Public broadcaster NHK announced Oct. 8 that a reporter in its news department's sports section warned a Japan Sumo Association official that the Metropolitan Police Department would conduct raids on sumo stables to search for evidence indicating that sumo wrestlers had gambled on professional baseball games.
The reporter's act violated journalistic ethics and may have led to the destruction of evidence. It may also provide investigative authorities with an excuse to restrict the flow of information to mass media, which would, in turn, negatively impact the people's right to know.
The reporter, who has been questioned by the MPD, sent a text message to stablemaster Tokitsukaze around midnight July 6 warning him that several places were likely to be searched the following day. He also asked the stablemaster not to disclose where he got the information. The reporter explained to NHK that he had obtained the information from a different mass media company, and that he wanted to cultivate a deeper relationship with the stablemaster as a news source.
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