"Most NHK Staff Are Korean... DHC Chairman's Absurd Claim as the Main Culprit of Japan's Koreanization"

"Most NHK Executives, Announcers, and Employees Are Korean Descent... NHK Is Japan's Enemy"

DHC brand logo (left), Yoshiaki Yoshida, Chairman of DHC (right). Photo by DHC website.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] The chairman of the Japanese cosmetics company DHC, which has repeatedly caused controversies with 'anti-Korean remarks,' made an absurd claim calling NHK, which investigated his racial discrimination issues, "the mastermind behind Japan's Koreanization."

Yoshida Yoshiaki (吉田嘉明, 80), chairman of DHC, recently posted a statement on the company's website under his name, fiercely criticizing NHK.

This was in response to a director from NHK's news program "Ohayo Nippon" calling DHC's public relations department to ask why Yoshida's past writings containing racial discrimination content were still posted on the website.

Chairman Yoshida said, "I have always been most concerned about the Koreanization of Japan, and I danced with joy at the inquiry from NHK, the mastermind behind it," adding, "because it is a golden opportunity to inform all citizens about NHK's situation."

He further claimed, "Most of NHK's executives, announcers, and employees are of Korean descent," and "a significant number of scholars, entertainers, and athletes appearing on NHK are of Korean descent, and even street interviews disguised as coincidences select people of Korean descent," making an absurd assertion.

A statement by Yoshida Yoshiaki, Chairman of DHC, posted on the DHC website. Yoshida Yoshiaki, Chairman of DHC, fiercely criticized NHK, which pointed out his racial discrimination issue, calling it "an enemy of Japan." Photo by DHC website capture.

Photo by DHC website capture.

He said, "You can easily distinguish Koreans by their distinctive names, protruding jaws, and flat back of the heads," and added, "NHK, the enemy of Japan, is unnecessary, so let's get rid of it."

Yoshida also wrote that some ruling party lawmakers are of Korean descent, and the opposition parties are full of Korean-descended lawmakers, so no one stops what NHK does.

He then emphasized, "The media calls me a racist, but racial discrimination originally refers to the majority's behavior toward the minority," and "in Japan now, Koreans are not a 'minority' but a 'majority' controlling the core of Japan."

On the 9th, NHK's "Ohayo Nippon" reported on Yoshida's racial discrimination issues, quoting his writings posted on the DHC website.

According to the report, last November, Yoshida compared his company with competitor Suntory on the company website, writing, "Almost all the talents in Suntory's advertisements are somehow Koreans of Japanese nationality. That's why they seem to be mocked on the internet as 'Jontori'."

He added, "DHC is a purely Japanese company in everything, including the talents it hires."

"Jontori" is a derogatory term combining "Jon" (チョン), a slur against Korean and Korean-Japanese people, and "Tori" from Suntory.

A post under Chairman Yoshida's name on the DHC website. Last November, he wrote about competitor Suntory, "Almost all the talents appearing in Suntory's advertisements are, for some reason, Koreans or Japan-born Koreans. That's why they seem to be mocked as 'Jontory' on the internet." Photo by DHC website capture.

As Yoshida's writings became known, protests with the hashtag "#NoToDiscriminatoryCompanyDHC" continued on social media at the time.

Meanwhile, Yoshida's anti-Korean remarks have caused controversies multiple times. In February 2016, he referred to foreign residents in Japan as "fake Japanese," among other terms.

Last year, through DHC's subsidiary DHC-TV, broadcasts were aired that disparaged and mocked the Statue of Peace, symbolizing the Japanese military's comfort women. In 2017, on the program "News Onna," a guest made discriminatory remarks about Korean residents in Japan.

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