On Tokyo's Asahi, which likes to call itself the New York Times of Japan, 30-year-old Hiroshi Nagaoka was only a police reporter in the bureau at Kobe. But like all reporters everywhere, Nagaoka dreamed of the great beat that would make his name & fame.
One night last week, Nagaoka rushed into the bureau chief's office with exciting news. Ritsu Ito, one of the nine Japanese Communist leaders whom the police have sought for three months, was in hiding near Kobe, reported Nagaoka, and an intermediary had arranged for him to interview Ito. At 1 a.m. Nagaoka left the Asahi bureau by...