We call on the new chief to achieve radical reform.

Genichi Hashimoto, executive director-general of engineering at the Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK), has succeeded Katsuji Ebisawa, who tendered his resignation Tuesday as NHK president. Also stepping down were Vice President Tetsuo Kasai and Akiyoshi Sekine, executive director-general for broadcasting.

Six months after embezzlements of program production expenses by NHK employees came to light, Ebisawa is finally taking responsibility for the scandals. He is also leaving against the backdrop of renewed public censure for the broadcaster's dubious ties to politics.

The recent surge in the number of households refusing to pay NHK's mandatory subscription fees has created a financial crisis that must be dealt with urgently. This explains the swiftness with which the management committee appointed Ebisawa's successor the moment he resigns.

But the new executive represents promotion from within the organization. We have serious reservations about these moves.

Hashimoto's background is in engineering, which sets him apart from his predecessor who was a political reporter. Nor has Hashimoto had anything to do with the production arm that was involved in the embezzlement scandals. These were probably the reasons why he was named president.

Taeko Nagai, the new vice president, is a former life-and-culture newscaster. She is the first woman to rise to this post, which indicates NHK did try to revamp its image.

Still, it was under Ebisawa that Hashimoto became an executive director. Will he be able to wipe the slate clean, re-examine NHK's very nature, and implement radical reforms? It remains to be seen if he is truly capable of rejecting pressure from the political community and asserting strong leadership.

It is not rare for an NHK president to step down in midterm. Keiji Shima and Yoshizo Ikeda were both forced to resign in their first term because of controversies that arose over their statements before the Diet.

But Ebisawa's downfall was triggered by events for which he himself was partly responsible. Yet there were also problems inherent in NHK as an organization, such as its inability to prevent the embezzlement scams and the incompetence of officials in dealing with the problems.

Seen in this light, it is doubtful that just replacing the president will enable the broadcaster to overcome the present mess. Granted, Hashimoto is probably a ``safe'' choice, even though his entire career has been with NHK.

Still, should a system be set up to let Ebisawa continue to exert power by keeping his loyalists directly under Hashimoto, NHK would be unable to recover the public's trust, nor stem the tide of the subscription fee boycott. If this occurs, discontent among NHK employees would certainly rise.

The Asahi Shimbun has repeatedly asserted in its editorial that the new NHK president must be a true journalist before anything else.

Precisely because NHK's relations with the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party must always be clearly accounted for, the public broadcaster needs to remain absolutely committed to maintaining its independence as a news organization. We insist on this anew, especially given the ``program editing'' case that has come to light.

Sekine told a recent news conference that NHK was completely justified in briefing politicians on the yet-to-be-aired program, claiming this was nothing more than ``routine operational procedure.'' We call on NHK to abandon this custom.

The embezzlements indicate that the roots of NHK's problems run deep. To eliminate the ``soil'' that has nurtured corruption for years, Hashimoto and the new executive team will have to truly resist enormous pressure to succeed.

Will Hashimoto be able to spearhead NHK's radical overhaul? We are watching very closely.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 26(IHT/Asahi: January 27,2005)