[houkoholic]

Sorry but things goes both ways - while Japan is indeed a very closed off country in many ways, it's not like Korean is completely innocent either and some Korean stars have made some statements which could be considered anti-Japanese before, especially concerning the current territorial disputes and WW2 history like comfort women etc. As the tension in the region escalates very quickly I think it is actually understandable that NHK wants to play safe (in a very typical Japanese way) and not try to touch or defuse a potential minefield of inviting Korean artists just to risk getting some nationalistic right wingers (which has huge political influence in Japan) on their back. Also as NHK is partially state-sponsored, you can also understand the political implication of having some Koreans on the show too. Really I would say it's not so much about the Jpop industry being scared of the Kpop industry but rather that some real politics is involved.