Press Releases

Meeting between Mr. Okano, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, and Mr. Mizutani, President of Kyodo News (Overview)

November 26, 2024
Japanese

On November 26, Mr. OKANO Masataka, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, met with Mr. MIZUTANI Toru, President of Kyodo News, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Okano asked for explanation of the facts concerning the article that Kyodo News had published in the evening of November 25, in which it corrected its past report that Ms. IKUINA Akiko, current Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, had visited Yasukuni Shrine in August 2022, saying that the report was incorrect.

  1. President Mizutani gave the following explanation.
    (1)　We regret that the said report caused confusion among many people involved in the "Sado Island Gold Mines" memorial ceremony and affected Japan-Korea relations, and we came to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for an explanation.
    (2)　We would like to apologize to Ms. Ikuina, Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, on behalf of Kyodo News, for issuing the erroneous report, and also apologize to the local people and many other people involved in Japan-Korea relations who were confused by the erroneous report.
    (3)　We take this matter very seriously, and will continue to examine why this happened, and explain both internally and externally our measures to prevent a recurrence.
  2. Vice Minister Okano made the following remarks.
    I note that, today, President Mizutani has explained the background factors that led to the erroneous report and has made an apology. On the other hand, we are aware that the baseless report caused confusion regarding the “Sado Island Gold Mines” memorial ceremony, and this is extremely regrettable. We strongly urge Kyodo News to take thorough measures to prevent a recurrence.
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