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Paper short abstract

This presentation will focus on chihoshi, local newspapers of Japan, presenting survey research pointing to the role of the local newspaper for readers together with an in-depth examination of the agenda-setting power of local newspaper rensai columns in local communities.

Paper long abstract

This presentation will focus on chihoshi, local newspapers of Japan, presenting survey research outlining the role of the local newspaper for readers together with an in-depth examination of the agenda-setting power of local newspaper rensai columns in local communities. Readership of newspapers in Japan is one of the highest in the world, and readership of local newspapers (chihoshi)—countering the big five national newspapers—is also notably high. Based on a readership survey covering Japan north of Tokyo, the research will illuminate the expectations that readers have for their local newspaper, both in general and individually, as well as the role ascribed the local newspaper by readers. The research will also examine the rensai (long-running thematic columns) and tokushu (special content) of 40+ local newspapers from across Japan, outlining how the rensai and tokushu of such local newspapers portray contemporary issues for local communities. The research is contextualized by the idea that as major (print) media sources continue to consolidate and adjust to a changing market through digitalization together with coordination and streamlining of content, local media becomes increasingly important in presenting content that both captures the trends of contemporary Japan as a whole while also connecting with its own region as a specific locale as well as creating a specific and meaningful local identity for readers. A further aspect of the combined survey-content intersection in the research is to identify if and, if so, how, the local newspaper may act as a mechanism of local interest and participation for local readers.

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Paper short abstract

This paper analyses the coverage of the Korean Wave by two Japanese national newspapers, the Yomiuri Shimbun and the Asahi Shimbun. In particular, it will look at articles published between 2011 and 2013, a period characterized by the worsening of diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea.

Paper long abstract

When the South Korean television drama Winter Sonata became an unexpected hit in Japan in late 2003 and 2004, many in the Japanese mass media rushed to label the Korea Boom that ensued as a transient phenomenon. Contrary to their predictions, the presence of Korean popular culture in the Japanese mediascape became fixed during the following decade, the focus shifting from TV dramas to popular music. By 2011, indeed, the media were reporting of the arrival of a second Korean Wave to Japan. Two events, however, curtailed this spike in popularity. First, in July 2011, actor Takaoka Sōsuke wrote on Twitter a series of comments criticizing Fuji TV's broadcasting of Korean content. Takaoka faced widespread public backlash, but his comments also prompted a series of protests against Fuji TV that effectively directed media and public attention to the alleged excesses of the Korean Wave. Over a year later, in August 2012, Lee Myung-bak visited the disputed islands of Dokdo/Takeshima, the first president of the Republic of Korea to ever do so. His visit triggered a worsening of the diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea, further affecting the popularity of Korean popular culture in the archipelago.

This paper analyses how two of the Japanese national newspapers, the Asahi Shimbun and the Yomiuri Shimbun, covered topics related to the Korean Wave between January 2011 and December 2013. Drawing on content analysis, it examines the way in which South Korean pop culture, its popularity and its Japanese fans were framed by the media prior to the unfolding of the two events outlined above, and how the shifting political situation was reflected in, and affected, this coverage from the summer of 2012 onwards. In so doing, this presentation seeks to offer answers to two more general questions: to what extent do domestic political tensions and regional diplomatic conflicts still limit popular culture flows within East Asia? And what role do the media play in this process?

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Paper short abstract

Using a novel, Kuraimāzu Hai, and its dramatization to help illustrate the issues, this paper highlights how journalists covering a disaster may experience highs from covering a major story, but also lows and PTSD from experiencing sights of suffering that can impact them for many years to come.

Paper long abstract

When disaster strikes many people will turn to TVs and newspapers to learn more. They want to know what happened, where it happened, and how many were impacted. But how many stop to think about what the journalists covering the event are experiencing? In this paper I address some of the issues that journalists face, both the highs and excitement in covering something which tends to draw in higher than usual levels of consumption, and also the lows of having contend with images of suffering that can impact them for many years to come.

Whilst it has been suggested that fewer Japanese journalists may experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) than counterparts in many other nations, the figures may be deceptive. Do all journalists admit to the problems they face, for example? Furthermore, whatever the actual numbers suffering PTSD, the fact remains that for those suffering it is a real problem and one which, perhaps due to how little it is discussed, may not be fully understood. Consequently, victims may not be getting sufficient support.

The JL123 plane crash of 12 August 1985 remains the world's largest single plane crash. 520 of the 524 passengers died in the crash in the mountains of Ueno-mura in central Japan. Inevitably in the days that followed there was a media frenzy. But what was it like for these journalists who had to contend with 'scenes like hell'? This paper discusses issues faced by journalists, including photographers, covering this crash. It also looks at how PTSD appears to have impacted one former local journalist, Hideo Yokoyama, who covered the crash and how a novel, Kuraimāzu Hai, he wrote about the local media coverage of the crash reveals aspects of his suffering and also the highs and lows that journalists face covering a disaster.