JAPAN / Media

Japan Times Advisory Board serves up brickbats, praise for newspaper's coverage

The four members of The Japan Times Media Advisory Board have been monitoring the newspaper’s reporting over the past six months. They met on Nov. 19 at its office in Minato Ward, Tokyo, and delivered criticism ranging from story prioritization to layout design. They had plenty of praise words, too.

The Japan Times Media Advisory Board members deliver their observations and recommendations to executive members of the newspaper at its headquarters in Minato Ward, Tokyo, on Nov. 19. | YOSHIAKI MIURA

STAFF REPORT

Dec 25, 2014

Ichiro Fujisaki, who formerly served as Japan's ambassador to the United States, praised the paper for its "readability." He said he senses that the editors try to choose phrases and words that are easy for Japanese readers to understand.

Noting that some of his comments were based on feedback he had received from his foreign friends, he explained that the paper serves as a useful tool to learn about life in Japan. He suggested that expanding coverage of art and social activities may help improve the information content. He said the paper should also run more articles about TV shows and music popular among Japanese audiences.

"Foreigners can show to Japanese that they're following what's popular in Japan. For example, if there's a very popular TV show you could feature it a little more. I think that would be very useful," he said.