“It’s Fair.” Former NHK Announcer Kazuya Matsumoto, Who Hosted the Johnny’s Conference With an “Ng List” of Reporters In His Hand, Has a Sad Vision of the Future

It has come to light that there was an “NG list” that prevented certain reporters from being called at the press conference held by the Johnny’s’s office on October 2 over the sexual assault of the company’s founder, Janie Kitagawa. The former NHK announcer Kazuya Matsumoto, who was in charge of organizing the press conference, is also under scrutiny.

“FTI Consulting,” to which the Johnny’s office outsourced the management of the press conference, has admitted the existence of the NG list, and it has been learned that they had also coordinated with the Johnny’s office. Naturally, the NG list was also in the hands of Matsumoto, the moderator who nominated reporters to ask questions.

Matsumoto calmed down the reporters who were upset that they were not nominated, and said

It’s fair.
It’s not a farce.

But it was not fair.

The fuel for the flames was added by Matsumoto’s YouTube video.

The video was dug up from Matsumoto’s channel, “Former NHK Announcer Kazuya Matsumoto’s Chubby Road Studios,” posted in 2020, and titled “Matsumoto Method Special Part 4: Key Points of Press Conferences.”

In a press conference, it is an agreement, or rather a matter of course, to answer questions properly.

Never run away. Never run away. Make it an opportunity to make a positive appeal.

He is a “lecturer” who tells the viewers that “a press conference is one of the most important things you can do in your life, and you should respond to questions properly.

This “boomeranged” and the comments section was flooded with criticism even though the video was made three years ago.

You sounded like a big shot in the video, but that press conference?
You seem to be running away from interviews and refusing to do any interviews at all. Please don’t run away and actively appeal to the public.

The situation is now under fire, with comments such as “You never run away” and “You should appeal aggressively.”

Meanwhile, former NHK announcer Jun Hori updated X.

I once moderated a press conference for an eight-figure summit! The public relations staff explained in advance, ‘Please guess this person and this person, and the people sitting in these seats don’t have to guess,’ so as soon as the press conference started, I picked the reporter in the seat that said, ‘You don’t have to guess,’ and he answered exactly the question I wanted to ask.

He also said that he wished the moderator of this press conference had been more attentive to the “public,” showing the difference in caliber between the two former NHK announcers and Matsumoto.

The press conference was held to compensate and provide relief for Janie Kitagawa’s unparalleled sexual misconduct. The change of company name and the transfer of talents are only incidental to that, not the main point. It would be outrageous to try to exclude those who asked inconvenient questions at the company’s press conference.

“Mr. Matsumoto must have been paid a not-so-expensive fee to host the “press conference of the century,” which will go down in the history of Japanese entertainment. In exchange, however, he had to pay a price that would reduce his credibility as an announcer and TV personality to zero. If he ever hosts a show in the future, no one will trust that company anymore.” (TV station news reporter)

(A TV news reporter) “Matsumoto should have taken a firm stand and refused the eight-figure press conference, even if it was just for work.