해서는 “발본 개혁 등 재생을 위한 길을 닦은 뒤 진퇴를 결단할 것”이라고 말했다.

한편, 구 일본군 위안부 문제 보도에 대해 “잘못된 기사를 게재한 점, 정정이 늦어진 점에 대해 사죄한다”고 밝혔다. 아사히신문이 8월에 게재한, 과거 보도를 검증하는 기사에 대해 비판이 나오고 있는 점을 수용해 재검증을 하기 위해 전문가들로 구성된 제3자위원회를 설치하겠다고 말했다.【교도통신】





http://www.47news.jp/korean/politics_national/2014/09/097565.html





日보수언론ㆍ정계 "오보로 명예훼손" 아사히에 파상공세
'군 위안부 강제성 인정' 고노담화에 대한 공세도 거세질 듯

(도쿄=연합뉴스) 이세원기자
입력시간 : 2014/09/12 16:56:45수정시간 : 2014.09.13 01:04:34
페이스북 트위터 구글플러스 네이버 북마크 싸이월드 공감 기사 글자 크게보기 기사 글자 작게보기 인쇄 기사 메일 보내기 기사 구매

기무라 다다카즈 아사히신문 사장(오른쪽)이 11일 기자회견에서 자사의 오보와 관련해 사과하며 고개를 숙이고 있다. (교도=연합뉴스)

아사히(朝日)신문이 최근 잇따라 기사를 취소하면서 일본의 보수언론과 정계로부터 파상적인 비판을 받고 있다.

지난달 초 일본군 위안부 문제를 다룬 기사를 취소했을 때는 주로 보수세력으로부터 공격당했으나 11일 후쿠시마(福島) 원전 사고를 다룬 기사를 취소하면서 비판의 목소리가 확산하고 있다.

아사히신문은 2차 대전 때 제주도에서 위안부를 강제연행했다는 일본인의 증언을 다룬 기사에 이어 이번에는 후쿠시마 원전사고 때 근무자들이 명령을 어기고 달아났다는 취지의 보도를 취소했다.

◇ 보수언론, 아사히신문 문제 집중 부각 = 일본군 위안부 문제 등으로 대립각을 세우던 보수 언론은 지면을 대폭 할애해 아사히신문 취재·보도의 문제점을 파헤쳤다.

요미우리(讀賣)신문은 12일 10개 면에 관련 기사를 실었다. 여기에는 후쿠시마 원전 사고에 관한 아사히신문의 오보가 세계 각국으로 확산했으며 아사히 신문이 원전 근무자에 대한 취재를 게을리했다는 평가가 포함됐다.

이 신문은 아사히신문의 기사가 악조건에서 일한 원전 작업원의 명예를 훼손했고 신문에 대한 국민의 신뢰를 떨어뜨릴 수도 있다고 사설에서 지적했다.

또 아사히신문이 일본군 위안부 문제를 다룬 기사의 정정이 늦었다는 것을 사죄했지만, 보도가 일본의 국익에 큰 영향을 준 것을 생각하면 너무 늦어 의미가 없다고 혹평했다.

산케이(産經)신문은 전날 기자회견에서 기무라 다다카즈(木村伊量) 아사히신문 사장과 스기우라 노부유키(杉浦信之) 이사가 원전 사고에 관해 의도적으로 사실과 다르게 보도하지 않았다고 답한 것을 그대로 수용하기 어렵다며 의문을 제기했다.

이 신문은 아사히신문이 원전 사고 때 근무자가 철수했다는 보도의 근거로 다룬 '요시다 조서'를 자사가 입수해 해당 기사가 잘못됐다는 것을 확인했고 이후 비슷한 보도가 이어졌다고 자사의 역할을 강조했다.

또 일본군 위안부 보도를 포함한 '2대 특종' 기사 때문에 아사히신문이 흔들리고 있다고 평가했다.

이 신문은 "위안부에 관한 아사히신문의 오보 문제를 이번 회견으로 끝나지 않을 것"이라며 앞으로 계속 다룰 것임을 시사했다.

이들 신문은 평소 아사히신문과 논조나 성향에서 차이를 보였기 때문에 더욱 적극적으로 문제를 지적한다는 인상도 풍겼다.

그러나 그간 보수·우익 세력과 선을 긋고 있던 언론도 아사히신문에 관해 비판을 쏟아냈다.

마이니치(每日)신문은 12일 사설에서 그간 아사히 신문이 허위 증언에 기반을 두고 '캠페인 보도'를 했기 때문에 '노예사냥', '성 노예' 등 잘못된 이미지가 국제사회에 확산했다고 주장했다.

앞서 이 신문이 강제연행 유무에 초점을 맞추기보다는 전쟁 중 여성의 존엄이라는 차원에서 군 위안부 문제를 다뤄야 한다는 견해를 피력한 것에 비춰보면 다소 이례적이다.

다만, 오가와 하지메(小川一) 마이니치(每日)신문 편집편성국장은 "많은 매체가 지나치게 아사히신문 비판을 반복·확산하고 있다"며 감정적이고 이해관계에 치우친 비판을 하기보다 이번 사건을 타산지석으로 삼아야 한다고 제언했다.

도쿄신문은 아사히신문이 신뢰에 상처를 입었다고 평가하면서도 "날조하거나 꾸며낸 것이 아닌데 전면 취소하는 것은 좀 난폭하다는 인상이다. 이번 기사 자체의 의미를 더 신중하게 검증해야 한다"는 다지마 야스히코(田島泰彦) 조치(上智)대 교수(미디어법)의 견해를 소개해 차이를 보였다.

도쿄전력을 상대로 소송을 주도하는 단체 관계자는 아사히신문의 보도 덕에 요시다 조서가 공개됐다고 도쿄신문과의 인터뷰에서 의미 부여했다.

◇ 정치권 아사히신문 압박 움직임…고노담화 공격 예상 = 정치권에서는 아사히신문과 고노(河野)담화에 관한 공격이 거세질 조짐을 보이고 있다.

아베 총리는 11일 라디오 방송에 출연해 일본군 위안부 문제에 관해 "오보로 많은 사람이 고통받고 국제사회에서 일본의 명예가 손상된 것이 사실이라고 말해도 좋을 것"이라고 포문을 열었다.

이시바 시게루(石破茂) 지방창생담당상은 아사히신문 기자가 '요시다 조서'의 내용을 제대로 해석하지 못한 것을 염두에 두고 "어느 정도의 국어 능력을 지닌 것인가", "아사히신문의 입사 시험을 본 적이 없어서 모르겠지만 상당한 국어 능력이 없으면 채용되지 않는 게 아니냐"고 11일 한 TV 프로그램에 출연해 비꼬았다.

이나다 도모미(稻田朋美) 자민당 정조회장은 "전임 정조회장의 방침을 이어간다"며 고노 요헤이(河野洋平) 전 관방장관의 국회 소환을 추진할 뜻을 밝혔다.

가이에다 반리(海江田万里) 민주당 대표가 "사실과 다른 것을 대대적으로 보도했기 때문에 당연히 한일 관계에 끼친 영향도 있다. 확실히 반성하고 정확한 보도에 힘쓰기 바란다"고 말하는 등 야당도 비판했다.

일본군 위안부 문제 보도에서 선도적인 역할을 한 아사히신문은 '2차 대전 때 제주도에서 여성을 강제로 끌고 왔다'는 일본인 요시다 세이지(吉田淸治·사망)의 증언이 거짓으로 판단된다며 지난달 초 그의 발언을 다룬 기사를 취소했다.

또 이 신문은 2011년 3월 15일 후쿠시마(福島) 제1원전 근무자의 90％에 해당하는 약 650명이 요시다 마사오(吉田昌郞·2013년 7월 사망) 당시 제1원전 소장의 명령을 어기고 10㎞ 떨어진 제2원전으로 철수했다고 올해 5월 보도했다.

이 보도는 일본 정부의 사고조사·검증위원회가 요시다 소장의 답변을 정리한 이른바 '요시다 조서'를 토대로 한 것이었다.

그러나 이후 산케이신문 등이 요시다 조서를 확인한 결과 요시다 소장이 "제2원전으로 간 것이 훨씬 올바른 것"이라고 말한 것으로 파악되는 등 그가 부하들이 제2원전으로 간 것에 대해 '명령위반'이라는 생각을 하지 않았다는 지적이 나왔다.

일본 정부는 논란이 커지자 11일 요시다 조서를 공개했고 아사히신문은 자사의 보도가 잘못됐으니 취소하겠다고 밝혔다.

기무라 사장은 기자회견에서 요시다 조서 관련 보도는 물론 일본군 위안부 기사 취소가 너무 늦게 이뤄진 점을 함께 사과하고 사태 수습 후 사퇴할 것임을 시사했다.









http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/09/05/2014090500373.html



"표현 자유 지켜라" 사내 여론에 아사히, 自社 비판 칼럼 게재
도쿄=차학봉 특파원
기사100자평(7) 크게 작게
입력 : 2014.09.05 03:01
위안부 보도 검증·정정이 너무 늦었다는 고정 필자의 글
게재 않다가 결국 다시 실어


'위안부 보도 검증, 정정(訂正)이 너무 늦은 것은 아닌가.'

일본 아사히(朝日)신문의 4일자 견해 면에 실린 시사평론가 이케가미 아키라(池上彰)씨의 칼럼 '신문 비평'은 아사히에 대한 비판으로 가득했다. 그는 아사히신문이 제주도에서 여성들을 위안부로 강제 연행했다는 요시다 세이지(吉田淸治·사망)의 32년 전 인터뷰 기사에 대해 최근 뒷받침할 증거가 없다며 취소한 것과 관련, "너무 늦은 정정이며 정정에 대해 사과가 없었다"고 비판했다. 이케가미씨는 "아사히 신문의 정정 여부와 상관없이 '위안부'라고 불리는 여성들이 있는 것은 사실이며, 향후 아사히가 이를 보도해야 한다"면서도 "사실 앞에 겸허해야 하며 잘못을 솔직하게 인정하고 사죄하는 것은 국가 간 관계도, 신문기자의 도덕성도 마찬가지 아니겠는가"라고 했다. 이 글은 이케가미씨가 매달 한 번 게재하는 칼럼으로, 지난달 29일자에 게재될 예정이었다. 아사히는 칼럼 내용을 문제 삼아 게재하지 않았고, 이에 이케가미씨는 연재 중단을 선언했다.

칼럼 게재 거부에 아사히 기자들이 들고일어났다. 일부 기자가 트위터를 통해 "나는 언론의 자유, 표현의 자유를 믿는다. 그것을 방해하는 것에 대해 분노한다" "다른 의견을 막는 것은 있을 수 없다"고 비판했다. 기자들은 "위안부 문제를 아사히가 날조했다는 식의 주장에 동의하지 않지만, 그렇다고 해서 비판 의견을 거부해서는 안 된다"고 했다.

파문이 확산하자 아사히는 이날 해당 칼럼을 싣고 "사내 검토 결과, 칼럼을 게재하는 것이 적절하다고 판단했으며 이케가미씨와 독자들에게 사죄한다"는 글을 함께 게재했다.

아사히신문은 이날 자사를 근거 없이 비방한다는 이유로 게재를 거부했던 슈칸분�(週刊文春)과 슈칸신쵸(週刊新潮)의 광고도 게재했다.


[출처] 본 기사는 조선닷컴에서 작성된 기사 입니다






http://m.nocutnews.co.kr/news/4084694




HK간부 "'제주도서 위안부 강제연행' 요시다 증언 거짓"

2014-09-04 22:29ⓒ연합뉴스

아사히(朝日)신문이 '제주도에서 일본군 위안부를 강제 연행했다'는 일본인 요시다 세이지(吉田淸治·사망)의 증언을 다룬 기사를 취소한 것과 관련해 NHK 간부도 요시다의 발언이 사실이 아니라는 견해를 밝혔다.

4일 교도통신에 따르면 마쓰오카 지히로(松坂千尋) NHK 편성국 계획관리부장은 "현 시점에서는 (요시다의 증언 내용이) 사실이 아니라고 생각하고 있다"고 말했다.

NHK는 1991년 11월 일본군 위안부 피해자가 일본 정부를 제소하려는 움직임을 다룬 뉴스에서 요시다의 인터뷰를 방영했다.

이어 1992년 2월 일제 강점기의 조선인 강제연행 문제를 다룬 간사이(關西) 지역 보도 프로그램에서도 요시다의 증언을 다뤘다.

마쓰오카 부장은 일본 정부의 견해 등 여러 가지 관점에 근거해 요시다의 증언을 다뤘기 때문에 보도 내용 자체의 정정을 고려하고 있지는 않다고 덧붙였다.

아사히신문은 1992년 옛 일본군이 위안부 동원에 관여했음을 보여주는 문서가 방위청 산하 도서관에서 발견됐다는 내용을 보도하는 등 일본군 위안부 문제를 일찍부터 적극적으로 다뤘고 이 과정에서 '2차 대전 때 제주도에서 여성을 강제로 끌고 왔다'는 일본인 요시다의 발언도 여러 차례 지면에 실었다.

이 신문은 그러나 최근 특집 기사에서 요시다의 증언을 여러모로 검토한 결과 거짓으로 판단된다며 관련 기사를 취소했다. 일본 보수·우익 세력은 아사히신문 관계자를 국회에 소환해 진상을 밝혀야 한다고 주장하고 있다.
















“여러분들께 깊이 사죄 드립니다” 기무라 다다카즈 아사히신문사 사장
이전 페이지
｜社說｜원전 폐로, 실현 가능한 준비를 서둘러야
September 12, 2014
아사히신문은 도쿄전력 후쿠시마 제1원전사고의 정부 사고조사‧검증위원회가 작성한 이른바 ‘요시다 조서’를 정부가 공개하지 않은 단계에서 독자적으로 입수해, 올해 5월 20일 자 조간에서 처음으로 보도했습니다. 그 내용은 “동일본대지진이 발생한 지 4일이 지난 2011년 3월 15일 아침, 제1원전에 있던 도쿄전력 직원 등의 90%에 해당하는 약 650명이 요시다 마사오 소장의 대기 명령을 위반하고 남쪽으로 10킬로미터 떨어진 후쿠시마 제2원전으로 도피했다”는 것이었습니다. 요시다 소장의 발언을 소개하며 과혹사고의 교훈을 이끌어 내고 전문을 공개하도록 정부에 요구하는 내용이었습니다.

그러나 그 뒤 사내에서 정밀히 조사한 결과, 요시다 조서를 해석하는 과정에서 잘못된 평가를 내려 “명령을 위반하고 도피”라는 표현을 사용했기 때문에 많은 도쿄전력 직원분들이 현장에서 도망친 듯한 인상을 주는 잘못된 기사가 됐다고 판단했습니다. 이에 “명령을 위반하고 도피”했다는 기사를 취소하며, 독자 여러분과 도쿄전력 제1원전에서 근무했던 발전소 직원분들을 비롯한 모든 분들께 깊이 사죄드립니다.

이와 함께, 보도부문의 최고책임자인 스기우라 편집담당을 해임하고 관계자를 엄정히 처분하겠습니다. 물론 최고경영자로서 제 책임도 피할 수 없을 것입니다. 이번 보도에 그치는 문제가 아니라 아사히신문에 대한 독자들의 신뢰에 크게 상처를 입힌 위기로서 엄중히 받아들여, 제가 앞장서서 편집 부문을 중심으로 하는 근본적인 개혁 등 재생을 위한 대략적인 방향성을 제시한 뒤에 조속히 거취에 대해 결단하겠습니다. 그동안 사장으로서 받는 보수는 전액 반납하겠습니다.

요시다 조서는 아사히신문이 독자적인 취재를 바탕으로 보도하지 않았다면 그 내용이 세상에 알려지지 않았을지도 모릅니다. 세상에 의문을 던진다는 것에 큰 의의가 있다고 느끼고 있었던 만큼 잘못된 내용을 보도하게 된 사실에 대해서 통한스럽기 그지없습니다.

현시점에서는 잘못된 판단과 기사에 대한 검토가 미흡했던 점 등이 겹친 것이 원인이라고 생각됩니다만, 새로운 편집담당을 중심으로 ‘신뢰회복과 재생을 위한 위원회’(가칭)를 조속히 설치해 모든 관점에서 취재‧보도선상에 떠오른 문제점을 끄집어내서 독자 여러분의 신뢰를 회복하기 위해 지금 무엇이 필요한지, 제로부터 다시 출발하겠다는 결의로 검토해 가겠습니다.

동시에 잘못된 기사로 인한 영향 등에 대해 아사히신문사의 제3자 기관인 ‘보도와 인권위원회(PRC)’에 심리를 요청했습니다. 신속한 심리를 요청했으며 그 결과는 신문지면을 통해 알리겠습니다.

다양한 비판과 지적을 받고 있는 위안부 보도에 대해서도 설명하겠습니다. 아사히신문은 8월 5일 자 조간 특집 ‘위안부 문제를 생각한다’에서 제주도에서 위안부를 강제연행했다고 한 故 요시다 세이지(吉田淸治)씨의 증언에 근거한 기사에 대해, 증언을 허위라고 판단해 취소했습니다. 전쟁 시 여성의 존엄과 인권, 과거사 극복과 화해를 테마로 하는 위안부 문제를 직시하기 위해서는, 이 문제에 관한 과거 아사히신문 보도의 과오를 인정하고 그런 위에 아시아 주변 각국과의 상호신뢰관계를 구축해가자는 저희의 원래 주장을 펴나가야 한다고 생각했기 때문입니다. 이러한 입장에는 조금의 흔들림도 없습니다.

그러나 기사는 취소하면서 사죄의 말이 없었다는 점에 대해서 비판을 받았습니다. “(기사를) 뒷받침하는 취재가 불충분했던 점은 반성합니다”라고 했으나 사실에 근거한 보도를 원칙으로 하는 저널리즘으로서 더욱 겸허했어야 한다는 점을 통감하고 있습니다. 요시다 씨에 관한 잘못된 기사를 게재한 것, 그리고 정정이 지나치게 늦어졌다는 점에 대해 독자 여러분께 사죄드립니다.

위안부 보도에 대해서는 PRC와는 별도로 회사 외부의 변호사와 역사학자, 저널리스트 등의 전문가에게 의뢰해 제3자 위원회를 새로이 설치하고, 저희에 대한 의문의 목소리에 기초해 과거 기사 작성 및 정정에 이르기까지의 경위, 이번 특집기사 지면의 타당성, 그리고 아사히신문의 위안부 보도가 일‧한 관계를 비롯해 국제사회에 미친 영향 등에 대해서 철저히 검증받도록 하겠습니다. 이 부분에 대해서도 신속한 검증을 요청해, 그 결과를 신문지면을 통해 알리겠습니다.

요시다 조서와 같은 조사 보도도 위안부 문제와 같은 과거사의 부정적인 부분을 파헤치는 보도도 모두 아사히신문 기사에 대한 독자 여러분의 두터운 신뢰가 있었기 때문에 가능했던 것입니다.

저희는 이번 사태를 큰 교훈으로 삼으면서 다양한 의견과 비판에 겸허히 귀 기울이겠습니다. 그리고 초심으로 돌아가 무엇보다 기사의 정확성을 중시하는 보도자세를 재구축해 가겠습니다. 이렇게 저희 회사가 앞으로 대처하는 모습을 엄중히 지켜봐 주시기를, 여러분께 부탁드립니다.

해당 기사; http://asahikorean.com/article/newclear_disaster/AJ201405200075






http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/international/2014/09/12/0601010000AKR20140912060900073.HTML


<"오보로 일본의 명예훼손" 아사히신문에 비판 쇄도>
인쇄 확대축소공유

기무라 다다카즈 아사히신문 사장(오른쪽)이 11일 기자회견에서 자사의 오보와 관련해 사과하며 고개를 숙이고 있다. (교도=연합뉴스)
'군 위안부 강제성 인정' 고노담화에 대한 공세도 거세질 듯
(도쿄=연합뉴스) 이세원 특파원 = 아사히(朝日)신문이 일본군 위안부 문제를 다룬 기사와 후쿠시마(福島) 원전 사고에 관한 기사를 취소한 것에 대해 비판이 쇄도하고 있다.

아사히신문은 이들 기사에서 군 위안부 동원과 원전 사고 대응에 관한 문제점을 지적했다가 '오보로 일본의 명예를 훼손했다'는 역풍을 맞고 있다.


요미우리(讀賣)신문은 12일 10개 면에 관련 기사를 싣고 비판했다.

우선 원전 사고 상황에서 근무자가 명령을 어기고 철수했다는 기사로 외국에까지 파문이 일었는데 결국 기사의 근간이 잘못된 것이었다며 철회는 당연한 판단이라고 사설을 실었다.

또 아사히신문이 일본군 위안부 문제를 다룬 기사의 정정이 늦었다는 것을 사죄했지만, 보도가 일본의 국익에 큰 영향을 준 것을 생각하면 너무 늦어 의미가 없다고 혹평했다.

요미우리신문은 아사히신문의 기사가 악조건에서 일한 원전 작업원의 명예를 훼손했고 신문에 대한 국민의 신뢰를 떨어뜨릴 수도 있다고 지적했다.

아사히 보도취소 파문 다룬 신문
아사히 보도취소 파문 다룬 신문
(도쿄=연합뉴스) 이세원 특파원 = 아사히(朝日)신문은 11일 후쿠시마(福島) 원전 사고 조사 기록에 관한 기사를 취소하겠다는 방침을 밝히고 일본군 위안부 관련 과거 기사의 취소가 늦어진 점을 사과했다. 12일 일본 마이니치(每日)신문, 요미우리(讀賣)신문, 산케이(産經)신문이 관련 소식을 주요 뉴스로 다뤘다. 화면 우측의 아사히신문에도 관련 소식이 1면에 실렸다. sewonlee@yna.co.kr
산케이(産經)신문은 전날 기자회견에서 기무라 다다카즈(木村伊量) 아사히신문 사장과 스기우라 노부유키(杉浦信之) 이사가 원전 사고에 관해 다룬 기사가 의도적으로 사실과 다른 보도를 한 것이 아니라고 답한 것을 그대로 수용하기 어렵다며 의문을 제기했다.

산케이는 아사히신문이 원전 사고 때 근무자 철수했다는 보도의 근거로 다룬 '요시다 조서'를 자사가 입수해 아사히신문의 보도가 잘못됐다는 것을 확인했고 이후 비슷한 보도가 이어졌다고 자사의 역할을 강조했다.

또 일본군 위안부 보도를 포함한 '2대 특종' 기사 때문에 아사히신문이 흔들리고 있다고 평가했다.

오가와 하지메(小川一) 마이니치(每日)신문 편집편성국장은 아사히신문이 "정정도 사죄도 빨리" 해야 한다는 당연한 주장을 담은 이케가미 아키라(池上彰) 씨의 칼럼 게재를 거부한 것이 사장의 퇴진 압박까지 부른 결정타였다며 이번 사건의 저널리즘 역사의 분수령이 될 것이라는 견해를 12일 지면에 밝혔다.

그는 "많은 매체가 지나치게 아사히신문 비판을 반복·확산하고 있다"며 언론인은 감정적이고 이해관계에 치우친 비판을 하기보다 이번 사건을 타산지석으로 삼아야 한다고 제언했다.

정치권에서도 아사히신문과 고노(河野)담화에 관한 공격이 거세질 조짐을 보이고 있다.

아베 총리는 11일 라디오 방송에 출연해 일본군 위안부 문제에 관해 "오보로 많은 사람이 고통받고 국제사회에서 일본의 명예가 손상된 것이 사실이라고 말해도 좋을 것"이라고 말했다.


기무라 다다카즈 아사히신문 사장이 11일 자사의 오보와 관련한 기자회견 석상에서 안경을 만지고 있다. (교도=연합뉴스)
이시바 시게루(石破茂) 지방창생담당상은 아사히신문 기자가 '요시다 조서'의 내용을 제대로 해석하지 못한 것을 염두에 두고 "어느 정도의 국어 능력을 지닌 것인가", "아사히신문의 입사 시험을 본 적이 없어서 모르겠지만 상당한 국어 능력이 없으면 채용되지 않는 게 아니냐"고 11일 한 TV 프로그램에 출연해 비꼬았다.

이나다 도모미(稻田朋美) 자민당 정조회장은 "전임 정조회장의 방침을 이어간다"며 고노 요헤이(河野洋平) 전 관방장관의 국회 소환을 추진할 뜻을 밝혔다.

일본군 위안부 문제 보도에서 선도적인 역할을 한 아사히신문은 '2차 대전 때 제주도에서 여성을 강제로 끌고 왔다'는 일본인 요시다 세이지(吉田淸治·사망)의 증언이 거짓으로 판단된다면 지난달 초 그의 발언을 다룬 기사를 취소했다.

또 이 신문은 2011년 3월 15일 후쿠시마(福島) 제1원전 근무자의 90％에 해당하는 약 650명이 요시다 마사오(吉田昌郞·2013년 7월 사망) 당시 제1원전 소장의 명령을 어기고 10㎞ 떨어진 제2원전으로 철수했다고 올해 5월 보도했다.

이 보도는 일본 정부의 사고조사·검증위원회가 요시다 소장의 답변을 정리한 이른바 '요시다 조서'를 토대로 한 것이었다.

그러나 이후 산케이(産經)신문 등이 요시다 조서를 확인한 결과 요시다 소장이 "제2원전으로 간 것이 훨씬 올바른 것"이라고 말한 것으로 파악되는 등 그가 부하들이 제2원전으로 간 것에 대해 '명령위반'이라는 생각을 하지 않았다는 지적이 나왔다.

일본 정부는 논란이 커지자 11일 요시다 조서를 공개했고 아사히신문은 자사의 보도가 잘못됐으니 취소하겠다고 밝혔다.

<저작권자(c) 연합뉴스, 무단 전재-재배포 금지>2014/09/12 10:26 송고








http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&oid=001&aid=0007106476&sid1=001




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