The Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association announced Wednesday that the Nihon Keizai business daily has won its annual editorial division award for a July 20 scoop about a memo that indicated the late Emperor Hirohito was displeased with Yasukuni Shrine's 1978 enshrinement of the 14 Class-A war criminals.
The business daily reported that the memo says the emperor, known posthumously as Emperor Showa, stopped visiting the shrine in Tokyo because it had enshrined the war criminals, including Prime Minister Gen. Hideki Tojo.
The revelation shocked conservative politicians and academics who advocate prime ministerial visits to the shrine and stirred up debate about the emperor's feelings about war criminals and Yasukuni Shrine.
The newspaper association is also giving awards to the Mainichi Shimbun for its photos of the aftermath of October's deadly earthquake in Pakistan, the Kyoto Shimbun for its features on medical and welfare issues, and the Nishinippon Shimbun for its series on Minamata poisoning.