1 .CENTRAL INTELLIGL—CE AGENCY' 1111:Lesteonistne infonnationalhoting the Ids- •••• sAtj timid Defense or the United States. within the wan- , . lad of Tide IL ileottlaa 1113 end 114 01 the OA Code. es athesdad. IV ft revelation of Its °thump I NFORMATIOWREPOWT,:, to or receipt by an unauthorised person Is prohibited by law. Tbe reproduellon of title Atha is prohibited.
SECRWOONTROL - U.S. OFFICIALS CELT
COUNTRY Japan REPORT NO. CS; -29377
SUBJECT Controversies in Japanese Television . DATE DISTR. 22 January 1954
NO. OF PAGES 2 DATE CW Mica 1952 - 1953 REQUIREMENT NO. RD PLACE ACQUIRED Japan, Tokyo (27 November 1953) REFERENCES C8-25681
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.: no APPRAISAL OP COMMIT IS Tertanft Mt KEY SEE REVERSE)
SOURCE: Japanese Journalist (B). Appraisal of Contents 2.
1. =MIK Matsutaro laid his plans for obtaining oontrol of television in Japan while he was held in Sugamo Prison as a Class "A" war crimes suspect and began his maneuvers to accomplish them as soon as he was depurged. Among other tac- tics he used the threat of exposing corruption in the Communications Ministry to win his television francohise.1
2. Meanwhile, SHIBATA Hidetoshi, a news commentator for the Japan Broadcasting Association (Nippon Roso Eyokai)(NRK) conceived the idea of linking Japanese • television with American, receiving American technical and financial assistance in return for cooperating in American propaganda efforts: He didoussed this plan with high-level officials of the U.S. Department of Defensaand of the voice of America who were visiting Japan and obtained their approval. SBIBATA then approached FURMAN Tetsuro, Chairman of the Board of Directors o:f NM, to take charge of the Japan and of the program, but FORMA= had decided, after a tour to insppot television in the United States and Europe, that Japan should not undertake a television network for five years more. When FITRUGAKI turned down SHIBATA s plan, took his idea to SHORIEI and SHORIII accepted it. Since late 1952 SHIHATA has been SHORIla t e principal assistant in the Japan Television Network, Inc.
3. SHDRINI was successful in obtaining the first television rights in Japan and hoped to keep all, Japanese television commercial, on the theory that Govern- ment interference could lead to thought control. His most recent maven have been to add microwave broadcasting to his television network, but the Radio Wave Supervisory Committee of the Diet recently refused to authorize commer- oial television stations to engage in microwave broadcasting. Members of the Committee and officials of the Communications Ministry have prepared and circulated a pamphlet "exposing" MORI/a et maneuvers towards Government of.- fioials in retaliation against SHORIKI s threats to expose Government corrup- tion. The issuance of this pamphlet started a wavaof protest against SHORIKIte plans by all the newspapers except the "Big Three"--.Aiahi, Mainiohi, and Tomiuri. MORI= planned to make microwave broadcasting servi .a-errivailable to the 7117—
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Three" only, thus cutting the smaller newspapera out on news beats. 4. Nine local newspapers have organised a Onion of Newspapers Opposing Civilian Microwave Facilities° and on 11 November 1953 representatives of the union handed a protest against the SEDRIKI plan to Postal Services Minister =CADA at the Dal -Iohi Seinei Building in Tokyo, where he was attending a national mayorr conference. On the morning of 14 November they called on Vice Premier OGATA Taketora and left with him a protest against the use of foreign capital in Japan- ese television. They left a similar protest with Chief Cabinet Seoretary FUN- NAGA Kenji. 5. An additional cause of trouble for MIMIC is the charge, made by investors in his television network, that he misappropriated the network s funds, T2,000,000,000 worth, to start his new Osaka Mmiuri newspaper. In addition, this newspaper is not doing well financially.
1. Source Comment. There is plenty of such corruption to expose. . Field Comment. SNORIKI s previous position as President of the algal I, Shimhuswouldput him in an excellent position to-carry:aft thesirlhiiits.-