Another interesting tidbit about TV: the yakuzacontrolled production companies are the ones most responsible for the payto-play you see on Oosama no Buranchi etc. Networks are outsourcing most of their content anyway. Dentsu invents whole TV shows to match their clients’ favor.

Scott: Hm, well I think the whole point of them being journalistic ethics is that they aren’t necessarily legally enforced but act more like moral standards. According to Wikipedia, the media create their own standards of advertising, though some types of ads (political campaigns, medical products) are regulated by the government.

I’d say to complain you could either call the Yomiuri itself or the NSK. If you’re stern enough you might get an apology out of the Yomiuri.