07.29.04
Online Protection for Teen Crime Suspects Sought

From the Mainichi Daily News: The government could ask Web hosting companies to remove names and photos of underage crime suspects from their sites, if an industry panel's recommendation is approved.  Under the proposal, the Justice Ministry will be able to formally demand Internet service providers eliminate identifying information about juvenile criminal suspects from their sites. The demand would have no legal authority, but ISPs would be required to provide an explanation if they refuse to comply. The Justice Ministry has requested these guidelines because of a rapid increase in the number of messages posted on the Internet containing information about children taken into custody for brutal crimes. For example, after the popular Internet bulletin board Channel 2 shared the name and photos of a junior high school student who killed in infant in Nagasaki in July 2003, the Justice Ministry requested removal of such information more than 1,100 times after the suspect was taken into custody.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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07.29.04
Free Magazines Prosper in Metropolitan Areas

From the Daily Yomiuri: Free magazines distributed at subway stations and convenience stories across Japan's metropolitan areas are increasing their readership, in part because they resemble magazines sold at bookstores. More than 200 free magazines emerged last year, creating a total circulation of 58 million nationwide, according to the Japan Free Newspapers Association. R25, one of the "second-generation" free magazines, was mainly publicized with posters throughout Tokyo?s subways. While the magazine has achieved a circulation of 500,000, it has not yet succeeded in earning a profit. Daisuke Fujii, editorial director at R25, believes it will be a powerful advertising vehicle. However, the impact of free magazines still remains unclear. "Everything depends on how they can improve their content because they may compete with the Internet as an advertising medium," said an official at the Research Institute of Publications.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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07.27.04
Japan Marks Largest Internet User Growth

From ClickZ Network: Japan gained the largest number of active at-home Internet users between May and June 2004, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. The country acquired almost 600,000 users, marking the largest growth among 13 selected countries, including the United States, France, Germany and United Kingdom. While U.K. added more than 100,000 active Internet users, the United States lost more than three million. Nielsen//NetRatings used a tracking system to estimate the number of people who go online during a given month, not just those who have Internet access.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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07.24.04
NHK Says Its Producer Took Kickbacks

From The Asahi Shimbun: NHK said one of its producers was involved in a scheme to steal at least 48 million yen ($436,000). The public broadcaster filed criminal charges against chief producer Katsumi Isono, who was fired on Friday. Isono is accused of hiring an event-planning firm for work that was never done and then sharing the proceeds of the contract with the firm's president. NHK disciplined seven executives -- including its chairman -- for inadequately supervising Isono.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Eric Ulken
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07.22.04
Bullish on Broadband, Yahoo Japan Sees Profits Rise

From Bloomberg News via International Herald Tribune: Yahoo Japan announced that its profits rose by 83 percent during the first quarter on stronger online advertising and auction business. The company's net income grew to 8.31 billion yen (about $76.5 million) from April to June, on sales of 24.5 billion yen (about $222 million). Yahoo Japan has expanded its profit for nine quarters, helped along by a 20 percent penetration of broadband Internet service in the country. The company's CEO, Masahiro Inoue, looks to Korea's 80 percent broadband penetration as a sign that the market in Japan is likely to continue to grow.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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07.22.04
DoCoMo to Sell 'E-Money' Cell Phone

From Kyodo News via Japan Today: NTT DoCoMo will introduce Japan's first cell phones with electronic money and identification functions this summer. The wireless giant's new handset will allow users to purchase items online with identification, in addition to various functions such as credit card, computer pass and house keys. A representative for the company's popular i-mode Internet service said, "In the future, you will be able to do everything with cell phones." The company, which currently controls more than 50 percent of Japan's wireless market, will be the country's first carrier to add e-money features.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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07.17.04
Supreme Court to Hear Woman's Case Against NHK

From Mainichi Daily News: NHK's ongoing case against a woman who claims the broadcaster misrepresented her in a 1996 program will be heard by Japan's Supreme Court in October. The legal battle concerns footage from a morning program aired in June 1996 in which a man was depicted with a voice-over saying his wife had requested a divorce without an apparent reason. The unnamed Saitama Prefecture woman filed a damage suit for about 1.3 million yen (about $12,000) against NHK, claiming that the network gave him airtime to attack her in a nationally televised program. Though a district court ruled against her, the Tokyo High Court ordered the broadcaster to air a correction and compensate the woman.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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07.14.04
Weblog Service Introduced to Japanese Market

Via TMCnet: Hitachi, Japan's biggest manufacturing firm, introduced the first Weblog service for Japanese users called BOXER BLOG. The new system adds a Japanese interface onto TypePad, a Web-based blogging tool developed by Six Apart, and allows users to buy the service with Japanese currency. Hitachi has begun selling two versions for business users. "Pro" is for advanced individual users and organizations, while "Business Class" caters to larger corporate users. "We are pleased Hitachi is bringing the service to Japanese business users, opening the door for a whole new set of TypePad users in Japan," said Six Apart's president and co-founder, Mena G. Trott. Six Apart has been a prominent technical contributor to the Weblog realm since its introduction of Movable Type in October 2001.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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07.07.04
Law Limits Online Political Campaigning

From The Japan Times: While candidates for the House of Councillors July 4 election have maintained their own Web sites that include blogs and e-newsletters, legal obstacles and cultural norms have kept them from launching successful Web campaigns. According to the Public Offices Election Law established in 1950, the number of candidates' messages that can be posted are regulated because they are considered "texts." However, the law does not refer directly to the Internet or e-mail. Under the regulation, candidates cannot send e-mail letters or update their Web sites during the campaign period lasting from June 24 to July 11. The Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications claims the restriction imposed on the number of campaign documents and the prohibition of electronic information assures equality for all candidates. During the last Diet session, the Democratic Party of Japan proposed a bill that would have made Web campaigning possible, but it has not yet been passed. Some experts believe politicians will come to realize the advantages of Internet campaigning as the voice of a younger generation becomes more prominent.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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Monthly Pressnet Newsletter:
Symposium on Mass Media Ethics Held in Tokyo

From the July Pressnet Bulletin: More than 400 people gathered in Tokyo in June to attend the 19th symposium hosted by the National Federation of Consultative Assemblies for the Enhancement of Mass Media Ethics. In addition to the general public, attendees included professionals in the newspaper, broadcasting and advertising industries. Keynote speaker Yasuhiro Tase, a political journalist and columnist for the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, discussed which issues political journalism faces in Japan. According to Tase, political elections and relations between politicians get more attention in Japanese media coverage than the actual process of decision-making. Panelist Kei Wada, a Fuji TV commentator, said broadcast news has contributed to bringing politics closer to viewers, but stations tend to broadcast information in a way that will please an audience, thereby focusing more on the public's reaction than the opinions of national leaders. "Our challenge is to reach as many viewers as possible without resorting to the convenience of fabricating information," he said.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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07.06.04 
Annual Paper to Be Published in Comic Version

From Reuters via Independent Online: The Defense Agency in Japan is hoping to appeal to younger generations by scheduling to publish the 2004 white paper in a comic-book version. The ministry plans to issue the comic version, which is currently still in production, in August. The annual paper contains 450 pages with small letters and long footnotes. "We hope the public reads the reports so that we gain their understanding," Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said in a news conference after its publication. "We must compile something that is easy to read," Ishiba added. The Defense Agency has also tried to impart understanding of its operation to a skeptical public, which has been sensitive toward any implication of militarism.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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07.06.04
Japan Aims to Create 'Ubiquitous Net Society'

From Mainichi Daily News: An annual white paper published by the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications reveals a "ubiquitous network society" will soon be created that grants anyone Internet access. According to the report on information communications, the markets advancing such a society will triple by 2010 with 87.6 trillion yen (about $806 billion) from 28.7 trillion yen (about $264 billion) in 2003. It includes the world's fastest and cheapest broadband Internet connections and the dissemination of cell phones. The paper also states that in addition to computers, Internet-equipped devices will promote a Web society. For instance, cell phone users could check the contents of their refrigerators by using the phone as a remote control.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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07.04.04
Japanese Media Lack Policy Debate Coverage

From The Japan Times: In an interview with The Japan Times, Seiichi Kanise, a former news anchorman at TBS and TV Asahi, says political coverage on television became more significant in Japanese society during the 1990s. The 54-year-old Kanise, who is a current anchor for Nippon Cultural Broadcasting Inc.'s radio station, started as a reporter at the Tokyo bureau of The Associated Press, then became a correspondent in Tokyo for Time magazine. While Kanise acknowledges the media's contribution to Japanese people's perception of the nation's political system, he points out "A feature of political reporting in Japan is that reporters are more interested in covering in-house political power struggles than in covering discussions on policies." He adds, "I think the media should report more about policy debates." He also claims, "TV reports try to use the visual images that are most eye-catching and have the strongest impact. As a result, they often show scenes of politics in confusion, and I think that helps to fuel apathy about politics among people." Kanise also thinks visual images have played a more critical role than the content of the report in television's political coverage."It's as if the wrapping paper has become more important than the thing it's wrapping," he says.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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07.02.04
Press Keen on Covering Abductee's Family Reunion

From BBC News: Japanese media have been closely following the plight of Hitomi Soga, the former Japanese abductee in North Korea whose husband, Charles Robert Jenkins, is wanted by the United States.  Jenkins, a former soldier whom the U.S. considers a deserter, stayed behind in North Korea, along with the couple's two daughters, when Soga returned to Japan. When word circulated that a reunion for the family was planned in Indonesia, journalists from dozens of Japanese media outlets began arriving in the island nation in preparation for the event, a BBC correspondent reports.
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Eric Ulken
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07.01.04
Olympics Coverage Creates Search for Best Anchors

From Shukan Post via Japan Today: As the 2004 Athens Olympic Games approach, Japanese television stations are competing for popular anchors, hoping to secure a higher audience rating than competitors. Since stations cannot monopolize the Olympics broadcast, every network airs the same live footage. Securing the best anchor is one way a station can distinguish itself from rivals. They tend to choose popular talents and celebrated hosts to secure a higher rating. "All companies use big names, so it has become difficult to get high audience ratings on the strength of the main hosts ? Every network is preparing to unveil secret guest commentators," a spokesman for one production company says. Broadcast critic Mitsuo Sadoga points out a problem in the television stations' battle: "The key factor in networks selecting their on-air team is not knowledge of the Olympic events or their style." He adds, "Networks should think about what is the most necessary information to provide during the telecasts."
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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07.01.04
Fox News Channel to Pull Out of Japan

From the Daily Yomiuri: Fox News Channel will terminate its service in Japan at the end of July, the network's local agent, News Broadcasting Japan, says. Fox News Channel has been broadcasting in Japan for two years but has been unsuccessful to offset the carriage fees on the SkyPerfect service with subscription and advertising revenue. Janet Alshouse, vice president for news distribution at Fox News, explained the decision this way: "We have had at the most, about 4,300 paid subscribers at any time. With an audience of 4,000, it is impossible to sell advertising. No company will buy air time."   The cancellation comes in spite of a "Save Fox News" movement led by the head of the group Republicans Abroad Japan.  While Fox News Channel would "welcome any opportunity to air on any platform in Japan," Alshouse says, "We will not enter into a money-losing contract to do it."
 -- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori
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