The Liberal Democratic Party decided Monday not to give interviews to the Asahi Shimbun, except news conferences by its senior officials.
The move came after a monthly magazine reported recently about an argument between the Asahi and NHK over whether there was political pressure on the public broadcaster to alter one of its programs. The report was based on documents believed to be similar to the Asahi's internal records.
Tsutomu Takebe, the LDP's secretary general, said his party has asked the major newspaper to refrain from interviewing LDP lawmakers and officials "until it becomes clear how the leak of Asahi's internal documents is related to the publication of the magazine's report."