"There's something sad, when a political problem goes so far as to spill over to the entertainment industry," rues journalist Kaoru Kikuchi in Sunday Mainichi (Sep. 9).
Kikuchi reported that on Aug. 21, Korean male actor Song Il Gook, who was slated to appear in leading roles in police dramas on two different Japanese satellite networks, was being stonewalled for permission to enter Japan for filming.
Indeed, no less a figure than vice- minister of Foreign Affairs Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi had informed the press that it would be "difficult" to grant Song entry permission. The two networks have been forced to delay the broadcasts.