Takahashi Tachibana and Ishin Member Clash Over Gave It Dispute

The lack of preparation of the newscaster revealed in the uncut version

On February 8, TBS’s Hōdō Tokushū aired an investigation titled “Defamation and Misinformation Surrounding the Hyogo Gubernatorial Election: An Examination of Takahashi Tachibana’s Source — A Single Document.” This segment revisited the spread of false information by Takahashi Tachibana, the leader of the “Party to Protect the People from NHK” (57 years old).

The show had previously featured Tachibana in a special on January 25, titled “The Late Former Hyogo Prefectural Assembly Member Hideaki Takeuchi: Takahashi Tachibana’s Fabrication Claims,” and now, just weeks later, took another deep dive into Tachibana’s actions. This quick follow-up shows the program’s serious approach to the topic.

“The reason they revisited Tachibana might be related to his criticism of the previous broadcast, accusing it of biased reporting. Also, although it was cut from the broadcast, in the uncut version of Tachibana’s video, anchor Masaki Kusakabe (65) is verbally attacked by Tachibana, being called stupid and an old, overprotective woman. Kusakabe tries to remain calm, but he was clearly upset. This second feature may have also served as a form of revenge,” said a TBS insider.

In the previous broadcast, it appeared that Hōdō Tokushū was investigating the defamation and spread of misinformation surrounding the late former Hyogo Prefectural Assembly member Hideaki Takeuchi, and seemed to severely scrutinize Tachibana. However, watching the uncut version of Tachibana’s video reveals Kusakabe’s lack of preparation.

Several times during the interview, Kusakabe’s phone receives additional questions from staff, interrupting the interview. At other times, he seems caught off-guard by Tachibana’s rebuttals and is unable to respond. The way he is swayed by Tachibana’s logic might lead viewers who distrust traditional media and believe that TV selectively edits unfavorable content to suspect bias.

“Tachibana hates being called a liar more than anything. When the anchor tried to question Tachibana’s lies, Tachibana responded, ‘There are only two lies. Are there any others?’ and the anchor fell silent. I was disappointed that he couldn’t counter. Tachibana has told numerous lies in past videos, and unless the interviewer digs deeper, it’s impossible to corner him. From watching Hōdō Tokushū, I felt the research was thorough, but the interview could have been more pointed. The anchor seemed poised, but watching Tachibana’s YouTube videos, Kusakabe appears to have been overwhelmed,” said a weekly magazine reporter.

Perhaps due to this realization, this time, rather than conducting a long interview with Tachibana, the program delves deeper into the dark side of the Hyogo gubernatorial election held last November.