On the October 10 broadcast of “Sun! Shine” (Fuji Television Network) on October 10, announcer Kyoko Sasaki made a controversial comment. On that day, Kyoko Sasaki was asked about a Jiji Press cameraman who was waiting for a long time to interview Sanae Takaichi, the new LDP president, when the cameraman said, “I will lower his approval rating” and “I only use photos that will lower his approval rating. In response to these comments, he said, “I am a TV station employee and a member of the media,” and then added, “I think once again that we need to have a sense of tension that we are always being watched, including the way we are reporting, as a transmitter of information and as a communicator. In response to this comment, people on SNS asked, “Hey, how long have you been an announcer? You are as out of focus as ever. It’s not about “the tension of being watched. Sasaki, who was criticizing Mr. Takaichi without a sense of urgency, was speaking from a superior perspective. The background to the booing from viewers seems to have been influenced by the fact that Sasaki, who just took over as anchor of the program on September 29, questioned the words of new President Takaichi in the October 6 broadcast. In her speech immediately after her election as the first female LDP president on October 4, Takaichi emphasized, “We cannot rebuild the LDP unless all the LDP members work hard with the participation of all generations. All of you (councilors) will work. They will work like horses. I myself will abandon the term “work-life balance” and will work and work and work. In response, Naomi Matsushima commented, “It is said that ‘working’ is not in tune with the current times, but if I said, ‘I’ll just get on with it,’ they would be angry with me. However, if I said, ‘I’ll take it easy,’ she would be offended by that. However, when asked for his opinion, Anna Sasaki laughed at Mr. Takaichi’s words, saying, “I understand that it is your determination, but nowadays, managers in companies are struggling to realize a work style with diverse values, so I was a bit disappointed. Takaichi’s words are an expression of a politician’s personal resolve, and the context is different from the working environment of a typical company. On the other hand, it is understandable that Anna Sasaki expressed concern from the perspective of reforming modern work styles. However, some viewers questioned her reading comprehension because she equated the determination of a politician with labor management in a company. In fact, in X-Unit, while some people agreed with Sasaki’s reaction, others pointed out that “the state is not a corporation” and “this person is not qualified to talk about management. The chief producer of the program commented on the selection of Sasaki: “Sasaki has the ability to ‘communicate’ accurately and sincerely, and to ‘talk’ openly from her own point of view, and she has both. Sasaki herself commented, “I’ve never heard of anyone who can’t speak up and say what they mean. Sasaki herself commented, “If I am going to use words, I want to put love into them. I will do my best in my daily live broadcasts,” she said enthusiastically. As a news program, it is only natural for the new president to take a hard look at the new president. However, if he tried to present his own theory and made unreasonable criticisms, it would only make him look bad. In the same way, his comment that “the media needs to have a sense of tension that they are being watched” also gave some people the impression that he was being careless. The same as the other two, she said, “The media needs to be nervous about being watched,” and I can only hope that her words will not cause any further problems for Sasaki.
