In the US, a "softball question" is asked because it would be intentionally easy to answer. It's not an intellectual judgement, just a question formulated to be intentionally easy for that particular person to answer.
I'm looking for a word or phrase that can be more widely understood (outside the US) that preserves that same meaning. Preferably, it would fit nicely into the form: "The best political reporters no longer ask [softball] questions."
Best Answer
The best (and non idiomatic) thing that I could think of was "safe"