Former Keio University President Yuichiro Anzai said Tuesday he declined to assume the presidency of NHK because of his strong distrust of the public broadcaster's board of governors and its chairman, Shigehiro Komaru.
Anzai, 64, accepted late last year the board's offer to become president of NHK, replacing incumbent President Shigeo Fukuchi, whose three-year term ends Jan. 24.
However, Komaru later asked him to turn down the offer after concerns spread among the 12 members of the board of governors, the broadcaster's top decision-making body, about speculation that Anzai had attached certain conditions regarding personnel and perks associated with the post, sources said.