AJW by Asahi Shimbun : 11 April 2016
Sensitive to media coverage of its policies, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is monitoring foreign reporting on Japan and rebuking some journalists in a section on its online site.
The move comes despite frequent criticism over remarks by ruling party politicians about keeping the media in line. LDP Upper House member Ichita Yamamoto, who serves as Internet strategy adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in his capacity as LDP president, defended his actions as the section's emcee. "It is normal to respond in a civil manner to those individuals who say incorrect things about Japan, and it by no means represents pressure," Yamamoto told The Asahi Shimbun. "There are no journalists who will stop writing because they feel cowed."
However, others, such as Martin Fackler, the former Tokyo bureau chief for The New York Times, have a different view. "While debate is important, a stance that considers opinions different from one's own as wrong is not an appropriate way to conduct debate," he said.
Yamamoto's section on the LDP site responds through social networking services such as Twitter to foreign reporting on Japan. It began on Feb. 17. Yamamoto not only takes up responses sent in by foreign journalists, but he has also reported on what he has written through his personal SNS accounts to the Twitter and Facebook accounts of foreign journalists. He has, so far, written about 18 articles that have appeared in Western newspapers and magazines. He touched upon, for example, an Internet article published by The Wall Street Journal, dated Feb. 10, which was titled "How Japan's 'Abenomics' Reached an Impasse."
Yamamoto directed remarks to the writer saying he disagreed with the article because it was still too early to make an appraisal about the Abenomics package of economic measures. According to Yamamoto, about 30 foreign journalists who have a large number of followers on their SNS accounts were selected, and their articles written in English, German and French are being monitored. If any writer responds to the comments sent by Yamamoto, those remarks are taken up on Yamamoto's Internet program. Yamamoto said he also informs Abe about such remarks.
The LDP has also asked TV networks based in Tokyo to conduct fair reporting of elections. One LDP lawmaker said at a party study session that the mass media "had to be taught a lesson."
Communications minister Sanae Takaichi, a close ally of Abe, stirred up a hornet's nest recently when she threatened to shut down broadcasters over "biased" political programming.
Yasuhiko Tajima, professor of media law at Sophia University, is a critic of the pressure being applied on the media.
"Politicians and others in authority should hold the position of accepting why counter-arguments emerge. It is putting the cart before the horse for those in authority to keep an eye on the media that must keep an eye on those in authority." Meanwhile, Iwao Osaka, a lecturer on political communications at Komazawa University, referred to the Japanese system of "kisha" press clubs in which member reporters from media outlets cover certain beats attached to government agencies and political parties.
"Debate in the open is not necessarily a bad thing, and I do not think those in foreign media organizations that are not part of the kisha clubs in Japan will feel any sort of pressure," Osaka said.
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201604110035.html
Sensitive to media coverage of its policies, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is monitoring foreign reporting on Japan and rebuking some journalists in a section on its online site.
The move comes despite frequent criticism over remarks by ruling party politicians about keeping the media in line. LDP Upper House member Ichita Yamamoto, who serves as Internet strategy adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in his capacity as LDP president, defended his actions as the section's emcee. "It is normal to respond in a civil manner to those individuals who say incorrect things about Japan, and it by no means represents pressure," Yamamoto told The Asahi Shimbun. "There are no journalists who will stop writing because they feel cowed."
However, others, such as Martin Fackler, the former Tokyo bureau chief for The New York Times, have a different view. "While debate is important, a stance that considers opinions different from one's own as wrong is not an appropriate way to conduct debate," he said.
Yamamoto's section on the LDP site responds through social networking services such as Twitter to foreign reporting on Japan. It began on Feb. 17. Yamamoto not only takes up responses sent in by foreign journalists, but he has also reported on what he has written through his personal SNS accounts to the Twitter and Facebook accounts of foreign journalists. He has, so far, written about 18 articles that have appeared in Western newspapers and magazines. He touched upon, for example, an Internet article published by The Wall Street Journal, dated Feb. 10, which was titled "How Japan's 'Abenomics' Reached an Impasse."
Yamamoto directed remarks to the writer saying he disagreed with the article because it was still too early to make an appraisal about the Abenomics package of economic measures. According to Yamamoto, about 30 foreign journalists who have a large number of followers on their SNS accounts were selected, and their articles written in English, German and French are being monitored. If any writer responds to the comments sent by Yamamoto, those remarks are taken up on Yamamoto's Internet program. Yamamoto said he also informs Abe about such remarks.
The LDP has also asked TV networks based in Tokyo to conduct fair reporting of elections. One LDP lawmaker said at a party study session that the mass media "had to be taught a lesson."
Communications minister Sanae Takaichi, a close ally of Abe, stirred up a hornet's nest recently when she threatened to shut down broadcasters over "biased" political programming.
Yasuhiko Tajima, professor of media law at Sophia University, is a critic of the pressure being applied on the media.
"Politicians and others in authority should hold the position of accepting why counter-arguments emerge. It is putting the cart before the horse for those in authority to keep an eye on the media that must keep an eye on those in authority." Meanwhile, Iwao Osaka, a lecturer on political communications at Komazawa University, referred to the Japanese system of "kisha" press clubs in which member reporters from media outlets cover certain beats attached to government agencies and political parties.
"Debate in the open is not necessarily a bad thing, and I do not think those in foreign media organizations that are not part of the kisha clubs in Japan will feel any sort of pressure," Osaka said.
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201604110035.html
No comments:
Post a Comment