Outspoken NHK Chairman Katsuto Momii has found himself once again mired in controversy after news leaked he gave instructions that the public broadcaster should stick to the official government line when reporting on the nuclear reactor situation in quake-hit Kyushu.
Momii later tried to defend the policy, saying it was aimed at preventing confusion among survivors of the quake who are being bombarded with a wide range of views and commentary.
Still, for Yasuhiko Tajima, a professor of media studies at Sophia University, Momii's latest assertion carries very grave implications on many different levels and makes the broadcaster look like a mouthpiece for the government.