NHK exec who resigned over Chinese staffer's remarks rehired

An executive at public broadcaster NHK who resigned after a Chinese staffer made unscripted remarks claiming the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands are China's territory was rehired a week later, a source close to the matter said Thursday.

Kenji Sobata stepped down on Sept 10 as a board director overseeing output in languages including English and Chinese over the mid-August radio broadcast in which the contract worker said the uninhabited islets belong to China after reading a news item about graffiti at the war-linked Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo.

Japan and China are at odds over the islands in the East China Sea, with Beijing claiming ownership and calling them Diaoyu.

NHK rehired Sobata, whose resume includes stints leading its bureaus in Russia and the United States, under a new contract dated Sept. 17. The source said he was rehired due to his expertise as an experienced overseas journalist.

After the Chinese staffer made the remarks, NHK said it had terminated on Aug. 21 its contract with him. It has shifted to airing prerecorded news in Chinese.

NHK exec who resigned over Chinese staffer's remarks rehired

NHK exec who resigned over Chinese staffer's remarks rehired

NHK exec who resigned over Chinese staffer's remarks rehired

NHK exec who resigned over Chinese staffer's remarks rehired

NHK exec who resigned over Chinese staffer's remarks rehired