"I don't watch much TV on my own," writes university lecturer Atsushi Iwata in WiLL magazine (November), "but sometimes I watch together with my wife. I don't particularly care about what she watches, but there are times when I ask her to change the channel — particularly when it's a program with Akira Ikegami providing commentary."
Appearing in a collection of articles labeled "Media suicide," which also attacked the liberal Asahi Shimbun as "An enemy of the people," Iwata's piece in WiLL was titled "What is it about Ikegami that's impartial, fair and neutral?"
That's quite an accusation considering that the 68-year-old Ikegami is one of the most familiar faces on TV.