Japan Press Weekly

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2016 June 22 - 28 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

What is ‘impartial reporting’?

This March, some well-known newscasters who had made frank comments on the Abe government stepped down from their news shows. This is supposedly attributed to government pressure.

Shortly before the December 2014 general election, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party sent a written “request” to major TV networks, urging them to report in a “fair and impartial manner”. At a Lower House Budget Committee meeting this February, Communication Minister Takaichi Sanae repeatedly said, “The government is ordering the suspension of broadcasting based on its own judgment about whether a news report is impartial.”

Kishii Shigetada, the former anchorman of the TBS program “News 23”, stepped down from his position in March. On February 29, he held a press conference together with other journalists in protest against the remarks made by Takaichi. He quoted some media workers as saying, “After the LDP made the request to our TV station, I was forced to delete some interviews recorded on the street,” and “We are voluntarily refraining from airing street demonstrations opposing the government-proposed national security legislation.”

Concerning such a highly contentious issue as the war legislation, it is only natural that the media points to problems pertaining to the government bill. Then, what is “impartial reporting”?

Kishii said at a symposium in May, “It is the general public who makes a judgment as to whether news coverage is fair and impartial.” Noting that those in power are capable of filtering information to suit their interests, he underscored the need for the media to report from the standpoint of the general public.

Musashi University Professor Nagata Kozo said at a rally in June, “Impartial reporting does not mean steering a middle course between opponents and proponents. The most important role of the media is to offer differing perspectives and opinions.” Nagata had served as chief producer of the 2001 NHK documentary regarding the wartime sexual violence committed by the Imperial Japanese military.

Before and during World War II, under government control, Japan’s media played an instrumental role in mobilizing the general public to support the war of aggression. At that time, the press was not allowed to report on objections to state policies or the voices of the socially disadvantaged.

Impartial reporting should mean collecting various views of people and presenting them.

Past related articles:
> News media should not tone down criticism of Abe gov’t: critic [January 24, 2016]
> TV anchors protest against minister’s remarks intimidating broadcasters [March 1, 2016]