Asahi Shimbun Publishing said on November 1 that it will halt shipments and sales of a book of conversations between Tokyo Shimbun reporter Isoko Mochizuki and the thinker Uchida Tetsuya, including the digital edition, and recall copies from bookstores.
The book, "Jōshiki naki sekai o ikinobiru tame ni" (To Survive a World Without Common Sense), an Asahi Shinsho title, was published on September 11. Several factual errors appear in passages quoting Mochizuki, all of them in remarks about Kawachū Daiji, who founded the newspaper Nihon Chūgakusei Shimbun.
Publisher apologizes
Asahi Shimbun Publishing had already posted the deleted and corrected passages on the book's page on its website, but had not explained how the errors occurred or what it planned to do. On October 30 it told J-CAST News it was still looking into the details.
In its November 1 announcement, the company said checks during the editing process had been insufficient. "We take seriously that Mr. Kawachū was hurt by the factual errors," it said, apologizing and pledging to investigate the cause and re-examine the entire contents of the book.
The publisher also apologized for the time it took to decide on the recall after the correction request, saying it was "truly sorry for the enormous trouble and distress caused to Mr. Kawachū and his family." It said it would deal with him in good faith.
Kawachū said in an X post on October 28 that he had contacted the publisher on October 17.