The following is from a feature article in the November 26 issue of the monthly magazine WiLL, titled "Celebration of Asahi's 4 Million Circulation Crisis," in which Masayuki Takayama, the one and only journalist in the postwar world, talks with Akari Iiyama, an up-and-coming critic who has sashayed onto the debate stage.
The emphasis in the text, except for the headline, is mine.
The media's negligence in not verifying what is bothering them
Asahi's circulation has dropped to less than 4 million copies.
Takayama
I always enjoy reading Mr. Iiyama's Sankei column "scolding against newspapers!
Iiyama
Thank you very much.
Takayama
The media is really going down the drain.
It officially announced that the Asahi Shinbun has less than 4 million circulations.
Iiyama
I'm sure that "forced paper," forcing dealers to purchase more paper than subscribers, is also included in that figure.
Takayama
That's right. Some say that if that figure is excluded, the total circulation is a little less than 3 million copies.
In fact, the "forced paper" is also an advantage for the distributors.
If the dealers say to the outside world, "We are distributing this many copies," they will receive suitable inserts—The actual income rises.
For example, if the Tokyo Shimbun reaches about 100 households, but the Asahi reaches 300 homes, the ad insertion can have a higher effect.
However, the number of ad inserts has plummeted due to the recent Corona disaster.
Therefore, even if Asahi dealers received extra paper inserts, it would not only be meaningless, it would become a burden, and some dealers even went out of business.
Naturally, the number of paper inserts also decreased.
Iiyama.
That's a good thing (laughs).
It has been a long since people no longer read newspapers, but the actual numbers are finally catching up.
The media has changed dramatically.
Takayama.
Besides, the media has undergone a significant transformation, accelerating the decline in readership.
When I was working, the Shakai-bu (society) department reporters had a strong sense of justice.
Political reporters also reported with a certain level of political ethics.
Today's reporters, however, are different.
All they do is to try and drag politicians down by their heels, no matter what it takes.
The Tokyo Shimbun's Isoko Mochizuki is a perfect example.
Iiyama.
It is not limited to Asahi.
Takayama
It includes correspondents.
They should look at the facts and write accurately, but they are not.
The Abe shooting terrorist incident is also highly questionable regarding the media's reporting attitude.
The first thing a social media reporter should do is to get the whole story of the incident from the police.
However, there is no original information from the media, and only leaks from the police side are being circulated.
Iiyama.
Early after the incident, information was circulated that the suspect, Yamagami, was "a former member of the Maritime Self-Defense Force," but it seemed unnatural.
Takayama
Moreover, the image of "ex-Marine Self-Defense Force member = evil" was prevalent.
Then next came the information that his family was hooked on the former Unification Church and grudged against it.
I wondered when this was and was told it was twenty years ago.
So when he decided to carry out the attack, it was in a year.
The story is nonsensical to someone.
*I am sure that the public, including myself, now remembers that it was widely reported that he was a former member of the Maritime Self-Defense Forces at first.
I am even more convinced as I sorted through this section; China's the only country in the world that wants to demonize the MSDF. (Or South Korea, for that matter.)
My conviction that China was manipulating Yamakami was further deepened*.
Iiyama
The story doesn't match up.
Takayama
Yamagami rents two apartments and drives around in a car, even though his parents are bankrupt from donations. He is self-defeating and challenging to live with, unable to serve as a self-defense official.
He even buys expensive machine tools needed to make modified guns.
It is strange, no matter how you think about it.
It makes one wonder if he has a sponsor.
It is also curious that the explanation of the trajectory of the bullet that hit Mr. Abe is inconsistent with the circumstances of Yamagami's shooting, as reported in some newspapers and magazines.
According to the explanation of Hidetada Fukushima, a professor at Nara Medical University, the bullet penetrated from the top down.
But the situation in which Yamagami shot him is also shown in the video: he shot from the bottom up.
The angle is clearly different, yet none of the media are pointing this out.
Some, like Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, dismissed it as a conspiracy theory.
Social media reporters are supposed to respond to such questions.
Iiyama.
The whereabouts of the bullet are also unknown.
Takayama
It seems that the gun was designed to fire three bullets at once, but Yamagami must have fired twice - even if one of the bullets hit Mr. Abe, the other five bullets have not been found.
Even if one of the bullets hit Mr. Abe, the other five were never found.
It is a very sloppy way to conduct an investigation.
However, there are no media that touches on this point.
If you are a reporter, you should not just say, "No bullets found," but report more on the fact.
Where else did Yamagami learn how to manufacture guns?
It is said that he obtained the materials and manufacturing method of the gun on the Internet, but I don't think such a thing is possible.
There are so many things that concern me, but the media is not interested in verifying them.
Iiyama.
The fact is that nothing has been revealed.
This article continues.
