There’s a great post by Fumiko Halloran on the NBR mailing list concerning both the crisis at Asahi Shimbun, as well as the crisis at NHK.
What I am hoping is that increasing weblog usage in Japan will lead to Japanese bloggers fact-checking or more openly criticizing the government or NHK or the mass media, whom are often in collusion with the government. I don’t have high aspirations of this, because it is a cultural shift, and will take time if it happens at all, but I do think it is good to see these criticisms come to light and to have the spotlight on both Asahi and NHK, two organizations who are clearly failing the Japanese public.
So, basically read the paper in Japan with a lot of salt, ’cause the news is rarely worth the paper that it’s printed on.
Asahi publishers and senior editors have firmly believed (their remarks have been reported in magazines and journals that were critical of Asahi)that the role of a leading newspaper is to “lead and shape” public opinion and influence the direction of the country; a notable example was its push for Japan to normalize diplomatic relationship with China and the result was to paint favorable pictures of the communist regime. Reporters had to write copies that were politically correct reflecting the top management’s stand.
There is little sign that this media war is going to come to any conclusion in the near future. This is a rather remarkable development in a society that loathes open, upfront confrontation. There are many aspects of this incident that would be written up in magazines and journals including the issue of freedom of the press, for sure.
NBR’S JAPAN FORUM (POL) Political Pressure on NHK: NHK-Asahi
Here’s a Washington Post piece on the crisis at NHK.
The latest allegations of political interference concerned the tens of thousands of women taken into bondage during World War II, whose history was explored in one in a four-part series addressing the issue of international war crimes. The charges against NHK, which holds a place in Japan comparable to the BBC’s in Britain, have affected its reputation. Many critics are charging NHK with kowtowing to Japan’s conservative ruling party.
“This has revealed the politics of yes men that exists at NHK,” said Keiichi Katsura, professor of journalism at Taisho University in Tokyo. “It shows that NHK is beholden to LDP politicians rather than to its viewers,” he said, referring to the governing Liberal Democratic Party.
Even before Ebisawa’s resignation, public anger at the network was mounting, with more than 100,000 viewers withholding their subscription fees in protest. Ebisawa admitted Tuesday that the number of viewers who had stopped paying the fees was growing and could reach half a million by March. As a result, NHK is cutting executive salaries by as much as 15 percent.
That’s funny; I am withholding my TV fee payment too. But more to protest the idea that anyone should pay something like that.
well, that bit about “witholding their subscription fees” is a good example of beat reporters not really doing their job. the fact of the matter is is that like Donkeymon, a lot of folks don’t pay their NHK subscription fee (required by law although I think the law is vaguely written, and certainly not enforced) because they don’t want to pay it….more are doing so now because of the lush lifestyle NHK head Ebisawa was crafting for himself….in a way it’s more like a convenient (and good sounding) excuse, rather than a collective “protest”.
I myself don’t have a problem paying it (not withstanding my disappointment about Ebisawa and the censorship flap), what, it’s only 1200 yen/month or something like that (per TV, satellite service extra), and considering that about the only thing I religiously watch on TV is Sumo, which only NHK will broadcast (and very well at that), it’s more than worth it in my opinion. In the UK, paying for the BBC is required (and enforced), and is more expensive, though one could argue that quality wise, that’s comparing apples to oranges.
Well, I guess the main reason I don’t like to pay for the NHK is because I don’t really watch it. My Japanese isn’t good enough to watch news broadcasts yet, so I tend to get the news online, where I can wade through the vocabulary at my own, admittedly glacial pace. Sometimes I watch other channels, but none of those channels have guys coming around trying to get money from me. I guess I don’t think that I am getting any value out of NHK so I don’t want to pay it.
NHK is one of the biggest scams in a country known for them! I have never paid and never will, it`s nought to do with the `recent scandals`. What `recent` scandals?
NHK has been a con job for years. Just like all that key money and all those extra charges we pay in Japan for renting a house. Just like NTT land tel line fees that were supposed to fund the original infrastructure and then become like an asset for the owner.
Welcome to Scam Japan! NHK originally needed that money to get off the ground and then kept pocketing it. Typical Japanese shit for brains style, nobody questioned it until now. The key money etc were for when housing was short after World War 2. NTT charges were originally to build up the infrastructure.
No need for these charges now but what do the Japanese do? They bow their heads and let these parasites give it to them in the neck
Japan – land of the most gullible people on earth and some of the most corrupt institutions on earth!