Insider trading ban In 2007, three employees of NHK were fined and fired for
insider trading. They had profited by trading shares based on exclusive NHK knowledge. On 11 July 2008, NHK introduced a ban which prohibited its roughly 5,700 employees with access to its internal news information management system from trading stocks. The employees were required to pledge in writing that they would not trade stocks, and were required to gain approval from senior staff to sell shares they already held. NHK banned short-term stock trading completed in periods of six months or less for all employees.The ban did not, however, extend to employees' families, nor did NHK request any reports on their transactions.
Relationship with Johnny & Associates and Starto Entertainment In regards to NHK's relationship with
Johnny & Associates, they have stated that NHK acknowledges that sexual abuse allegations had been repeatedly reported for many years, but NHK also stated that they lacked awareness of the issue at that time and chose to neither follow up nor cover the issue entirely. In addition, they stated that they had failed in their role as a news media organization, and simply sat idle as many minors were sexually abused. On 8 September 2023, NHK said in a statement that they took the matter seriously, and that they would "work harder to ensure that human rights are more respected in the broadcasting industry" when it comes to using performers who best fit program content and production. The public broadcaster added that it did not fully acknowledge the sexual abuse matter despite various weekly magazine articles about the allegations and a
Tokyo High Court ruling in 2004. A few weeks later, NHK announced that it would suspend new contracts with Johnny's performers–including for their annual
New Year's Eve television special Kōhaku Uta Gassen–until the company had implemented compensation and prevention measures. In February 2024, the company announced a strict policy of terminating any talent formerly affiliated with Johnny & Associates on its programs and not allowing them to appear on new programs after the 2024 fiscal year. In October 2024, NHK Chairman Nobuo Inaba announced at a regular press conference that, he had confirmed efforts of
Smile-Up to compensate victims and prevent recurrence, that the separation of management from
Starto Entertainment was steadily progressing, and that requests to perform–including Kōhaku Uta Gassen for current Starto celebrities would resume. Commercial broadcasters had already announced on the resumption of new appointments to celebrities belonging to Starto.
Criticism over comments about Japanese wartime history NHK has occasionally faced various criticisms for its treatment of Japan's wartime history. , the 21st Director-General of NHK, caused controversy by discussing Japan's actions in
World War II at his first press conference after being appointed on 20 December 2013. It was reported that Momii said NHK should support the Japanese government in its territorial dispute with China and South Korea. He also caused controversy by what some describe as the playing down of the
comfort women issue in World War II, according to the
Taipei Times, stating, "[South] Korea's statements that Japan is the only nation that forced this are puzzling. 'Give us money, compensate us', they say, but since all of this was resolved by the Japan–Korea peace treaty, why are they reviving this issue? It's strange." It was subsequently reported by
The Japan Times that on his first day at NHK Momii asked members of the executive team to hand in their resignation on the grounds they had all been appointed by his predecessor. A number of civil society groups protested against Momii's continued tenure as Director-General of NHK. On 27 January 2014, the issued a public letter calling for Momii's resignation on the grounds that the remarks he made at his inaugural press conference were explosive. The letter stated that if Momii did not resign by the end of April, its members would freeze their licence fee payments for half a year. On 17 October 2014,
The Times claimed to have received internal NHK documents which banned any reference to the
Nanjing Massacre, to Japan's use of wartime sex slaves during World War II, and to its territorial dispute with China in its English-language broadcasting.
Black Lives Matter video On 10 June 2020, NHK apologized and took down an 80-second video about the
Black Lives Matter movement and
George Floyd protests that was criticized for its "crude" animation of protesters and its focus on economic inequality rather than police brutality. An official statement signed by Yuichi Tabata, head of NHK's International News Division, was released through NHK's official website.
Olympics documentary claims On 9 January 2022, NHK issued an apology over false allegations made in Director
Naomi Kawase's Tokyo Olympics documentary. Kawase was selected by the
IOC in 2018 to cover Japanese reactions to the event and later during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Footage and captions in the documentary alleged that protesters were being paid money to attend anti-Olympics rallies. One of the men interviewed later stated he was "unsure" if he had actually attended any anti-Olympics rallies. NHK Osaka cited "editorial oversights" and "deficiencies in research", issuing an apology. Some anti-Olympic activists demanded that the documentary should be removed. Some activists were concerned that the misinformation was spread by NHK to silence those who opposed the Tokyo Olympics during the pandemic. NHK denied that the footage was deliberately fabricated to mislead the public. On 13 January 2022, the NHK Osaka director
Terunobu Maeda apologized during a press conference, admitting that the captions "should not have been included". Once again, he denied that the incident was a fabrication. On 10 February 2022 NHK Osaka announced an internal review and fired 6 production staff members.
COVID-19 In December 2023, Japan's
Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization (BPO) concluded that NHK had breached broadcasting ethics in its "News Watch 9" program, where people believed to have died from
COVID-19 vaccine injury were treated as if they had died from COVID-19. Regarding the incident as an inappropriate way of reporting, NHK stated that it would take measures to avoid the repetition of the misconduct. {{Cite news ==Arrest of NHK Office Head in Tehran==