The big media-related news story on April 1 was the ongoing controversy over the documentary feature “Yasukuni,” screenings of which had been canceled by a number of movie theaters in Tokyo and Osaka out of fear of rightwing protests. That night, NHK's regular 7 p.m. news bulletin did not mention the film, but it did feature a report on the public broadcaster's reply to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications that it would “accept” the government's request for NHK to promote Japan's “national interests” in its overseas broadcasts.