March 11, 2020. In 1990, the author tried to place a full-page national opinion advertisement in the Nikkei challenging the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan over credit restrictions. The newspaper never published it. From that experience, he realized that Japanese journalism lacks true freedom.

March 11, 2020
Dear readers, do you not think that if the above opinion advertisement had been published at that time in every household throughout Japan subscribing to the Nikkei, the “lost two decades” might have been at least a little less disastrous?
There was a reader who told me that he wished to read a continuation of the following chapter, which I published on July 30, 2010, under the title, On the Journalism of Our Country.
I myself was impressed, and I thank him.
Now, regarding the continuation, please read everything I have continued to write since I appeared in this way on July 16, 2010, as that continuation.
The following is the opening chapter.
In this country, strangely enough, even if an unknown person like me wants to make a proposal even by paying a large amount of money, newspapers will not publish such an opinion advertisement by an unknown person.
For example, in April of Heisei 2, 1990, there was then an advertising bureau chief at the Osaka branch of the Nikkei who came regularly to listen to what I had to say.
I asked him to publish a simple and concise advertisement as soon as possible, in a full-page spread in the national edition.
The cost was 35 million yen.
At that time, there was no problem whatsoever for my company.
“Dear Ministry of Finance and Governor of the Bank of Japan.
Does the current credit restriction not conflict with the Constitution on the following two points?
First, since I am not what is called a leftist, I deliberately do not use the word laborers, but real estate companies are gatherings of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Does it not violate the right to life of the employees who work there?
Second, does telling banks not to lend money to one industry, one type of business, not violate freedom of occupational choice?
Even without going that far, the foundation of capitalism lies in the system of private property.
Money is lent with land as collateral, and from that finance, banks, are born, and eventually securities, the stock market, come into being.
That foundation will be shaken to its core.
Is telling banks not to lend money to one industry, one type of business, not democracy, but fascism?”
He said, “April and May are full, so I will arrange for it to be published in June.”
June came, and no matter how long I waited, there was no reply.
When I telephoned and asked, he said, “I am sorry, but June is also full with settlement advertisements from large corporations.”
At that moment, I instantly knew that journalism in our country is not journalism.
That is because it would be unthinkable for The New York Times or The Washington Post not to publish a text that someone was trying to place by spending as much as 35 million yen, a text intended to make a proposal to the nation and correct the nation’s mistake.
You may think that there is freedom in this country, but I think there is no real freedom.
I told him, though he was a fine man, “Please never cross the threshold of my company again.”
Since then, I have never met him once.
He had been visiting regularly, saying that he had never met a company president who thought the way I did.
Dear readers, do you not think that if the above opinion advertisement had been published at that time in every household throughout Japan subscribing to the Nikkei, the “lost two decades” might have been at least a little less disastrous?
Until recently, the advertisements in the Asahi Shimbun were terrible.
They looked just like the pages of a sports newspaper.
Pressed by the recession and the internet, newspaper companies must now be gasping for breath.
I would like to propose something to you.
If you are going to fill your pages with such terrible advertisements, why not offer a full page to individuals who want to publish their opinions?
I myself no longer have the financial leeway to do such a thing, but there must be any number of people now in their prime who do.
I think it is the most fitting thing for journalism, whose signboard is supposed to be freedom of speech.
Revise needlessly harsh expressions and clearly unnecessary parts, advise on the layout, and charge 35 million yen.
I think it would be a large source of income.