Japan Press Weekly

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2019 September 4 - 10 TOP3 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Magazine fanning anti-Korea sentiment provokes fierce backlash

The Japanese weekly magazine "Weekly Post" on September 2 featured an article which fans animosities against South Korea titled, "Goodbye to an annoying neighbor, we don't need South Korea", provoking sharp criticism.

Authors who published books with the magazine's publisher "Shogakukan" denounced with uniformity the article as "discriminatory agitation". Some writers even expressed their intent to terminate having their serial novels published in the magazine.

The controversial 10-page article is extremely emotional with its use of "hate speech" to fuel ethnic discrimination. It claims that Korean people cannot control their anger due to a peculiar "pathology" and that one out of every ten people is in need of psychological treatment.

The Japan Federation of Newspaper Workers' Unions (Shimbun Roren) on September 6 issued a statement signed its chairman Minami Akira demanding that the media break away from news reports and programs stirring up anti-Korean sentiment among Japanese people.

The statement singles out mainstream newspapers for their lack of responsibility as they all carried an ad of the magazine in question.

The statement points out that the complex historical background involving Japan's past actions is behind the ongoing conflict between Japan and South Korea.

The statement reflects on ethical irresponsibility by the Japanese press before and during the war. It says, "What held sway in prewar Japan were 'national interests' and 'nationalism' and telling the truth was stifled. We must not repeat the same mistakes which led to tragic consequences. We must remember that the press itself worked to incite nationalism and war fervor."

The statement stresses that exclusionist discourse and narrow-minded nationalism will certainly deprive our society of enormous potentialities and that journalistic organizations should assume responsibility to stop such a situation from happening."

The statement emphasizes that the Shimbun Roren will resist media peer pressure and will fully support colleagues who are struggling to report news ethically and responsibly.