TOKYO -- A former executive in charge of international broadcasts at NHK who stepped down after a Chinese staffer said the Japanese-controlled, Chinese-claimed Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture were "Chinese territory" during a live radio broadcast will be punished with a 10% a retirement allowance cut, NHK's chief governor revealed on Nov. 5.

NHK's Board of Governors, the public broadcaster's highest decision-making body, on Nov. 5 decided to cut the retirement allowance of former Senior Director Kenji Sobata, now an executive producer in NHK's General Media Administration section. Board Chairman Nobuyuki Koga informed reporters of the decision. The specific amount of the cut was not disclosed.

Koga, who doubles as an honorary adviser of Nomura Holdings Inc., said the action was taken in response to the executive board's proposal, and suggested he didn't agree with the cut.

"Personally, I think it was more of a demotion than a resignation, and I think he should be paid the full amount," Koga said. "I think they made that judgment because of (criticism from) society, so I accepted it this time."

On Sept. 10, the broadcaster announced the resignation of Sobata and that its president and some other executives would return a portion of their salary in response to the issue involving the external Chinese staffer in August. One week later, the Mainichi Shimbun reported that Sobata had been rehired by the broadcaster as a contract worker. There has been criticism from within the organization and elsewhere that Sobata's quick return showed his resignation was "a sham."

(Japanese original by Ayako Hiramoto, Cultural News Department)