An essay criticizing Japanese broadcast journalism, focusing on NHK’s failure to explain international affairs and its abdication of responsibility as a public broadcaster.
A public broadcaster that does not explain truth
is not neutral.
It is irresponsible.
And that failure shapes a nation’s ignorance.
2017-04-08
What was mentioned in the previous chapter regarding NHK’s “Watch 9” symbolizes not only the reporting of Japanese television networks, but the fundamental nature of Japanese media reporting itself.
Without understanding the true circumstances behind the United States’ airstrike on Syria during the U.S.–China summit,
without understanding why the Japanese government had only recently recalled its ambassador to South Korea,
the sheer audacity of having a program host—someone who expresses opinions—on a news program widely watched by the Japanese public, covering not only domestic politics but international politics and diplomacy as well, is something the Japanese people should have recognized long ago.
Especially since NHK is not a commercial broadcaster, it goes without saying that it must be a broadcasting organization that conveys truth and facts to the Japanese state and its citizens.
NHK has absolutely no need to engage in trivial popularity-seeking like commercial networks do.