Taichi Kokubun Controversy Sparks Tension With Matsuoka, Jojima at NTV
Masahiro Matsuoka (right) and Shigeru Joshima expressed dissatisfaction with Nippon TV’s response to Taichi Kokubun’s (center) compliance issue.Nippon TV is condescending compared to other networks
The compliance issue involving Taichi Kokubun (51), revealed by Nippon TV in June of this year, shows no sign of settling anytime soon.
In November, Kokubun held an emergency press conference in Tokyo with his representative present. Around the same time, former TOKIO member Masahiro Matsuoka (48) responded to interviews with Shūkan Bunshun and Shūkan Shinchō, stating:
〈Even after five months, there has been no explanation from the Nippon TV side〉
〈Isn’t that a compliance violation itself?〉
showing his anger toward Nippon TV.
In response, on December 10, Nippon TV issued an apology comment to Shigeru Joshima (55), the leader of the same group as Matsuoka:
《Our response was not sufficient to empathize with your feelings, and we sincerely apologize》
Additionally, according to Daily Shinchō, which was published on December 17, on the day before the statement was issued (December 9), the Nippon TV side visited the The! Tetsuwan! DASH!! location to apologize and explain to Joshima.
According to the site, they initially asked him before filming, but he declined, saying:
〈I want to focus on filming〉
Nevertheless, on the day, executives and the responsible producer from the production bureau appeared on site and again expressed their intention to apologize, but Joshima rejected it, saying this was not a matter to discuss at the filming location.
This response by Nippon TV seemed to undervalue Matsuoka and Joshima, who have been appearing on Tetsuwan DASHfor 30 years. On this, a former commercial broadcasting executive said in an interview:
“There is the essence of Nippon TV as a network.”
“I feel they have a strong sense of being an established TV station. Having the Yomiuri Shimbun behind them and owning the Giants may have influenced Nippon TV’s unique high pride. It has been like that since the old company culture. Alumni from Hitotsubashi University wielded influence, but former producers and directors at Nippon TV were often condescending compared to other networks, as talents frequently said.”
This also applied to subcontracted production companies, which were limited in number and difficult for new entrants to join. Moreover, being the number-one in ratings and having high profit margins seemed to reinforce their pride.
Such an episode remains.
Former TOKIO leader Shigeru Joshima (right) and Taichi Kokubun, who refused an apology from Nippon TV executivesA TV network that doesn’t consider contributions at all
“When the headquarters was in Kojimachi, tall buildings began to rise around it, and areas with poor reception expanded. Because of this, in 1968, Matsutaro Shoriki, then president of the Yomiuri Shimbun, tried to build a 550-meter tower in Shinjuku, commonly called the ‘Shoriki Tower.’ At that time, Tokyo Tower already existed, and other stations shared it, but perhaps due to the pride and stubbornness of being the original private broadcaster, they resisted using the Tokyo Tower, which was built mainly by the later Fuji Sankei Group.
However, the year after the ‘Shoriki Tower’ plan was announced, NHK unveiled plans to build an even taller, roughly 600-meter broadcasting tower, the ‘NHK Tower,’ on the site of the current NHK Broadcasting Center, comparable to Tokyo Skytree. Ultimately, both projects fell through, but the rivalry between the two stations was a topic of conversation at the time. Eventually, the following year after Shoriki passed away, they joined Tokyo Tower anyway,” said the former private broadcaster executive.
Trying to build their own tower instead of using Tokyo Tower is probably a reflection of the pride of being Japan’s first private broadcaster.
Broadcasting began six months later than NHK, in August 1953. In that same month, they broadcast the Giants vs. Hanshin game, the first live telecast of its kind by a private TV station. After that, they repeatedly achieved firsts for private TV, including TV dramas, serial dramas, sumo broadcasts, central horse racing broadcasts, parliamentary openings, and imperial palace events.
Furthermore, Nippon TV was the first private broadcaster in Japan to air commercials, color broadcasts, multichannel audio (world first), wide clear vision broadcasts, Japanese-dubbed foreign films, L-shaped screens, data broadcasts, one-segment TV broadcasts, original programs in one-segment, live 3D broadcasts, online video streaming services, and free streaming of all episodes of ongoing dramas.
Additionally, it has set numerous records in ratings, such as annual ratings quadruple crown, fiscal year quadruple crown, and monthly quadruple crown. For Nippon TV, it’s natural that the achievements they made are deserving of praise and that they hold a sense of being the pioneer of private broadcasting. Beyond just being the first private broadcaster, they take pride in leading Japan’s television industry.
That pride, however, worked against them in the case of Kokubun’s compliance issue. Legally, their handling of Kokubun may not be blameworthy, but it felt merciless. A talent agency source said:
“To not consider someone’s contributions at all is unthinkable for a TV network.”
And that is exactly right.
Seeing many sponsors leave during the Fuji TV problem, Nippon TV panicked and cut Kokubun. And for Joshima and Matsuoka, they probably had no idea how they should respond at all.
In the old days, TV stations had a strong attitude of “we let you appear, and Nippon TV was particularly strong in that mindset. Nowadays, each station has largely moved away from that attitude, but what they did to Matsuoka and Joshima in this incident shows blatant disregard for talent. It’s exactly the result of pride manifesting as its bad side.
Matsuoka spoke to weekly magazines in an interview, and it was exposed to the public.
However, times have changed. With broadcasting media emerging that surpass TV, talents no longer need to rely solely on television. If Nippon TV has not realized this outdated reality, it is a regrettable situation—.
Interview and text by Hiroyuki Sasaki (entertainment journalist)： Hiroyuki Sasaki (entertainment journalist) PHOTO： Shinji Hasuo