Shinzo Abe accused of using NHK to back his nationalist agenda

Minutes of a recent governing board meeting of Japan's public broadcaster NHK seem to back up suspicions that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, despite his denials, is trying to use Japan's news giant to promote his nationalist agenda.

The minutes, posted on NHK's website but not widely reported, show conservatives appointed to the board by Abe voicing their opinion on coverage at the January 14 meeting.

One of the four new members favoured by Abe proposed that NHK should do more to educate the public about Japan's territorial claims on islands at the centre of a dispute with Beijing, its wartime history as well as the problems with the post-second-world-war United States-led tribunal that prosecuted Japanese war criminals.

"I think there should be room for programmes that provide the most basic knowledge about history and the challenges Japan is faced with," said Naoki Hyakuta, the author of a bestselling book on a wartime suicide fighter pilot.

Another new board member, Abe confidante Michiko Hasegawa, stressed the need to promote "correct education" for the public.

It's unclear whether their statements are affecting coverage, and NHK denied any political influence over its editorial decisions. The board members' comments reflected their personal views, an NHK official said. Hyakuta, according to the minutes, then made sure if it was OK for board members to comment on programming. He was told they couldn't make comments that influenced specific programmes, but they could express their preferences as "personal impressions". Experts say anything board members say could easily cause compromise and self-restraint in coverage.

"Apparently NHK is leaning towards the government, and increasingly neglecting its responsibility to check authority," said Yasuhiko Tajima, a media law professor at Sophia University in Tokyo. "I even feel democracy is at risk."