Yuta Tomikawa, Former Analyst, “Entered Toyota with the Title of Journalist” – Bad Background
Eh, a journalist affiliated with Toyota?”
Former announcer Yuta Tomikawa, 45, who retired from TV Asahi on March 31, has now announced that he has joined Toyota Motor Corporation and established his own office, sparking various discussions.
Tomikawa was absent as the main anchor of “News Station” for about 50 days after his corona infection was discovered in April 2008. After returning to the station, his days of the week were reduced, and since last October he has only appeared on Fridays. Since then, Mr. Tomikawa is believed to have grown increasingly dissatisfied with the policies of Teresa, and it appears that he did not leave the company amicably at the end of March.
Tomikawa’s transfer to one of Japan’s major corporations to work as a “journalist” has been met with a flurry of posts on social networking sites questioning, “What is a journalist? (sports paper, entertainment desk).
Tomikawa’s future activities have not yet been revealed, but there is no possibility that he will also work for Toyota’s owned media, “Toyotimes. Speaking of people from TV stations, there is the case of former TV Tokyo announcer Kyonosuke Morita, who appeared in a TOYOTIMES commercial in the role of a “rookie reporter.
Given this precedent, many believe that the appointment of Mr. Tomikawa may be strongly influenced by President Akio Toyoda’s wishes. A source in the advertising industry revealed, “TOYOTIMES is a big fan.
Toyo Times is a project that has been carefully planned by President Toyoda, who is a great hater of the media. He is particularly opposed to NHK and Nikkei newspapers, which are seen as his main rivals. It seems that President Akio’s idea is to conduct PR activities on his own, without relying on the media.
A journalist affiliated with a company is a novel idea, but it is very likely that he will end up playing a ‘billboard’ role, appearing in TOYOTIMES commercials.
In May 2020, President Akio is said to have been furious with NHK and Nikkei for their “emphatic reporting” of news about Toyota’s “profit decline. However, Akio’s distrust of the mass media seems to have started long before that, and it is known that he has rarely been interviewed by the media since he launched TOYOTIMES in earnest in 2007.
President Akio’s desire not to rely on the “mass media” may have a point in this day and age. But what about the fact that the person he brought in as a “journalist” is, after all, a former well-known announcer who has just retired from a major media company?
