Scoop! The actual “Nomination Candidate & NG List” used at Johnny’s’s press conference was obtained & all names disclosed!
First of all, I think we need to have a dialogue with the media.
What Noriyuki Higashiyama, 57, president and representative director of Johnny’s, said at the press conference was a complete lie.
On the 4th, NHK reported the fact that at the press conference held by Johnny’s s on the 2nd of this month, a “nomination NG list” had been prepared to prevent certain reporters from being assigned to certain questions during the Q&A session. During the press conference, NHK cameras caught one of the management staff walking around with a “NG list” document.
The magazine obtained the “NG List” and the actual document, which read “Questions and Answers at the Press Conference on October 2. The following eight reporters were on the “list of nominated candidates.
Reporter T of the Yomiuri Shimbun’s Tokyo headquarters
Reporter S of Nihon Keizai Shimbun
Reporter O of Nikkei Business Inc.
Reporter Y of Toyo Keizai Inc.
S reporter for Reuters
Reporters U and M, The New York Times
Shohei Fujimori, announcer, TBS
Entertainment reporter Chikako Komai
For the moment, the magazine has made the names of reporters other than those appearing in the media, such as Ms. Komai and Ms. Fujimori, anonymous, with a mosaic of their own in consideration of privacy.
On the other hand, the “NG Reporters List” lists the following six names.
Mr. Satohiko Ogata of Arc Times
Ms. Kinoshiko Mochizuki of Arc Times
Ryu Honma of Ichigetsu Manzatsu
Ichigatsu Manzatsu” by Akira Sato
Mr. Soichiro Matsutani of “TRICK FISH
Mr. Eight Suzuki, a freelance journalist
The list includes the names of journalists and others who are pursuing the Johnny’s’s issue. The staff member who managed the press conference explains how the list was compiled.
Originally, this NG list did not exist. However, two days before the press conference, one of the reporters published on the Internet the invitation we had sent to the press, and the location and time of the press conference were revealed. This led to the decision to shut out certain reporters from the risk management point of view, and to make it impossible for them to do anything even if they were present at the press conference. However, this was not explicitly stated by Johnny’s, but I have heard that there was an atmosphere in which the management felt compelled to say so, and that they were somewhat guided by the atmosphere.
Mr. Mochizuki, Mr. Suzuki, and the other reporters whose names are on the NG list are all people who have been harshly pursuing the Johnny’s’s office. On the other hand, the nominees include the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, which in the past has run an ad with a message from former president Julie Fujishima, and an entertainment reporter who is said to be in close contact with Johnny’s. As for TBS, the “October 2 Press Conference Q&A” document lists Kensuke Murase, anchor of “Hodo Special,” and Maonko Hibi, announcer. The names of the media representatives who attended the press conference are also listed. A media representative who attended the press conference said.
When the Q&A session of the press conference started, Mr. Komai, a reporter of Toyo Keizai and a reporter listed in the “nomination candidates” was the first to be nominated. On the other hand, Mr. Eight Suzuki, who is on the NG list, raised his hand all the way but could not guess until the end. Mr. Ogata and Mr. Mochizuki were not nominated no matter how long they raised their hands, so they asked their own questions without being guessed by the moderator. Other “nomination candidates,” such as TBS announcer Fujimori and a Reuters reporter, were also nominated, so I feel that the press conference proceeded according to the list.
If it is true that certain companies and individuals were given preferential or cold treatment at the Q&A session, it would be a serious problem that would hinder the fairness of the press conference. When this magazine sent a fact-finding questionnaire to the companies on the list of nominees, the following responses were received.
Nikkei BP responded, “We do not have an accurate understanding of the facts and will refrain from commenting on them. Toyo Keizai Shimpo responded, ” Neither our company nor the reporters themselves are aware of the list,” and added, “We have not been able to confirm the facts, but if they are true, we recognize that this is a major problem that hinders fair reporting.
The Yomiuri Shimbun responded, “We were not aware whether or not the names of our reporters appeared on the list you mentioned. TBS TV responded that it was “not aware ” that the reporter’s name was on the list of candidates for nomination , and further stated, “We believe that certain companies and reporters should not be given preferential treatment during the question-and-answer session of a press conference.
A representative of KOZO Creators, to which reporter Komai belongs, said, “I didn’t even know this kind of thing existed. We don’t even know why Komai’s name was on the list. He added, “Naturally, there was no prior discussion at all. I don’t think there is any way for Johnny’s or the media to have any kind of discovery or connection after such a big problem, and I don’t think there should be. At least at our company, we are trying to cover and convey how Johnny’s is going to do from now on,” he continued.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun and Reuters did not respond by the deadline. We also sent a letter of inquiry to the Johnny’s’s office regarding the facts, but they also did not respond by the deadline.
FTI Consulting, which conducted the press conference, acknowledged the existence of the list and apologized, while Johnny’s’s office has changed its answer to the question about the list in two or three different ways. A thorough investigation and explanation are required.
PHOTO： Kazuhiko NAKAMURA
