U.N., reporters accuse Japan of muzzling media freedom
Concerns cloud day to mark press liberties
Tuesday marks World Press Freedom Day, but journalists in Japan said government pressure, weak institutional controls and a powerful state secrecy law have caused a worrisome loss in media freedom.
Three prominent journalists resigned in March amid concerns that pressure from government and conservative groups cause news organizations to avoid or soften reporting on controversial subjects, such as recent legislation easing constitutional restraints on Japan’s military.
The United Nations issued a blistering report last month after its independent expert spent a week in Japan interviewing journalists, educators and government officials. “The independence of the press is facing serious threats,” U.N. special rapporteur David Kaye said at a news conference April 19 in Tokyo.
“Across a range of areas, I learned of deep and genuine concern that trends are moving sharply and alarmingly in the wrong direction. This is especially acute in the context of media independence,” he said.
The following day, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders is- sued a report ranking Japan 72nd in press freedom of 180 countries surveyed. That’s down 11 places since last year, largely on concerns about a state secrets law passed in 2013 that the report said could restrict coverage of such diverse topics as the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
The USA ranked 41 in the report, up eight places from last year. The report concluded that a major obstacle to media freedom in the USA is “the government’s war on whistle-blowers who leak information about its surveillance activities, spying and foreign operations, especially those linked to counterterrorism.”
In Turkey, a U.S. ally in the war on terrorism, police used boltcutters to take over the country’s highest-circulation newspaper in a midnight raid in March. The country ranked 151st in the report, down two places.
“In Japan today, rather than the media watching the authorities, the government watches the media,” said Shuntaro Torigoe, a former newspaper reporter and television news anchor.
World Press Freedom Day is sponsored by UNESCO (U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) to highlight the importance of a free and independent media.