TV coverage of actress Noriko Sakai's recent drug trial was "overheated" and broadcasters let their viewers down by failing to warn against the dangers of narcotics, according to a television ethics panel.
In light of viewer criticism that the lengthy reports may only have served to arouse interest in drugs among young people, the Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organization's Broadcast Committee for Youth Programming advised broadcasters to correctly report on the dangers of drugs.
The organization received more than 500 complaints from viewers about the coverage after Sakai's husband was arrested Aug. 3 on suspicion of possessing illegal stimulants, Toshiyuki Shiomi, the panel chairman, said at a news conference.
Sakai and her husband, Yuichi Takaso, admitted in separate trials last month to possessing and taking stimulants.
"Reporting continued for so many hours that the coverage could be described as overheated. There are questions in terms of quantity and content," the panel told NHK and major commercial networks.
It advised the broadcasters to "produce programs that correctly convey the reality of the serious harm (that drugs can cause) and to guide young people to think and choose not to use drugs."
It also urged the networks to avoid using catchy expressions about drugs and to report on drug issues as a social problem from various aspects, including how dealing is a source of money for organized crime.
The broadcasters should report on drugs "from a standpoint of not encouraging their spread . . . and understand them more in depth," Shiomi said.