Category Archives: Media

Media watch: Prosecutor implies false accusation is just part of the job

Posted on July 25, 2023 by philipbrasor

The long legal saga of the government’s case against equipment manufacturer Okawara Kakoki Co., Ltd. has turned into a stark illustration of how Japan’s law enforcement agents work within a bubble of self-justification. At present, two of the company’s executives, … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Hiroshima sister park agreement angers atomic bomb survivors

Posted on July 10, 2023 by philipbrasor

Sister city relations between municipalities of different countries are familiar to most people, though sometimes these arrangements have a specific purpose. Apparently, in 2016 there was a sister-type relationship forged between the Sekigahara battlefield in Gifu Prefecture, where General Toyotomi … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Newspaper reveals that fertility rate isn’t what it’s cracked up to be

Posted on July 4, 2023 by philipbrasor

While attending a recent symposium sponsored by the Cabinet on Japan’s low birthrate, which the government has pledged to raise by any means possible, a reporter for Tokyo Shimbun discovered that the so-called fertility rate statistic published by the government … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Transphobia fueled by hatred, spread by ignorance

Posted on June 26, 2023 by philipbrasor

On June 3, an anonymous person or persons posted 15 defamatory messages, including death threats, on the home page of Osaka attorney Shun Nakaoka. The poster accused Nakaoka of being a “man pretending to be a woman” and for that … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Local politicians ask for crackdown on foreigners

Posted on June 20, 2023 by philipbrasor

A group of politicians belonging to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party recently submitted a “letter of opinion” to the city assembly of Kawaguchi in Saitama Prefecture. In the letter, the group demands tighter police surveillance of immigrants in the city, … Continue reading →

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Media watch: My Number card system could be Trojan horse for individual-oriented society

Posted on June 11, 2023 by philipbrasor

The government’s scheme to get everyone in Japan, Japanese national and foreign resident alike, to apply for a My Number card has been plagued by problems. The aim of the My Number system is to assign a unique number to … Continue reading →

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Number 1 Shimbun column for June

Posted on June 8, 2023 by philipbrasor

Here is a link to our Number 1 Shimbun column for June, which is about the so-called 2024 Problem related to a shortage of delivery drivers and truckers.

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Media watch: How Johnny’s exploits the pin-up factor to keep publishers in line

Posted on May 31, 2023 by philipbrasor

Now that the cat is way out of the bag, Japanese mainstream media are finally covering the Johnny Kitagawa sexual abuse story in all its lurid detail, even though it has been an open secret for decades. I talked about … Continue reading →

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Media watch: History shortchanged several times over at Hiroshima summit

Posted on May 28, 2023 by philipbrasor

On May 24, South Korea’s Hankyoreh news agency posted an editorial about the “joint tribute” paid by Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Korean victims of the 1945 atomic bombing in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial … Continue reading →

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Media watch: Resolution of defamation case better late than never, but still too late

Posted on May 6, 2023 by philipbrasor

On May 1, the legal affairs website Bengoshidotcom reported on a press conference given by human rights activist Shin Sugok of the citizens group Norikoe Net. Shin talked about the Supreme Court’s decision on April 26 to reject an appeal … Continue reading →

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