November 13, 2001

To Whom It May Concern:

RE: TV filming in Yap State

During early August of this year, I got emails and telephone calls from two different TV stations in Japan. The two TV stations were asking me for the same information, i.e. how to go to Woleai and Satawal, how much would be the cost, where to stay while there and how to contact Mr. Mau Piailug from Satawal and Mr. Mairal from Woleai. Eventually, I had found that Mr. NAOKI ISHIKAWA was the person who had suggested these TV stations to film his learning Micronesian star navigation. Since their inquiry was very strange, I started my personal investigation on Mr. ISHIKAWA and his two or more filming plans.

NAOKI is 24 years old Japanese male who recently had published some books on his adventures of climbing 7 summits of the world. He has gotten quite popular in Japan with the assistance and heavy reliance on the media such as TV. Since last year he started announcing that he would come to Micronesia to learn star navigation because the young Micronesians are no longer interested in the traditional navigation. But I felt that his knowledge, experience and understanding on the matter being very limited and that his real purpose for coming to Micronesia could be just making up his stories, in the same way he had done in his past expeditions.

Contacting TV directors and producers and getting their sponsors with him would make him able to travel around and make himself popular, which eventually would generate his monetary income. Even if he and his TV directors would say that they will be helping the indigenous (local people) in many ways, I could not find any point nor benefit for the indigenous (local people).

With the finding and my feeling above, I was reluctant to help those TV groups and was trying to discourage them. However, I heard that all of them are on their way to Yap now.

This is why I decided to share the information that I could get about them with whomever concerned just to be prepared to protect our rights and dignity of our lives on our mother islands.

Yomiuri Shinbun (Website) : (Mr. Ishikawa’s secret business)

Nippon TV : (Mr. Ishikawa’s secret business)

Arriving: November 14, 2001, Wednesday from Guam

NAOKI ISHIKAWA, MR, Leading Actor of the film

HIROKI TOMOMATSU, MR, Director/Cameraman

Mr. Ishikawa announced in his website that he would bring a satellite telephone, a digital camera and a personal computer so that he will be able to perform “live broadcasting from Woleai” and to update his commercial website, both, which Mr. Ishikawa is doing secretly from TV Asahi. Yomiuri Shinbun/Nippon TV offered the satellite telephone to Mr. Ishikawa, according to his website. TV Asahi crew might be carrying a quite sum of cash to cover the unknown cost. They directly contacted PMA for flight reservation on November 14 for Woleai. They seem to have no local coordinator.

TV Asahi News Station is one of the most popular TV news show and is said to be able to have more than $100000.00 budget for making only 20-min. story. Mr. Ishikawa’s guarantee is estimated around $10000.00 for this job.

Arriving: December 19, 2001

NAOKI ISHIKAWA, MR, Leading Actor of the film

NAOYUKI HISAMATSU, MR, Director

And some more crew members

TBS BS is making this film as one of the opening BS memorial programs. This will be a two hours talk show featuring NAOKI ISHIKAWA learning Micronesian star navigation and 30-min. film in Woleai & Satawal.

Mr. Shaku already contacted the council of Tamol, PMA and YFA for their arrangement (because I was reluctant to help them, they contacted Mr. Shaku). They plan to fly to Woleai on December 19^th right after their arrival in Yap. After filming in Woleai for a couple of days, some are planning to go to Satawal by YFA boat.

1. The people and culture of Yap is NOT the leading part of the film.

2. None of the indigenous (local people) is involved in the filmmaking. This means that the film making process is OUT of control of the people of Yap.

3. None of the filming crewmember has tried to establish a good and respectful relationship with the indigenous.

4. None of the filming crewmember has the academic training of ethnology, anthropology, history and philosophy, i.e. study of humans.

Thank you for your consideration.

Su Mitsue Yasui

Nature’s Way