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NSK Board of Directors Issues Protest Statement
Diet Begins Debate on Human Rights and Personal Data Protection Bills

The Diet began debate on two highly controversial bills in late April. It began discussing a bill to protect human rights on April 24, and a bill to protect personal information on April 25. Journalists, media people and academics have condemned the two bills, saying that they threaten the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression.

Alarmed by the start of the Diet deliberations on the two bills, the Board of Directors of the Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association (Nihon Shinbun Kyokai =NSK) issued an emergency statement on April 24 (see the article in the April issue of the NSK News Bulletin Online).

It is the first time in 15 years that the NSK Board of Directors has issued such a statement. (The last time was in May 1987, when it expressed outrage at the killing of a journalist by a still-unidentified gunman who attacked the Hanshin branch of the Asahi Shimbun.)

The NSK emergency statement on the two bills warned that if passed, the bills will pave the way for government interference in freedom of expression. The statement also said that repeated requests from NSK for the "freedom to report the news" to be respected had been completely ignored. The statement called for the matter of media violations of human rights and personal privacy to be resolved by the voluntary adoption of rules of conduct by media organizations.

In addition to NSK, the broadcasting and publishing industries, as well as local media associations, also issued statements of protest.

On April 25, President Seiichiro Ujiie of the National Association of Commercial Broadcasters issued a statement saying that the two bills contain provisions that would infringe upon freedom of expression. The statement said that the association was irrevocably opposed to the bills.

An ad hoc group of writers and journalists opposed to the personal information protection bill released a statement saying that the bill is intended to "eliminate freedom of the press and of expression." Author Saburo Shiroyama, 74, a leading member of the group, called the bill "today's equivalent of the war-time Law for the Maintenance of Law and Order, which deprived the people of freedom of speech and expression, thereby helping the propagation of militarism." The Japan Magazine Publishers Association and the Japan Book Publishers Association joined the drive against the bills by jointly issuing a statement protesting their introduction.

A string of top officials at newspapers, wire services and local broadcasters raised similar objections, asserting that if enacted, the bills will lead to interference with the freedom to report the news and freedom of expression in general. They submitted joint statements and written opinions to the members of parliament elected by their respective constituencies, as well as to the Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito and other parties.

Such protests came from areas including Fukui, Aomori, Iwate and Yamanashi prefectures and the cities of Sapporo, Nagoya and Fukuoka. The program examination boards of some broadcasters and the presidents of the five local broadcasters in the Chubu area operating under the All Nippon News Network (ANN), in which TV Asahi is the key station, all made public announcements that they oppose the bills. Many other media figures are expected to follow suit.

In the Diet debate, Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama responded to an opposition question by saying that the human rights protection bill is needed to provide an effective system to remedy the way in which news such as that about crime victims is covered, in view of the current state of media self-regulation. Speaking with respect to the personal information protection bill, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told the Diet that the bill is in no way intended to infringe upon the freedom to report the news or freedom of expression in general. He maintained that the government has no intention of tightening regulations on the media.

The current Diet session is to end on June 19. NSK and other media associations are closely monitoring developments in the Diet debate on the two bills and are preparing various new efforts to stop the bills.

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NSK Editorial Affairs Committee to Address 'Media Scrum' Problem

The NSK Editorial Affairs Committee decided at a meeting on April 18 to set up a subcommittee to address the so-called "media scrum" problem the excessively aggressive collective pursuit of a story by the media.

The Editorial Affairs Committee already issued a guideline on how reporters and journalists at large should deal with the problem (see related article in the January issue of the NSK News Bulletin Online). The new subcommittee is to use that guideline as the basis to begin to work on the problem, starting on May 8.

The subcommittee will comprise representatives of 15 NSK member newspapers

and news agencies, including NHK, and will be charged with resolving the problems related to excessively aggressive and intrusive reporting that are not solved on the spot. Although it will operate under the supervision of the Editorial Affairs Committee, the subcommittee will have the authority to take action against cases of abuse.

Press clubs or local branch chiefs are to report any cases of media misconduct that defy on-the-spot solutions to the subcommittee, whose leaders will have the discretion to map out immediate solutions. In the case of complaints lodged by people claiming to be victims of media abuses, the subcommittee will promptly contact local branch chiefs to coordinate a response. The subcommittee will work to arbitrate in each case and to deliver a final decision to the concerned parties as quickly as possible. If necessary, the subcommittee will publicize such decisions.

The resolution functions of the subcommittee will be restricted to dealing with complaints from persons other than public figures or individuals involved in highly publicized activities.

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Japan-China Journalist Exchange Held On Theme Of "Media Management"

NSK and its Chinese counterpart, the All-China Journalists Association have marked the 30th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral diplomatic relations in the course of conducting the 20th Japan-China Journalist-Exchange Program.

Eleven Chinese journalists arrived in Japan on April 7 for a two-week program that included visits to Niigata, Nagano, Aichi, Kyoto and Fukuoka prefectures, in addition to events in Tokyo. The Chinese delegation returned to China from Fukuoka on April 21.

The theme for their visit was "the management of Japan's media businesses." The Chinese journalists held discussions with ranking officials of the Asahi, Yomiuri, Shinano-Mainichi ,Chunichi and Nishi-Nippon newspapers. They also visited NHK for talks with a director and the chief of the news division, as well as to tour the News Center and the High-Vision broadcasting facility. In Fukuoka Prefecture, the Chinese journalists met officials at Nishi-Nippon TV, a major local broadcasting station.

On their final day in Tokyo, they visited the Tokyo head office of Fast Retailing Co., the operator of the "Uniqlo" clothing chain that manufactures merchandise in China, and visited a Uniqlo shop in Shibuya(above photo). The Chinese journalists also visited the major advertising agency Dentsu, the Foreign Ministry, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and the Kansai Economic Federation.

The Chinese delegation comprised:
(Delegation chief)
	Zhang Shigang, deputy president of the All-China Journalists Association and managing editor of the Liberation Army Journal
(Delegation deputy chief)
	Li Cunhou, secretary general of the All-China Journalists Association
(Delegation members)
	Xie Zhengqian, president of the Liaoning Daily Zhang Fenzhi, managing editor of Chinese Newspaper Publishing Corp. Liu Shaoyu, deputy managing editor of the Henan Daily Wu Tao, vice president of the Anhui television station Zhu Yinghua, deputy chief of the International Division of the All-China Newspaper Workers Association Yan Chengqian, deputy managing director of the China Newspaper Association Liu Yfan, an editor in the Domestic News Division of the Xinhua News Agency Li Hao, chief of the Japan Office of the All-China Journalists Association

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Topics.......Topics.......Topics........

Minami-Nippon and Kumamoto-Nichinichi form Ombudsman Committees

The Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun and the Minami-Nippon Shimbun both set up ombudsman committees on March 1. In each case, the committee is composed of outside experts. Identically named the "Committee to Examine News Reporting With Readers," the panels are to examine articles in the aim of guaranteeing the protection of human rights and privacy.

An increasing number of newspapers and news agencies have been setting up such panels composed of third-party experts to examine the conduct of newsgathering and reporting, as well as newspaper-making in general, to ensure the protection of human rights and privacy. The moves by the Minami-Nippon and the Kumamoto Nichinichi bring the total number of companies with such panels to 25.

At the Kumamoto Nichinichi, the panel is to respond to opinions or complaints submitted by readers by examining any newsgathering activities or comments in articles that might infringe upon human rights or privacy, or be discriminatory. The new body is also to make recommendations about newspaper conduct that are based on maintaining deep roots in the local community. The panel, which is to serve as an advisory body to the board member in charge of the editorial department, is expected meet about three times a year.

The Minami-Nippon's panel is affiliated directly with the board of directors and is to examine whether newsgathering and reporting activities are conducted appropriately, whether articles present information in an easy-to-understand manner that respects human rights, and whether opinions and complaints submitted by readers are being adequately addressed. The panel is also expected to hold candid discussions on the way the newspaper should operate and to forward proposals to the managing editor. The panel is due to generally meet four times a year, with the newspaper publishing the details of its activities. The members of the panel have been appointed for one year and may be reappointed to subsequent terms.

Japanese newspapers' moves to set up such panels represent a concerted effort to win back the confidence of readers in the face of mounting public criticism of some of the ways in which they gather and present the news.

	Minami-Nippon Shimbun is based in Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture, where it publishes daily newspapers as a set of morning and evening editions with a circulation of about 400,000.

	The Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun is based in Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture, where it publishes daily newspapers as a set of morning and evening editions with a circulation of about 390,000.

NHK Opens New Research Laboratory

Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) opened a new research laboratory in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on March 1.

The NHK Science and Technical Research Laboratories incorporate the NHK Broadcasting Training Center that was located in the same compound. The former research laboratory, which opened in 1961 at the same site, will be dismantled by April 2003.

The new laboratory is housed in a complex made up of a 14-story building and a 6-story structure, each of which has two basement levels.

According to the "Mid-to Long-Term Vision" plan released by the laboratory last year, the new research facility is to focus on the following fields:

1. Studies into new broadcasting services that will use digital transmission channels for satellite, terrestrial and cable broadcasting, as well as communications networks;

2. Studies into efficient and effective programming (content) production using computers, networks, and servers; and

3. Studies into a next-generation television system with a higher sense of reality than HDTV, strain-free 3D TV, and research into imaging, recording, and display technologies.

The 1st-floor entrance of the complex houses an auditorium with a seating capacity of 400, a corner in which the latest technologies are to be displayed and an information corner to serve viewers and local residents.

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Story of this month>>>>

The State of Japanese Digital Broadcasting via Communications Satellites

Next-generation digital broadcasting has been under way since March from a communications satellite in a geostationary orbit at an east longitude of 110 degrees. CS Nippon channel, which features sports, news and entertainment programs, has led the way in the launch of a series of new channels. A total of 103 channels are expected to be in operation by this summer.

Two so-called platform companies that handle contracts with viewers -- Plat-One and SKY PerfecTV!2 --are overseeing the channels. Plat-One operates 46 channels, including 39 pay channels and seven free ones. SKY PerfecTV!2 operates 57 channels made up of 41 pay channels and 16 free channels. Japan's nine major newspaper publishers and news agencies have a stake in some of the broadcasters of the CS channels and are providing them with news and other content.

As the satellite for the CS digital broadcasting service at 110 degrees shares the same geostationary orbit with the one used for BS digital broadcasting, users can use the same tuner to receive both CS and BS programs. The launch of this new CS digital broadcasting service is therefore hoped to lead to a major synergistic expansion of the market for digital broadcasting services.

Compared to BS digital broadcasting, the bandwidth allocated to each CS digital broadcaster at the 110 degrees position is much wider than that for BS digital broadcasting. In addition, new tuners for CS digital broadcasting are equipped with a hard disc with a capacity of 60 gigabytes. Viewers can use the hard-disc system to automatically record programs for later playback. Broadcasters can also transmit program-related data or information such as catalogues of merchandise that viewers can retrieve from the hard disc. CS broadcasters are to use such capabilities to provide a new generation of highly sophisticated services.

Japan's satellite broadcasting services now include BS analog broadcasting (a total of six channels: four TV channels, an audio-only channel, and a data channel), BS digital broadcasting (a total of 52 channels: 10 TV channels, 23 audio-only channels and 19 data channels), CS digital broadcasting from two communications satellites in geostationary orbits at 124 degrees and 128 degrees (more than 300 channels operated by SKY PerfecTV) and the new CS digital broadcasting from 110 degrees.

BS analog broadcasting, which went into full operation in 1989, now has more than 10 million subscribers. The CS digital broadcasting that began in 1992 from the satellites at 124 degrees and 128 degrees, currently has more than three million subscribers, making it a commercially viable business with solid markets.

But BS digital broadcasting, which began in December 2000, has faltered. Only 1.14 million tuners for BS digital broadcasting had shipped as of the end of this March --far fewer than expected. The original goal of attracting 10 million subscribers within 1,000 days of the launch of the service now seems out of reach, as do the broadcasters' targets of turning a profit on a single-year basis within five years from the start of operations.

One bottleneck is that current satellite users cannot use their existing tuners to receive BS digital broadcasting. The same obstacle also stands in the way of the new CS digital broadcasting from 110 degrees. So the giant market for terrestrial or ground-based analog broadcasting has not automatically translated into a bonanza for BS or CS broadcasting.

There is also still no guarantee that the "highly-sophisticated" services being offered by CS digital broadcasting from the satellite at 110 degrees will meet the desires of potential new users. And even if such services do end up being highly prized, causing an expansion of the market for CS digital broadcasting, what will happen to BS digital broadcasting? The immediate prospects for CS and BS digital broadcasting are therefore still very much up in the air.


Notes:
1)	Figures based on data published by broadcasters
2)	Figures refer to total subscription contracts as of the end of December. Figures for CS SKY PerfecTV for the period from 1996 through 1999 include those for the former DirecTV. Figures for BS NHK and BS WOWOW represent the combined subscription contracts for both analog and digital broadcasting.

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Nihon Shinbun Kyokai
The Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association
Nippon Press Center Bldg., 2-2-1 Uchisaiwai-cho, Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo100-8543, Japan

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