ＮＨＫ会長人事 公共放送の使命果たす適材を

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 13, 2011)
Moves by NHK execs project a poor image
ＮＨＫ会長人事　公共放送の使命果たす適材を（1月12日付・読売社説）

NHK's failure to select a new president despite the imminent expiration of the incumbent's term of office must be regarded as a disgrace.
The state of affairs is significant in that NHK has a grave responsibility to fulfill as a public broadcaster.
　重責を担う公共放送の新トップを、現職の任期切れ直前まで決められないとは、あまりにお粗末ではないか。

NHK is experiencing confusion over whom it should name as the successor to Shigeo Fukuchi, whose term will expire on Jan. 24. NHK's efforts to choose its new president were brought back to square one when former Keio University President Yuichiro Anzai on Tuesday announced his decision not to assume the position even though he had informally agreed to accept it.
　ＮＨＫの福地茂雄会長の後任選びが今月２４日の任期満了を控え、混迷している。就任要請を内諾した慶応義塾前塾長の安西祐一郎氏が就任を拒否し、会長人事は白紙に戻った。

It is feared that the current turmoil, if protracted, will adversely affect not only NHK's operations but this nation's broadcasting industry as a whole.
　混乱が続けば、ＮＨＫの業務のみならず、放送界全体に与える影響も懸念される。

NHK's Board of Governors--the noncommercial broadcaster's top decision-making body, whose authority includes the power to appoint the president--should swiftly select a suitable person for the position.
任命権を持つＮＨＫ経営委員会は、早急に人選を進めねばならない。

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A bungled nomination

In December, the board selected Anzai from among four candidates to be the new NHK president, and he accepted the offer.
　経営委員会は昨年末、４人の候補者から安西氏を選び、安西氏もこれを受け入れた。

Several days later, however, circumstances took a turn when speculation arose that Anzai had told NHK his acceptance of the offer would require certain conditions--financial or otherwise--to be met. This caused the board to reverse its tentative decision to name Anzai president, and instead, it asked him to decline the offer.
　ところが、その後、安西氏が処遇面で条件を付けたとされる臆測が広がり、経営委員会は一転、安西氏に辞退するよう求めた。

At a press conference Tuesday, Anzai said he had never demanded NHK fulfill any "conditions," brushing aside speculation to that effect. He emphasized he had only asked the broadcaster to explain what kind of "environment" would be accorded to him if he took on the role of NHK president.
　安西氏は１１日の記者会見で「仕事の環境の説明を求めただけ」と説明し、指摘された「条件」の存在を否定した。

We feel the heart of the matter may be the issue of how board Chairman Shigehiro Komaru worked toward the selection of a new NHK chief--rather than whether Anzai had demanded that "conditions" be met.
There is reason to believe that Komaru proceeded on his own with the selection of a new president, but following a proposal--believed to have been put together at the initiative of the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry--for Anzai's appointment as chief of the broadcaster.
　問題は、その「条件」以前に、経営委員会の小丸成洋委員長が総務省主導とされる安西氏起用案に沿って、独自に人事を進めた点にあったのではないか。

From early on, Fukuchi had avowed he would quit the NHK presidency after serving his initial three-year term of office. However, it was not until November that the board really began looking for a successor.
　福地氏は早くから１期３年での退任を公言していた。しかし、経営委員会が後任選びを本格化させたのは昨年１１月以降だ。

Komaru repeatedly asked Anzai to head NHK without forming a consensus among members of the board about who would best suit the position. It also came to light that Komaru had no previous acquaintance with Anzai before approaching him with the offer. All these factors combined to bitterly offend some members of the decision-making panel.
　小丸委員長は、委員会の総意を得ないまま、安西氏に会長就任を繰り返し要請した。その要請以前には安西氏と面識がないことも発覚した。こうしたことが重なり、一部の委員が強く反発した。

This was apparently an important reason behind the panel's request for Anzai to decline the offer. Komaru will inevitably be brought to task for causing such confusion.
　それが、辞退要請の一因でもある。小丸氏の責任が問われるのは避けられないだろう。

Now that circumstances have reached this point, the board has no choice but to select a new NHK president from a much wider pool of talented people--a move that could even result, for instance, in the promotion of someone from within the broadcaster to the position.
　こうなった以上、会長候補として、内部昇格も含め幅広く人材を求めるしかあるまい。

However, it will be no easy task to invite a figure from outside NHK to become chief of the noncommercial broadcaster.
ただし、外部からの招聘(しょうへい)は容易ではない。

For any influential business leader, the NHK president's annual salary of about 32 million yen would hardly seem satisfactory.
The president often must bear the brunt of scathing criticism during Diet sessions or press conferences.
　例えば、有力財界人にすれば約３２００万円の年収は十分とは言えず、国会答弁や記者会見で、鋭い批判の矢面に立たされることも少なくない。

The NHK president is also required to display the ability to steer a gigantic organization with about 10,000 personnel.
　１万人もの職員を抱える大組織を、うまくかじ取りする経営的な手腕も求められる。

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Not an easy job

Today, NHK faces a host of challenges, including a forthcoming complete transition from analog to digital broadcasting. They also include a proposed plan to implement a reduction in TV subscription fees--what the broadcaster has described as an attempt to "pass 10 percent of its revenue" from such fees on to viewers--as well as a plan to simultaneously distribute TV programs both over the airwaves and via the Internet.
　地上デジタル放送への完全移行や受信料の視聴者への１０％還元、番組のインターネット同時配信など、ＮＨＫが現在直面するのは難事業ばかりだ。

Given this, the NHK presidency is a job that can only be entrusted to someone who has a steadfast determination to fulfill his or her duties and display leadership in trying to accomplish that goal.
　会長職は相当な覚悟と指導力がなければ務まらない。

It is imperative that NHK pick a figure who fully understands what responsibilities the public broadcaster bears and what kind of organization it should become in the future, given that this nation's TV broadcasting services are provided by both NHK and commercial broadcasters.
　民放との二元体制の中で、公共放送が果たすべき使命や将来像を深く理解した人物を起用することが、何より重要である。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 12, 2011)
（2011年1月12日01時25分 読売新聞）