The GHQ even forced him to say that they would destroy the Asahi Shimbun if he didn't do it. It is said that the person he tried hardest to protect was Shintaro Kasa (editorial director).
I sent out the chapter on July 14, 2019, titled.
It was attacked to prevent it from being affected by google search results, so I am re-disseminating it, correcting paragraphs, etc.
It is a must-read not only for the Japanese people but for people all over the world.
I just found the following article on the Internet.
Many parts confirm that Masayuki Takayama's latest book, which I am now introducing to Japan and the world, is actual.
Some parts testify that I have been saying that employees of the Asahi Shimbun are mere honor students who take entrance exams and are not Japan's best players at all.
It is from a conversation between two former employees of the Asahi Shimbun, who were born in 1934 and held important positions in the newspaper, so they are familiar with the postwar period.
The emphasis in the text is mine, except for the headline.
"In-depth Discussion: Why Asahi's Biased Reporting Won't Stop
(Monthly Sound Argument, November 2008 issue)
Takeshi Inagaki (former deputy editor of "Asahi Weekly") / Yoshinori Hongo (former director of the Asahi Shimbun training center) / Interviewer Mizuho Ishikawa (former editorial board member of the Sankei Shimbun)
Asahi was a Mirror of Postwar Leftist Society
The following is a continuation of the previous chapter.
Curbing the Discretion of the Copyread department to a Group of Craftsmen
Inagaki
I mentioned earlier that before Mr. Hirooka, there was a very liberal atmosphere.
There were people on both the left and the right. Also, you could say things freely.
The unions did their own thing, but there was no restraint.
Hongo
When I joined the company at the end of the year, there was the "96 Strike."
At that time, copyread department, which was the mainstay of the editorial bureau, joined the strike against management's expectations, so the paper's performance was disastrous.
It must have been a blow to Mr. Shinobu, an executive director with a background in organizing.
However, when Mr. Hirooka came to power, the first thing he did was to take over the copyread department.
Until then, all the people who became significant executives at the Asahi Shimbun had copyediting experience.
Mr. Ogata, Mr. Midoro Masuichi, and Mr. Shinobu had been copyreaders for a long time, and so had Mr. Kimura.
There was even an unwritten rule in Asahi that you couldn't become an executive if you didn't copyread.
The reason was that while being in the editorial office, the copyread department had to have a clear view of the entire company business, such as when to publish an extra issue, how to make a special edition, and what kind of advertisements could not be placed.
In addition, the copyread department is responsible for understanding the readers' needs and making decisions such as, "This is the top page of today's issue," or "It should cut this down to 10 lines."
That's why people who have experience in copyread are familiar with the company's business in general.
However, Mr. Hirooka has no copyread experience.
Neither did Mr. Mori or Mr. Watanabe.
Almost none of the presidents after Mr. Tomoo Hirooka had copyread experience.
On the contrary, they smothered the copyread department and weakened it.
Inagaki
When I joined the copyread department, I was told, "You guys are obligated to make objective judgments of news value first and foremost."
Is this worth the top? Or, he told me that I should first decide whether to make it three steps, and I was enthusiastic about it.
That kind of spirit and pride is gone now.
Hongo
Things have changed, and instructions are now coming from the top.
Inagaki
Yes, I get instructions from the top.
Especially during the time of Mr. Hirooka, Akioka Ieshige's Beijing correspondent, it was terrible.
Mr. Akioka's Chinese blind followers' crappy manuscripts should be placed at the top, and such instructions have come to be passed through without judgment.
That is why everymen became a copyreader who just wanted to look good.
Ishikawa
So you've lost your authority.
Inagaki
I was so cocky that when I was in the copyread department in Osaka, I was once chastised for cutting down a silly manuscript like Mr. Mori's impressions (laughs).
Hongo
When I was in Osaka, I got angry when I cut down a stupid manuscript that looked like an opinion piece by Mr. Mori.
After Mr. Mori became the chief editor, the copyread department could not touch the editorial manuscript, even if there were errors of fact or typos, or omissions.
The copyread department was made into a group of craftsmen.
That's a huge change.
Centralized control of speech. It is a common practice of the left.
For example, after Mr. Hirooka came to power in 1966, I think it was.
An official notice was issued saying that it should not use the photo of Chiang Kai-shek.
Inagaki
Oh, I remember that.
Hongo
There was no explanation for why, but the photo of Chiang Kai-shek's face was not allowed.
The copyread department has a hand-over book with contact information, and we always look at it before starting work every day, but I read the official notice, and I thought, hey, you shouldn't say stupid things.
Wasn't Chiang Kai-shek the benefactor who said "Requite anger with virtue" and returned the Japanese soldiers safely?
When I made a loud voice in the company asking if we wouldn't handle Chiang Kai-shek's face photo even when he died, I was stopped by the desk saying, "Hey, you, no good."
Inagaki
My experience at the copyread department in Osaka was that we were told not to publish Mao Zedong's cartoons during the Cultural Revolution.
I was pissed off too. When I yelled at them in a loud voice, they all turned their heads upwards.
We told them they were flounders.
The ones who are always looking up are the ones who will become great.
Gradually, copyread reporters who become desk clerks but don't know how many levels they should be on will become great.
Such a ridiculous era had arrived.
