Yes, the Yasuhara who wrote the favorable review is the same man who had crticized Murakami and (is believed to have) sold the manuscripts. Is it hard to believe? Yasuhara was such an elusive man that some people loved him(Murakami used to be one of them), while others hated him.
Perhaps the man who was most severely criticized by Yasuhara was none other than the Nobel Prize winner Oe Kenzaburo, who is rumored to have tried to force Chuo Koronsha to fire him. Those of you who are interested in him and can read Japanese are advised to read his biography(!) "Yasuken no Umi" written by Muramatsu Tomomi.