Japanese broadcaster NHK apologises for staffer claiming Senkaku Islands as ‘Chinese territory’

Japanese public broadcaster NHK, apologised on Wednesday after a Chinese contract staffer referred to the disputed Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture as "Chinese territory" during an international radio programme this week.

The Chinese national NHK staffer, who is in his 40s, made these remarks, which were not written in the news script, for about 20 seconds during a Chinese-language broadcast on Monday on the NHK World-Japan and Radio 2 channels, Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun reported.

The staff member has been working under a service contract with NHK and its affiliated organisation since 2002 and has been translating Japanese news into Chinese and reading the text on the radio.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

His remarks came right after he read a news report about an incident where graffiti was found at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, where Japanese Class-A war criminals are enshrined.

The Japanese broadcaster NHK stressed that they were unaware of why he made such a remark. Moreover, they have launched a strong protest with the staffer through the affiliated organisation and the group has planned to suspend his contract.

The Japanese broadcaster NHK stated, "It was inappropriate that a statement unrelated to the news was broadcast, and we deeply apologise. We will thoroughly implement measures to prevent a recurrence."

The Senkaku Islands have been under the limelight since long between Japan and China. The islands are administered by Japan. China's interest in the islands began in the 1970s after studies suggested that they could sit amid potentially huge deposits of oil and natural gas.

Furthermore, the islands are also near to the vital sea lanes and are surrounded by rich fishing grounds.

The staffer's reference to the island is embarrassing for NHK, as it has traditionally voiced Japanese government positions on territorial disputes and historical issues.

Watch |Japan, China to hold talks: Dispute over Senkaku Islands on cards

China-Japan conflict onSenkakus Island

Japan's stance on Senkakus Island is that they are "clearly an inherent part of the territory of Japan” and “there exists no issue of territorial sovereignty to be resolved” between Tokyo and Beijing.

The conflict between the two nations over the islands came to light in 2012, when the then rightwing government of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara voiced the idea of buying the islands from their private Japanese owners.

This led to an intervention from the central government, which bought the islands, effectively nationalising them. Following this, anti-Japanese protests were held in Beijing across other Chinese cities, and hundreds of Japanese firms temporarily shut down their businesses in the country.

(With inputs from agencies)