潘基文參加広島市紀念

Recently the Asahi News reported the following:

広島市で６日朝にあった平和記念式で、ＮＨＫが国連事務総長として初めて参列した潘基文（パン・ギムン）氏のあいさつ前に中継番組を終えたことについて、視聴者から正午までに「最後まで中継してほしかった」「事務総長のメッセージが生で聞きたかった」など約１００件の苦情メールや電話が同局に寄せられた。
　ＮＨＫによると、広島、岡山、島根、山口の４県を除く全国で、式典は午前８時から菅直人首相のあいさつが終わった同３８分まで中継された。その後、連続テレビ小説「ゲゲゲの女房」を放送した。同局は「例年のことでもあり、全体の番組編成の中で全国放送の中継は菅首相のあいさつまで、と判断した。潘事務総長などのメッセージは、午前１０時や正午などその後のニュースで伝えた」と話している。 一方、広島など中国地方の４県では式典が終わる同８時５８分まで生中継。潘事務総長のあいさつも放送されたが、これについても同局は「地元だということで例年通り手厚く中継した」という。

In Hiroshima City in the morning on the 6th, at the peace memorial ceremony which UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attended for the first time, before he made the greeting NHK ended this relayed program, thus received from listeners and viewers up to noon about 100 complain mails and telephones, such as "I wanted you to relay the ceremony to the last minute" and "I wanted to hear Director General's message in live broadcast", all were directed at this bureau.

According to NHK, the ceremony was relayed to the whole country except for the four prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, and Yamaguchi starting from 8.00 am for 38 minutes when Prime Minister Naoto Kan's greeting was ended. Afterwards, the television drama series "Wife of GeGeGe" was broadcast. This bureau said that ｢It was same as before, it was judged that the relay of the entire program for nationwide broadcast should be ended at Prime Minister's greeting. The message of Secretary-General Ben etc. was passed on in the news after 10:00AM and noon etc｣. On the other hand, in four prefectures in the Chugoku region such as Hiroshima the ceremony was relayed live until the ceremony ended at 8:58. The message of Secretary-General's greeting was also broadcast, on this the bureau said, "it was the local that as usual cordially relayed it".

This is the first time for the UN Secretary-General to participate in such an event.