Japan's Constitution guarantees freedom
of speech, including freedom of the press, as a fundamental
human right. Accordingly, there is no media censorship. Individuals
and organizations are free to publish newspapers and magazines
as they wish, and such publications are free to carry any article
that does not violate the Penal Code or other laws. There is
no public organization for directly controlling and supervising
newspaper companies or any other publishing companies.
Television and radio broadcasting stations must operate within
the range of the available wavelengths, and the Wireless Telegraphy
Law and the Broadcast Law of 1950 lay down the basic framework
for their operation. In response to the emergence of commercial
broadcasting stations and other factors since that time, these
laws were slightly revised on several occasions, most recently
in 1995.
Although a license to set up a broadcasting station must be
obtained from the government and renewed every five years, the
Broadcast Law clearly leaves programming and program content
to the discretion of the broadcasters themselves.
According to Dentsu, Japan's largest advertising agency, Japan's
total ad expenditure in 2002 decreased 5.9% from a year earlier
to ¥5,703 billion. The ad revenue in all four main media—newspapers,
magazines, radio, and television decreased for the second consecutive
year. Internet advertising, in contrast, increased 15% over
the previous year to ¥84.5billion.(*1) Steady growth was
due largely to large domestic corporations beginning to make
bolder use of the medium.
Press Clubs
Newspapers and other media organizations in Japan form kisha
clubs (press clubs) that are approved by a group of editors
in each organization to cover government and the activities
of chief industries. These press clubs emerged during the Meiji
period (1868-1912) in response to demands by the press for fuller
public disclosure. To facilitate gathering of official information,
regular forums were set up which eventually evolved into today's
press clubs.
As Japan's global presence grew, however, the effective monopoly
on news conferences and briefing by government officials that
the clubs enjoyed came under attack from foreign media, which
were often excluded from these news sources.
Thus in June 1993, Nihon Shinbun Kyokai (NSK: Japan Newspaper
Publishers and Editors Association) (*2) issued a statement
that admission to press clubs, which had been limited to association
members, should be granted to foreign press representatives
who (1) possess a foreign press identity card issued by the
Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and (2) are employed by
a foreign media organization that carries out activities similar
to the members of the association.
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