Irrelevant criticism against NHK by Finance Minister Omi

My opinion of this week(520):

Many people in Japan and in US must have felt relieved to see the result of Matuzaka's debut game at Major Baseball League yesterday. I was in the bath yesterday morning when many math media including NHK reported Matuzaka's victory pitching over Royals. So I did not see so much about it in the morning TV news.

I missed again the good time to watch NHK and other news of TV station at noon time but watched enough some good scene　 on Matuzaka's pitch in many net news later on in the evening. I was quite excited about it, of course.

I happened to watch NTV's TV news show at noon which reported how Japanese rofessional baseball is now very popular in Korea. Many baseball funs in Korea were exiting about game of Yomiuri Giants at public bars. I never expect that happened in Korea and I was very surprised about it. The reason for that phenomenon is obvious. Koreans famous ball player, SeungYuop Lee, is now playing very well in Yomiuri Giants. So Gaiants is now very popular in Korea. It is good to know that fact although I am not a fun of Yomiuri Giants at all.

I read so many net news last evening about Matuzaka's debut game at Kansas which were interesting for they were reported from various point of views. I understood how mass media in Japan and in US have been paying so much attention this news.

Among many of such interesting articles, I found one very strange article in Mainichi Newspaper. Finance Minister Koji Omi criticized NHK's coverage of Daisuke Matsuzaka , saying that such public broadcaster NHK should not devote too much time
to the Boston Red Sox star.

Omi said, "Considering the overall news balance, there's a problem with taking up issues like this every morning on NHK's 7 o'clock news." He continued saying , "It's very good that people are becoming global, just like economy, and that good people are discovering new spheres." However, he raised criticism about the time NHK spent on Matuzaka issue.

He said there many more important world wide issues which should be reported in good balance by such public mass media like NHK. NHK lacks the balance to spend time to report such important events.

My first reaction to hear what Omi said is how hard the head of Japanese politicians are. The head of the Finance Minister is one typical one as such.

What is happening now in MLB is one typical phenomenon of globalization as Omi personally admits. As a matter of fact, the phenomenon is not only limited on baseball. The reason why Red Sox have invested so much money on Matura may be various. They must have expected many other economic effects which are good for Red Sox management and local community like Boston itself.

According to various net news, many new Japanese restraints have been opened in Boston expecting many visitors from Japan to this city. There are many other social and cultural effects in addition to economic effects when it comes to Matuzaka's effects. It would provide some big impact both Japan and US in various fields. It was my intention to point out the same effects exist between Japan and Korea when I mention the the case SeungYuop Lee as above.

Matuzaka's effects is one typical example of globalization. It is not the first time that we see this kind of phenomenon. Nomo was the first starter and Ichirou and Matui followed. Matuzaka is just another big case of globalization.

There is no problem for NHK to spend so much time to report on Matuzaka's case. I even think it important work for NHK as public broadcasting corporation. It is neither only on Matuzaka nor on Red Sox. It is the issue of two different cultures such as Japan and US.

2007/4/7
Tadashi HAYASE