04.29.04
Opinion: Asian Values Reflected in Japanese Media During Hostage Crisis

From The Japan Times: The key to understanding why Japanese hostages in Iraq received criticism instead of sympathy is in the "Asian values" of the media, observes columnist Tom Plate. While American media admire individualism and applaud "heroic" journalists who get a story in spite of danger, Japanese media outlets are more group-oriented with a hierarchical value system that defers to a central authority. In the hostage crisis, that authority was the government, which warned against going to Iraq. The people who became hostages in a sense disobeyed by going to Iraq anyway. Plate pointed out that the media "downplayed" the hostage crisis, leading to the people's lack of sympathy.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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04.29.04
Japan Leads Asian Nations in Press Freedoms

From The Korea Times: Japan ranks highest among Asian countries in the degree of freedom enjoyed by the press, according to an annual survey released by Freedom House. The U.S.-based human rights organization also ranked North Korea last in the world. Japan has an overall ranking of 33. European countries took the top seven spots, with Denmark, Iceland and Sweden tied for first place in the survey, which has used data from a variety of sources to track trends in world press freedom since 1980.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Eric Ulken
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04.28.04
Koizumi's On-Camera Image Varies From the Image Reporters See

From The Asahi Shimbun: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi presents a different face to the Japanese public than to Japanese journalists, writes an Asahi Shimbun political reporter. On camera, Koizumi speaks articulately and openly, giving each question at least a cursory response. During off-camera news briefings, however, "he resorts to mumbling non sequiturs or simply brushes off reporters' questions." According to The Asahi Shimbun, Koizumi explained last year, "I am disgusted with recent news reports. They are worse than a window-dressing of news. There are many reports that are not true. I wonder why publishing and newspaper companies are able to write such lies."
 -- By Japan Media Review Contributing Writer Sunny Yu
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04.27.04
Former Hostages Rail Against Media

From Reuters: Two Japanese civilians who were taken hostage earlier this month in Iraq have lashed out at the Japanese media for their harsh coverage of the ordeal. Nobutaka Watanabe, 36, and Jumpei Yasuda, 30, said the media had parroted the government's assertion that the hostages were largely to blame for the crisis. "There is a tendency in Japan's media and all of Japanese society to go along with the government," Watanabe said in a press conference. Watanabe and Yasuda, a freelance photographer, were among several Japanese citizens taken hostage in early April by Iraqi militants seeking Japan's withdrawal of troops from the country. The first three Japanese hostages to be released have apologized for their actions.  Mainstream media were openly critical of the hostages, with one tabloid suggesting that the kidnapping had been staged in an effort to force the government to recall its troops.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Eric Ulken
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04.22.04
Sony Launches E-Book With Paper-Like Screen

From The New York Times: A new kind of computer screen with many of the benefits of paper, developed by the U.S. company E Ink, will be used for the first time next month in Japan. The screen of Sony's e-book, Librié, is said to look almost exactly like paper, and, unlike conventional displays, does not fade under bright light. The Librié will sell for about $380, and users will be able to rent e-books from Sony's Web site. Once it determines how well the Librié sells in Japan, Sony says it will decide whether to offer the device abroad. (See also Week in Review 01.08.04)
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Eric Ulken
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04.21.04
Hostages Blamed for Their Own Abduction

From The Japan Times: Even before the five Japanese hostages in Iraq were freed, they became targets of criticism by the public, the government and the media. The victims and their families are accused of causing problems for Japan and its troops, and blamed for the kidnapping. The criticism led to a barrage of articles in popular weekly magazines. Kiyoshi Hayakawa, chief editor of the weekly Shukan Shincho, justified the negative articles by saying the hostages were "more than just victims, because they made the controversial decision to enter Iraq despite being aware of the dangers." Media critic and Doshisha University professor Kenichi Asano has said it is not unusual for the media to dwell on the faults of crime victims. A recent edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun accused freelance journalists remaining in Iraq after most major media companies pulled out of seeking fortune and fame. One freelance journalist attacked the mainstream media for "abandoning reporting in Iraq."
 -- By Japan Media Review Contributing Writer Sunny Yu
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04.21.04
Yahoo Japan Ad Success May Mean Online Advertising Recovering

From the Financial Times: Yahoo Japan said surging online advertising sales helped double its first-quarter profit to $228 million. A 64 percent year-on-year rise in ad revenues for the portal, Japan's largest, points to a broader recovery in the country's online advertising market. The company's broadband offering, Yahoo BB, is also recovering following revelations that employees trying to blackmail the company (see also Week in Review 03.02.04) had released subscribers' personal information. Yahoo Japan's results come two weeks after parent company Yahoo, which holds a 33.5 percent stake in Yahoo Japan, also posted unexpectedly strong revenues.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Eric Ulken
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04.21.04
Shrinking Demand Will Reduce Cell Phone Sales

Via Forbes.com: Cell phone sales reached record highs last year as Japanese consumers rushed to replace old phones with more high-tech versions boasting built-in cameras and high-speed Internet connections, Reuters reports. Hideaki Yokota, a researcher at Multimedia Research Institute, an industry research company, explains that cell phone sales are likely to decrease this year because there are fewer new subscribers. Yokota points out that the expected decrease reflects both the decline in consumer demand and an anticipated reduction in subsidies by cell phone operators.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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04.20.04
Freed Hostages Will Postpone Press Conference

From Mainichi Daily News: The three Japanese hostages recently released from Iraq have decided to hold a press conference after they have had time to recuperate from the trauma of the abduction. They have complained of physical and mental exhaustion since their return from Jordan to Japan on Sunday. Freelance journalists Soichiro Koriyama and Noriaki Imai and volunteer worker Nahoko Takato were examined by doctors and found extremely fatigued and stressed. However, they do plan on sharing their ordeal with the media and the public after their recovery.
 -- By Japan Media Review Contributing Writer Sunny Yu
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04.19.04
Cell Phones That Double as ATM Cards

From ITmedia: NTT Communications has launched its "Mobile Payment Service," through which cell phone users will be able to withdraw money from ATM machines with their phones, the company said. Users' cell phones will transmit cash-card information through an infrared ray directly to ATM machines. Users will input the transaction amount into their phones before typing in their ATM pin numbers. NTT Communications calls the system "Keitai Cash Card," and it will introduce the service at 12 locations of Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank, with plans to expand to other banks nationally. Compatible cell phones will initially be limited to NTT phones, but other cell phone companies also plan to launch this service because many financial institutions have expressed interest.
 -- By Japan Media Review Contributing Writer Toru Takahashi
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04.18.04
Opinion: Did Japanese Media and Al-Jazeera Contribute to Hostages' Release?

From The Japan Times: During the recent hostage crisis in Iraq, the Japanese government's tight control over information forced Japanese journalists to rely on updates from the Arab news channel Al-Jazeera. Together, they created a dialogue that may have inadvertently helped solve the hostage crisis, writes Japan Times reporter Philip Brasor in his Media Mix column. Al-Jazeera and the Japanese media took the government out of the equation by talking almost exclusively to each other and public citizens. This allowed the kidnappers to weigh Japanese citizens' reaction to the crisis. Media reports that the militants blamed unkind words from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi for delaying the hostages' release caused a reaction among Japanese citizens that "seems to have had something to do with the hostages' eventual release." The question Brasor considers is whether the Japanese and Arab media were a "valuable tool," or a weapon used by the militants.
 -- By Japan Media Review Contributing Writer Chevonne Ching
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04.18.04
Hostage Crisis Coverage Gains High Ratings

From Mainichi Daily News: Public broadcaster NHK's regular news programs received unusually high ratings during coverage about the Japanese hostages in Iraq, according to Video Research Ltd. Ratings for NHK's late-night news program were more than double its average rankings from the previous month. Ratings peaked when NHK showed Al-Jazeera footage of one of the hostages bursting into tears after being released. Private broadcasters also received high ratings for special news programs about the hostage crisis. According to Sports Nippon Newspaper, over 50 million people watched TBS, Fuji TV and NHK as the hostages were freed. NHK got more than 400 phone calls from its audience saying that they were happy for the hostages. Insiders from the private broadcasters, however, say that some callers criticized the motives of three hostages in Iraq.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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April 2004
Yomiuri Shimbun Expands Partnerships With British Papers

From Pressnet's monthly newsletter: Yomiuri Shimbun has started a partnership with the British paper The Times to expand its global network, according to The Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association. The Times, with a circulation of 600,000, agreed to provide Yomiuri with various articles and editorials. Yomiuri will translate articles from the Times and Yomiuri's English paper, The Daily Yomiuri, will use direct reprints. A Times' partnership with The Asahi Shimbun was terminated in March. While Yomiuri will continue a similar alliance with another British paper, The Guardian, Yomiuri will end a partnership with the Independent at the end of May. A Yomiuri spokesman explained, "As our partner, the Times, known for its healthy conservatism, is more suitable for us than the left-leaning Independent."
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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04.15.04
NTT Pushes Down Cost of Broadband Phone Calls

From Knight Ridder via The Miami Herald: NTT Corp. has announced a service that will allow Japanese subscribers of competing Internet providers to call each other using IP telephony. The service, to be launched in May, will work over ADSL, cable-modem and fiber-optic broadband connections. Users who pay a $4.84 monthly subscription fee will be able to call, with no per-minute charges, users of any of the 100 or so service providers with whom NTT has agreements. Additionally, subscribers will be able use this technology to initiate video chats.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Eric Ulken
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04.15.04
Hostages Released in Baghdad

From Mainichi Daily News: An Iraqi militant group has released the three Japanese civilians taken captive last week, including two journalists, according to Japanese officials. The hostages were reported to be in good condition following their release at a Baghdad mosque. The militant group, Saraya Al-Mujahideen, had threatened to burn the hostages alive unless Japan recalled its Self-Defense Forces from Iraq. Officials said the trio will leave Iraq on April 16. Meanwhile, news reports said two more Japanese civilians have been abducted in Iraq (see item below).
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Eric Ulken
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04.14.04
Report: Another Japanese Journalist Captured

Via Bloomberg: In addition to three Japanese hostages taken in Iraq a week ago -- who were released on April 15 -- two more Japanese citizens were abducted in Abu Gharib, west of Baghdad, Agence France-Presse reports. One of the two civilians is identified as Junpei Yasuda, a freelance journalist. According to a member of Japan's House of Representatives, they were headed by taxi to the site of a helicopter crash. The present kidnappers have not been identified.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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04.14.04
Japanese Media's Selective Coverage of Hostage Crisis Criticized

From Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Japanese media coverage of the Iraqi hostage situation is "selective," reports Mark Colvin, host of Australia's Radio National. No major Japanese TV station has shown footage of the three hostages with knives at their throats, instead showing the hostages talking with the kidnappers. Broadcasters explained that the footage is "too distressing" and might "upset the hostages' families." But the families have demanded that the media show the images: At a recent press conference, also covered by The Asahi Shimbun, the father of one abductee showed a photo of the hostage scene, shouting "Why isn't this picture being put on television? I want them to show my son is in a terrible situation!" Colvin reported that because few Japanese have seen the more shocking footage, some believe the hostage crisis is a conspiracy to remove the Self-Defense Forces from Iraq. The hostages' families, who have begged the government to take the troops away, now receive hostile phone calls.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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04.14.04
Journalists in Iraq Urged to Leave

From AP via NOLA.com: In light of the hostage situations, Japan's foreign ministry has "strongly advised" all Japanese journalists in Iraq to leave the country due to concerns that kidnappers may be targeting the media. Some 70 Japanese civilians are currently in Iraq, and most of them are journalists and aid workers. Since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, the government has issued warnings to its citizens about the dangers of traveling there. The latest call is an amplified version of a warning issued in January. (See also Week in Review 01.28.04.)
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
(Link expired)

04.09.04
Japanese Journalists Kidnapped in Iraq

From the Financial Times: Three Japanese citizens -- two journalists and an aid worker -- were taken hostage in Iraq by a militant group seeking Japanese troops' withdrawal from the country. The pan-Arab news channel Al Jazeera broadcast a videotape released by the group and reported that the kidnappers have threatened to burn the hostages alive within three days if Japan's Self-Defense Forces fail to leave Iraq. Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi demanded the release of the hostages and the chief cabinet secretary said the government saw no reason to give in and remove troops. In a related report by Kyodo News, the hostages are Soichiro Koriyama, 32, a freelance photojournalist from Tokyo working for the Weekly Asahi; Nahoko Takato, 34, an aid worker from Hokkaido, and Noriaki Imai, 18, a freelance writer from Sapporo. (Imai was interviewed by Japan Media Review last September.) Al Jazeera said the three appeared to have been captured Tuesday or Wednesday.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Eric Ulken
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(Kyodo News story link broken)

04.08.04
New Cell Phone Can Record TV Broadcasts

Via The Miami Herald: Vodafone announced a new cell phone with the capability of watching and recording analog terrestrial television programs, reports Kyodo News. The new handset allows its users to view up to an hour of video on the phone's screen and to record clips up to 12 minutes in length. According to Vodafone officials, users can also save scenes from the TV programs as still pictures. The new phone is a revision of a previous version introduced in last December that featured a TV tuner but no recording function. The new phone, manufactured by Toshiba Corp., will be introduced in Japan later this month.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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04.05.04
Defense Agency Apologizes to Reporters for Fake News Conference

From The Asahi Shimbun: The Defense Agency concealed plans for a general's visit to Iraq by scheduling a news conference during his trip. An hour before the regular weekly conference would have started, the press club reporters who had gathered at the agency were told that the conference was being canceled because of Gen. Hajime Massaki's absence. The reporters later found out that Massaki was secretly visiting Japanese troops in Iraq. When journalists complained that such false information would affect the trust between the media and the agency, the agency apologized to the furious press club. According to an article in The Japan Times, Defense Agency Chief Shigeru Ishiba admitted that the agency should not have misled reporters but said that it was considered an important safety measure.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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04.05.04
Mainichi Online Site Merges With MSN

From Mainichi Daily News: Mainichi Interactive, the online news site of the Mainichi newspapers, and MSN News, Microsoft Japan's online site, launched a new joint Web site April 5. According to an earlier article from Mainichi, after months of debating what order the companies' names would appear in, they settled on MSN-Mainichi Interactive. It is described as a Japanese-language combination of MSNBC and ESPN. Mainichi provides extensive news and editorial coverage while MSN contributes its Web technologies, a large readership, and sales systems for online advertising. The content is not yet available for mobile communications devices.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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04.03.04
Controversial Government Web Site Reviewed, But Not Eliminated

From The Asahi Shimbun: Japan's Immigration Bureau said it will revise but not abandon its Web site for reporting suspected illegal aliens, despite charges of racism. This online service allows citizens to report suspected illegal residents' names, nationalities and locations, which provoked cries of racial discrimination from humanitarian organizations. In response, the bureau eliminated a controversial menu that suggested ways for informants to describe their motives for reporting people -- motives such as an illegal immigrant is being a nuisance or causing anxiety -- and replaced it with a blank field that allows a description of up to 300 words. As another concession, the bureau added a statement to the site stating that "no aspersions of foreign residents who are staying legally should be submitted." (See also Week in Review 03.19.04) 
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Zhen Wang
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04.01.04
Commentary: Time to Lift the Ban on Internet Campaigning in Japan

According to a Daily Yomiuri editorial, an upcoming election has reignited the debate over legalizing Web-based campaigning. According to a 1996 interpretation of the 1950's Public Offices Election Law, Internet electioneering is forbidden. Failed attempts to revise the law in 1998 and again in 2001 faced claims that the use of the Internet in elections would lead to devastating slander. However, given the government's 2001 "e-Japan strategy" to make Japan the most wired nation in the world, the soaring number of Internet users, and voters' desire for information on party manifestos during the campaign, a reform to permit Internet campaigning is becoming urgent, said the editorial. (See also Week in Review 10.10.03)
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Zhen Wang
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04.01.04
High Court Lifts Injunction in Shukan Bunshun's Privacy Case

From The Daily Yomiuri: On March 31, the Tokyo High Court revoked a district court injunction that had banned publication of an article in the March 25 issue of Shukan Bunshun. The article delved into the private life of the daughter of Makiko Tanaka, a former foreign minister. Upon the daughter's claim that her privacy had been violated, the lower court issued a temporary injunction against the issue of the weekly magazine. Makoto Nemoto, the ruling judge in the high court that revoked the injunction, acknowledged that the article violated the defendant's privacy, but said it did not harm her reputation. The damage done, he added, did not warrant an injunction. Tanaka's daughter is planning to appeal to the Supreme Court. According to the high court, the elements that should be considered in the ruling are the "public interest, public benefit and whether the article may cause serious and irreparable damage to the person mentioned in the article." The high court also described the district court's injunction before the publication as "impermissible," because it would "seriously limit freedom of expression" protected in the Constitution. According to an article in The Japan Times, the magazine's publisher applauded the ruling but warned that the threat of court action to stop stories' publication "will continue to have an unjust and intimidating effect on reporting." (See also Week in Review 03.22.04, 03.25.04 and 03.30.04.)
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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04.01.04
Japan Moves to Keep Microsoft in Check

From the Associated Press via InformationWeek: Japanese antitrust authorities raided Microsoft's Tokyo offices in February, sending a message that the country would follow the lead of the United States and Europe in investigating possible abuses by the software behemoth. Authorities fear that Microsoft's access to companies' proprietary information could give it an unfair advantage in the burgeoning digital media market. At issue is language in contracts between Japanese hardware makers and Microsoft that bars licensees from taking legal action against Microsoft over patent violations. As electronics firms develop new gadgets for playing digital content, companies fear that Microsoft could learn about their products and then use the information to strengthen an already dominant market position. Meanwhile, Japan's trade ministry is promoting the use of alternate operating systems, such as Linux, both at home and in collaboration with the governments of China and South Korea.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Eric Ulken
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