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Japanese newspaper apologises over Fukushima and sex slave errors
Asahi Shimbun to sack executive editor and punish staff over false stories about Tepco workers and wartime sex slave claims
Justin McCurry in Tokyo
theguardian.com, Friday 12 September 2014 14.51 BST
The Asahi's claims about fleeing Tepco workers were repeated by the international media. Other Japanese newspapers claimed their interpretation of Yoshida's leaked comments on the evacuation differed significantly from those of the Asahi.
The Asahi recently admitted that articles it ran in the 1980s and 90s on the diplomatically explosive subject of Japan's use of sex slaves before and during the second world war were also false.
The articles were based on the testimony of Seiji Yoshida, a former soldier who claimed he had witnessed women from the South Korean island of Jeju being abducted to work as sex slaves in military brothels.
Seiji Yoshida, who died in 2000, has been discredited by independent investigations by academics and other newspapers.
Despite issuing a retraction earlier this summer, the Asahi came under pressure to issue a public apology.
"I apologise to readers for publishing the erroneous articles and being too late in making the correction," Kimura said on Friday.
While Seiji Yoshida's false testimony does not in itself disprove the existence of tens of thousands of mainly Korean wartime sex slaves, the Asahi's errors have encouraged historical revisionists who insist the women were not forced to work in frontline brothelsA.
The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who has voiced doubts that the women were coerced, said erroneous reporting of the issue had "caused agony to many people and damaged Japan's international reputation".
Speaking on a radio programme, Abe added: "Generally speaking, media reports have significant influence inside and outside the country and sometimes dishonour our country."
