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Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Sep 17, 2014

No use fighting the tide of online journalism, experts say

Major news organizations in Japan have been somewhat insulated from the seismic shift taking place in online journalism around the world. Helped by their still strong, if waning, presence in print, Japan's five national newspaper companies, each boasting millions of copies in daily circulation, have...
CULTURE / Books
Dec 13, 2000

Television as a pillar of the state

BROADCASTING POLITICS IN JAPAN: NHK and Television News, by Ellis Krauss. Cornell University Press, 2000, 278 pp., $35 (cloth). Many of us know NHK (Nippon Hoso Kyokai) for its film documentaries, its cultural programs -- stunning or plodding, depending on your perspective -- or its Sunday morning singalongs....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Oct 5, 2016

Japan's English-language print media feel the pinch

Publications struggle for relevance in a world where news is available free, to all, all the time.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Dec 25, 2014

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

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.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2009

Press club faithful fight change

Since its landmark victory in the Aug. 30 general election, the Democratic Party of Japan has continued efforts to shake up the power structure to make good on its promise to create an accountable administration.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 1, 2023

The ‘red wave’ washout: How skewed polls fed a false U.S. election narrative

Coupled with the political factors already favoring Republicans, biased polls earlier this year helped feed an ultimately false narrative: A Republican wave was about to hit the U.S.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 24, 2021

Failure to communicate: Suga’s media messaging falls short

Putting his policies and statements aside, the prime minister is doing a poor job at conveying his message and convincing people of his leadership qualities, experts say.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2019

U.S. version of 'one country, two systems'

Is it time for the U.S. to reintroduce the 'fairness doctrine' to prevent the media from broadcasting extreme views?
JAPAN / Media
Jun 12, 2015

Times advisory board meets, offers recommendations

COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Nov 26, 2014

Would-be NTV announcer's fate hangs on issues of morality and fraud

How will Japan's odd mutation of the traditional job of news announcer impact the Tokyo court's decision on the fate of Rina Sasazaki?
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 1, 2013

Obama no friend of free press

Barack Obama's tendency to bypass the press for social media and friendly bloggers amounts to the White House reporting on itself, thus avoiding tough questions.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 30, 2013

Summly highlights how smartphones are upending media models

Many this week celebrated the latest tech wunderkind, a British teenager who made a fortune selling an app that boils down news reports, no matter how important or complex, into a pithy 400 characters. But for some of those who prefer heartier servings of news, the development carried at least a whiff...
COMMENTARY
Jul 16, 2011

A media empire crumbles

Scandals have often dominated the British media, but few have been as remarkable as the revelations which have been appearing almost every day about the misdeeds of journalists on the British populist mass circulation Sunday paper The News of the World. This was owned by News International which is run...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jul 17, 2004

As good -- and as bad -- as it gets

For foreign residents, life in Japan can be a roller coaster of ups and downs -- quite often at the exact same time.
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2003

EU challenge drags exclusivity of press clubs into spotlight

The European Union may have challenged one of Japan's toughest barriers to free trade when it called for the abolition of the nation's "kisha" press club system.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 25, 2021

What else has Hong Kong lost, readers ask, as a paper is silenced

To many, Apple Daily was a symbol of the civil liberties that have been lost as Beijing has tightened its grip over the city.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 6, 2020

Chinese journalists sought freedom in the U.S. Now they’re in limbo.

Caught in a tit-for-tat battle over the media between the two countries, the worried reporters say they help bring a nuanced view of American life back home.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2017

Japan Times advisory board weighs in on the paper's past and future

The Japan Times Media Advisory Board met at the newspaper's office Oct. 24 to review the redesign implemented on April 1 and news coverage over the past year.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 4, 2017

Japan enters the post-truth age with distorted MXTV report on Okinawa protests

The term "fake news" has outlasted its usefulness. Originally coined to describe purposely false or exaggerated stories on the internet, the term now covers anything in the media that is deemed a lie. The internet is a scrum of competing opinions, and fake news that appears online can be contained to...
JAPAN / Society
Feb 21, 2015

Apologizing in Japan: Sorry seems to be the hardest word

Dressed in a light-gray suit with her hair pulled back tightly into a bun, McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan) Chief Executive Officer Sarah Casanova walked stiffly into a news conference on Feb. 5 and addressed a throng of reporters.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 26, 2013

State secrecy bill could have a chilling effect on reporting

The state secrecy bill currently before the Diet could have a chilling effect on news reporting in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 21, 2013

New censors of Web media

The Internet has proved to be a powerful tool for overcoming media restrictions and censorship worldwide. But new restrictions on Web-based news media, such as those in Jordan, threaten to reverse the progress that the Internet has enabled.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 2, 2013

British wave washes over U.S. media market

The British are coming — actually, they're already here. And they're running some of America's top media and entertainment companies and successfully peddling their shows, newspapers and magazines to the former colonies.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 19, 2011

Murdoch's malign empire

The resignation of two key lieutenants of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his own full-page signed apology in British newspapers — "We are sorry for the widespread wrongdoing that occurred" — is clearly a desperate attempt to save his News Corporation group from being incinerated in the firestorm...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2010

Stop the presses — foreign media pulling out of Japan

Major foreign media outlets are leaving Japan in droves, a sign of financial difficulties at home as the news industry struggles with falling advertising revenue. But observers note that Japan is also losing its appeal as the most newsworthy country in Asia, with China now the hot spot.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 30, 2007

Press clubs: Exclusive access to, pipelines for info

Because "kisha" press clubs provide easy access to information provided by the central and local governments and business associations, membership is considered essential for mainstream news organizations.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2006

In court ruling flip-flop, NHK reporter can hide source

The Tokyo High Court on Friday accepted an NHK reporter's refusal to reveal a news source, saying news-gathering activities are a premise for the freedom of press that serves the public's right to know, which is an indispensable component of a democratic society.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jun 25, 2005

NHK -- the way it should be

This year has not been kind to national broadcaster NHK, as a series of scandals have caused hundreds of thousands of households to withhold their service payments, from which NHK draws 97 percent of its income.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 2004

Credit some viewers for trying to think

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- As one of the millions of television viewers glued to his screen trying to keep pace with the overwhelming flow of international news, I often find myself pondering the pluses and minuses of present-day advances in computers, electronics and information technology. The other day...
A banner belonging to the "Alley of Angels" project displays images of children purportedly killed in conflict, at a demonstration of far-right groups in Frankfurt, Germany, on May 25, 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 19, 2025

How a Moscow-linked exhibit tried to erode German support for Ukraine

Publicly, the exhibit’s organizers say they aren’t affiliated with any government and are driven by a desire to end the suffering.

Longform

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Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it