Julie Fujishima distrusts NHK…Serious remarks by a staff member at the heart of “NHK’s big misinformation” in reporting on sex-related damage.
Did they corner the accuser? NHK employees’ words and actions that could be seen as “threats
On October 9, 2011, NHK reported in its news program “News 7” that the late Mr. Janney Kitagawa (87 years old) had sexually assaulted a woman in a restroom in the NHK office.
In a book titled “Last Interview” (Shinchosha) written by Kazuma Hayami, a nonfiction writer, and published on July 18 by Shinchosha, Mr. Keiko Fujishima, 59, the former head of “SMILE-UP. When we compared the contents of the book with the court documents obtained by this website, we found statements that supported Julie Fujishima’s accusations and even suggested the possibility of a “major misreporting” in NHK’s reporting.
The details are reported in Part I, “No Sexual Assault in Restrooms in NHK…Julie Fujishima Criticized in Accusation Book: Court Documents Supporting “Allegations of Grand Misreporting.
The book contains even more astonishing details. So, what was written in the court documents?
Briefly put, the trial in question was a lawsuit to have the court find that SMILE-UP. was not obligated to pay compensation to you (the man who complained of sexual assault in the bathroom).
The men, through their lawyers, had been seeking compensation from SMILE-UP. through out-of-court negotiations (voluntary consultations) for over a year. However, these lengthy discussions had reached a stalemate, and SMILE-UP. decided to file an unusual lawsuit when it found it difficult to reach a resolution through discussions.
In an e-mail submitted by SMILE-UP. recording the details of discussions with the accuser’s attorney, it is claimed that NHK itself had exerted “pressure” on the accuser for reporting this story.
Lawyer A (editor’s note: former agent of the accuser) told the NHK employee that he was told by SMILE-UP. that they were considering a lawsuit to confirm the non-existence of a debt and a lawsuit for damages based on defamation. Upon doing so, the NHK employee in question informed us that, as a result of internal deliberations at NHK, Mr. ●● (Editor’s note: name of the accuser, also blacked out in the court documents) had falsely claimed that he had been told by SMILE-UP. If Mr. A (the name of the accuser, also blacked out in the court documents) admits that the report is false, NHK is considering (as an option) filing a claim for damages against Mr. ●●.
Lawyer A was, frankly speaking, very surprised by this statement, and although he asked the NHK employee who the above middle manager was, he was not told. (From SMILE-UP. Brief dated January 23, ’25)
In other words, NHK told the accuser’s lawyer,
“If the accuser admits that the sexual harm was a lie, NHK may sue you this time.
If this statement is true, then the accuser is not the only one who has been sued by the accuser.
If this statement is true, the accuser faces the risk of being sued by NHK for damages if she retracts her claim of victimization, while if she continues to claim victimization, she may lose her lawsuit against SMILE-UP and be subject to additional claims for damages.
In any case, if NHK had told the accusers that it was considering a claim for damages, it would have to be pointed out that it was seriously lacking in the responsibility to verify the facts, which is required of a news organization.
Conclusion of a Trial Full of Discrepancies
The trial, in which the SMILE-UP. company’s side had made a number of counterarguments, ended in a surprising way. The defendant, the accuser, accepted SMILE-UP’s claim that “you are not obligated to pay any compensation.
Acknowledgment” is a procedure in which the accused party acknowledges in court that “the accuser’s side of the story is correct. When this is done, a “judgment” is not issued, in which the judge examines the evidence and makes a decision. Instead, the defendant’s acknowledgment of the claim is entered in an official record called the “record of acknowledgment,” which has the same effect as a final judgment. In other words, SMILE-UP’s claim that “you are not obligated to pay compensation” is 100% legally accepted.
At first glance, this seems to be a “complete defeat” for the accuser, but it is in fact an “irresistible solution. The reason is that although the “conclusion” that “SMILE-UP., Inc. is not obligated to pay compensation” has been reached, the court has not made a decision on the core issue of the reason for the conclusion, namely, whether sexual harm really did or did not occur.
The court’s “admission” of the case leaves room for the accuser to argue that “the fact of sexual harm itself has not been denied. Considering the possibility of a lawsuit from NHK, as indicated in the court documents, this method of settling the case can be considered the best for the accusers.
The court documents obtained by this magazine in the wake of Julie Fujishima’s “book of accusations” cast serious doubt on NHK’s reporting of Johnny’s sexual misconduct. If Mr. Janney’s alibi was true, and if NHK had reported a “major misinformation” without corroborating it, and even suggested a lawsuit against the accuser, this would never be tolerated as a public broadcaster.
When we asked NHK about the sexual assault report, they responded as follows.
We do not provide detailed information about the reporting process, but we have been reporting on the veracity of the testimonies of the victims based on various interviews, and our understanding has not changed. Furthermore, there is no fact that NHK has considered suing the man, nor has it communicated such details to the man’s representative.
On the other hand, when we asked SMILE-UP about the content of NHK’s news coverage and its reporting stance, NHK responded in detail.
We believe it to be untrue.”
We have filed a lawsuit to confirm that we are not liable (for damages) to the man in question, because we could not confirm the veracity of his report regarding sexual assault in the restroom at NHK’s station. （We understand that the other party has fully accepted our claim.
And what about the “pressure” from NHK?
“Our attorney was told by the attorney representing the other man that, “(omitted) We have been told that NHK is considering filing a claim for damages against the said man if the other man admits that he made a false declaration. If NHK staff made such a statement to the man who made the report, we believe that there may be a problem with the way NHK, as a public broadcasting organization, should conduct its coverage of the event.
As for how to respond to NHK in the future, he said,
We believe that the report regarding the sexual assault in the restroom at the NHK station is untrue, and we would like NHK to take the appropriate action, such as correcting the report.
He clearly requested NHK to correct the report.
Julie Fujishima, in her book,
I believe that some of the complaints are going to come to the surface from now on. When the time comes for me to be able to talk about each case, I will explain it properly to the public each time. Of course, I will continue to admit what needs to be admitted, but I will also firmly insist on what is clearly wrong.
It will be interesting to see if the truth will be revealed about the problems in the reports pointed out by SMILE-UP.
PHOTO： Kazuhiko Nakamura
