Prospects for Japan's Newspaper Industry in 2002

NSK President Watanabe Reaffirms Newspaper Industry's Solid Opposition to Limitations on News-Reporting Activities

In 2001, the curtain of the new century was raised amid commotion. The terrorist attacks on the United States gave the whole world the maximum possible shock while bringing in the crisis of a severe economic slump. Here in Japan, we have entered a new phase of national diplomacy and security and the economic climate is in a quandary that offers no respite. Newspapers have an increasingly important role to play in this situation.

For several years, there has been growing public criticism of aggressive newsgathering activities and media infringements of human rights -- such as the right of privacy -- in the course of newsreporting. Prompted by those criticisms, there has also been growing momentum for moves to tighten regulations on newsgathering and newsreporting activities. That momentum is evident in the submission to the National Diet of a bill to protect personal information from abuse for commercial purposes, in calls for the creation of a body to respond to human-rights violations by the media, and in proposed legislation to protect the social well-being of youth, among other initiatives.

In response to these developments, newspapers have voluntarily taken steps such as the adoption of a set of rules called the Canon of Journalism and the creation of a third-party committee to monitor newsreporting and to provide a forum for handling grievances. Toward the end of 2001, NSK's Editorial Affairs Committee formulated a policy guideline and a set of protections against the problems of the so-called media scrum, or aggressive newsgathering activities by media organizations. The committee took those steps in the belief that such problems should be resolved voluntarily by media organizations. A sub-committee is also working on a complete policy review on the operations of press clubs.

I would like to take this opportunity to here, again, reaffirm the newspaper industry's fundamental position of solidly opposing any attempt to impose undue regulations on newsgathering and newsreporting activities.

The comprehensive newspaper publicity promotion drive -- the so-called "Read Me" Campaign - aimed at increasing support among the general public and subscribers from all walks of life for the raison d'etre and activities of the newspaper industry, is now entering its third year. NSK's Circulation and Advertising committees are poised to take part in and cooperate with this drive. The full promotion of this campaign remains a pressing task for the newspaper industry.

The wave of the "age of reform" declared by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is bearing down on newspaper companies. The newspaper industry faces a mountain of tasks that must be fully addressed. Those tasks include conducting a wholesale review of the operations and management of newspaper businesses, preserving and nurturing human resources -- including journalists, publishing newspapers that win the trust and support of readers, and responding to the dramatically changing media environment.

In accordance with the newly adopted Canon of Journalism and the Newspapers Sales Code, we are redoubling our efforts to live up to the expectations of the general public and subscribers and to maintain the place of newspapers as the central core of newsreporting media in the 21st century.