Sayonara, At Last

NHK chief Ebisawa Katsuji (70) has finally bowed out. He announced his resignation at an executive meeting yesterday. He will be replaced as chairman by present managing director Hashimoto Genichi. Ebisawa has been under growing public pressure to take responsibility for a seemingly endless list of scandals and arrests at the national broadcaster. It's feared that the number of households that are refusing to pay their annual subscription fees may grow to almost half a million. • "Dare mo Shiranai" (Nobody Knows), the movie that garnered a Best Actor award at Cannes for young Yagira Yuya (photo, 14), has failed to get a nomination for the Academy Awards.

January 27, 2005 Japan Zone