Japan Press Weekly

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2025 March 19 - 25 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Radio should be remembered for its role in having mobilized general populace to fully support Japan’s war of aggression

Akahata editorial (excerpts)

March 22 marked 100 years since radio broadcasting began in Japan in 1925.

Before and during the war, under the censorship by the Imperial government’s Communications Ministry, Nippon Hoso Kyokai or Japan Broadcasting Corporation (currently NHK), as the only radio service provider in Japan, played a major role in mobilizing the public for war.

In 1931, after Japan started the war of aggression against China, with the aim of protecting sensitive military information, the Imperial government imposed a ban on military reports other than the Imperial military’s announcements. As a result, military announcements were directly aired on the radio and the number of radio programs for enhancing the national prestige increased.

In 1937, with the Shino-Japanese War expanded in earnest, the government approved a cabinet decision on implementation of guidelines for the General Mobilization of the National Spirit in order to drive the people to support the war of aggression. The guidelines indicated the “promotion of the use of radio”.

The Communications Ministry followed the method of the Nazis which made the best use of radio as a tool to mobilize the German public for the war. However, what made Japan’s case serious is that Nippon Hoso Kyokai itself actively cooperated with the government in promoting Japan’s war of aggression.

The media industry should not be allowed to forget its wartime cooperation during WWII.

The government, led by the late Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, pushed forward with the “war laws” to apply increasing pressure on the broadcast media. It changed the conventional interpretation of the Broadcasting Act to one allowing the government to judge “political fairness” of broadcasters through reviews of each program. Then Communications Minister Takaichi Sanae in the Diet hinted at the possibility of the termination of radio-wave transmission licenses of broadcasters based on the government’s new interpretation. This caused increasing criticism pointing out that the minister’s remark infringed on the freedom of expression in broadcasting and many well-known and established newscasters resigned in protest.

In order to prevent the government from embarking on a path toward war, the mass media including radio should cautiously recall its role as a propaganda tool for the Imperial government during the war and resist governmental interference in the content of media news coverage.