Cancellation of Satellite Broadcasting License Amid Controversy Over Favoritism Toward Suga's Eldest Son

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] On the 17th, Asahi Shimbun reported that Tohokushinsha, where Yoshihide Suga, the Japanese Prime Minister's eldest son, works, will have its satellite broadcasting license revoked due to allegations of entertaining senior officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

The Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced the previous day that it will revoke the license for the satellite broadcasting channel "The Cinema 4K" of Tohokushinsha Media Service, a subsidiary of Tohokushinsha where Seigo Suga, the Prime Minister's eldest son, is employed.

This measure follows the recent parliamentary review revealing that Tohokushinsha violated laws related to the foreign capital ratio when transferring the satellite broadcasting business rights to its subsidiary in 2017.

At the time of business approval, Tohokushinsha reported that the foreign capital ratio was below 20%, but Asahi reported that the actual foreign capital ratio exceeded 20%.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications decided to revoke the license on May 1 after a grace period of about one month, considering that contracts for The Cinema 4K are made on a monthly basis.

In August 2017, upon realizing the violation of the Broadcasting Act, Tohokushinsha established its subsidiary Tohokushinsha Media Service to succeed the business rights.

Japan's Broadcasting Act regulates foreign capital by prohibiting companies with foreign individuals or foreign corporations holding one-fifth or more of voting shares from operating satellite relay broadcasting businesses.

There were suspicions that the authorities did not strictly enforce the law at the time, considering the connections between then Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga and Tohokushinsha.

The series of unfair administrative actions surrounding Tohokushinsha is expected to deal a significant blow to the Suga administration, which has advocated the slogan of "breaking vested interests."

It was previously revealed by the weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun that Tohokushinsha, led by Seigo and others, repeatedly entertained senior officials of the licensing authority, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.