Apology to readers for WaiWai column

Some of the articles in the "WaiWai" column carried in the Mainichi Daily News, the English Web site of the Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd., were inappropriate and made many people uncomfortable. We regret having failed to sufficiently check the articles and apologize for our inadequacies.

WaiWai was meant to introduce aspects of Japanese society and social behavior by quoting magazines and other print media published in Japan. In late May, we received criticism saying the content was vulgar. The Mainichi Daily News Editorial Department deemed that some of the articles had inappropriate content and deleted those articles. We also blocked access to other articles in the archives, and asked operators of outside search engines not to display any of those stories.

We subsequently decided to subject the WaiWai column to a fundamental review, and shut it down on June 21. We posted an explanation about the development of the problem and an apology on the Mainichi Daily News Web site and on the Mainichi's Japanese Web site.

We are continuing an in-house investigation, and intend to take strict punitive measures against staff members involved and those who were responsible for their supervision.

The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd. takes their readers' opinions seriously, and is determined to put greater effort into editing and producing the Web site so that it can be trusted by readers.