Over the past two weeks Japanese media have made much of a privacy issue involving the eldest daughter of former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka. It all started with an article in a popular weekly describing the daughter's private life. Responding to a request from her lawyer, the Tokyo District Court issued an order suspending the sale of the magazine. The publisher appealed to the Tokyo High Court.
The issue would not have caused such a stir were it not for the fact that the daughter is a member of a famous political family. Her grandfather is the late Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, one of the most powerful politicians Japan has produced since the end of World War II. Moreover, both her parents are members of the Diet. A story about the divorce of a woman with no such family pedigree would hardly make a "scoop."
The question here is old, yet new: Where should society draw the line between protection of privacy and freedom of expression. It is a difficult and complex question, especially when it involves Draconian action such as banning a publication. In the latest case, the difficulty has been compounded by the fact that the article in question deals with a person whose mother is a popular politician.
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