Japan Press Weekly

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2017 June 14 - 20 [POLITICS]

Abe regime’s undue influence on press reported in UN Human Rights Council

A UN Special Rapporteur on June 12 at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council expressed concern about the undue influence on the press by the Abe government.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, provided an explanation about a report which he released late May to members of the Human Rights Council. Kaye called on the Abe government to take account of his report’s recommendations that media independence be protected.

Regarding Kaye’s statement, Japanese Ambassador to Geneva Ihara Jun’ichi said, “There were no cases in which the gov’t authorities put pressure on the press illegally or unreasonably.”

The UN-appointed independent expert visited Japan in April last year to investigate the situation in Japan regarding the freedom of opinion and expression. In his report, he warned of the Abe government’s undue pressure on media, and recommended that Japan amend the Broadcast Law and the State Secrets Protection Law.

Past related articles:
> Abe’s control over media receives criticism from UN expert on free speech [June 1, 2017]
> UN human rights expert shows concern over independence of the press in Japan [April 21, 2016]