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Magazine links Nikkei president to affair with female staff member

Shukan Bunshun July 19
Shukan Bunshun July 19

A female employee of the Nikkei Shimbun seen coming and going in the lobby of the apartment building of the newspaper’s president has caught the eye of weekly tabloid Shukan Bunshun (July 19).

The magazine’s article insinuates that 65-year-old president Tsuneo Kita is having an extra-marital affair with the woman, a 50-year-old editor from the paper’s economics bureau.

Shukan Bunshun includes a photo of Kita leaving the apartment, located in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward, at around 10:00 a.m. on May 28. Approximately 10 minutes later, the woman, identified as Misa Inoue, emerges from the same entrance while wearing a white shirt and gray skirt.

The previous evening a photo shows her entering the lobby while wearing a black skirt, which is to say that she stayed the night. The editor then took a taxi to the headquarters of Nikkei Inc. in Otemachi, Chiyoda Ward.

The apartment building offers a 24-hour concierge and security as sales points, says a resident in the area. “Rents run around one million yen a month,” says the resident.”It’s truly a high-end residence.”

Kita lives with his wife in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, though he is known to spend much of his time at this ritzy apartment.

Shukan Bunshun ad (left) in Nikkei Shimbun (July 5 issue)
Shukan Bunshun ad (left) in Nikkei Shimbun (July 5 issue)

Inoue graduated from a New York university and is fluent in English. “She was a local hire for the Nikkei’s New York office in 1989,” says a Nikkei staff member. “At that time, Kita was the deputy director of the editorial department for the U.S. bureau and lived in New York. In 1992, she was made a full-time reporter position in Tokyo.”

The insider goes on to say that Inoue frequently arrives to work in a skirt and glasses. “She’s quite a looker,” continues the source. “She may be 50 years old, but she looks a lot younger.”

The magazine notes that Inoue lives in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward, and was also seen coming and going at Kita’s Shinjuku abode two days later and on June 3 and June 24.

Omitted ad (at right) from Nikkei Shimbun in July 11 issue
Omitted ad (at right) in Nikkei Shimbun (July 11 issue)

The Nikkei Shimbun printed a denial — calling the accusations “groundless” — in its pages on July 11, the day Shukan Bunshun’s article hit the stands. The paper admits Kita sometimes makes use of a room they have in nearby apartments. However, it said that on the day in question, Kita was with his wife.

The Shin Bunka News Agency issued a protest on July 17 as the Nikkei Shimbun had refused to accept advertisements from Shukan Bunshun for its July 19 issue. The JMPA is calling it a denial of free speech.

Evening tabloid Yukan Fuji (July 11) reports that the Nikkei Shimbun plans to sue Bungeisha, Shukan Bunshun’s publisher. A representative in the editorial department of Shukan Bunshun told Yukan Fuji that the magazine stands by its article. “We hold plenty confidence in our article,” the representative is quoted.

Source: “Nikkei Shimbun shacho to bijin desuku no tadanaranu kankei,” Shukan Bunshun (July 19)