Paper short abstract:

This paper tries to make sense of the rise of illiberal politics with a particular focus on the role played by the media. A particular emphasis shall be placed on the two of the most striking features of press-state relations in modern Japan with deep historical roots.

Paper long abstract:

This paper tries to make sense of the rise of illiberal politics with a particular focus on the role played by the media. A particular emphasis shall be placed on the two of the most striking features of press-state relations in modern Japan with deep historical roots. First, there is the extraordinarily close tie between the press and the state, in terms of both personnel and money. Second, as the state divided and conquered the press by making the most of these intricate ties, key concepts that the state agents mobilized in their attempt to silence the media critics have been "impartiality" (fuhen futō), "neutrality" (chūritsu), and "fairness" (kōsei).

The newly pluralistic and vibrant political debate in the press towards the end of the Cold War deteriorated quickly into an intolerant, illiberal mood came in the late 1990s, when some of the right-wing press, including the Sankei group, started to escalate the rhetoric employed in attacking what they saw as biased, left-leaning media. The attack launched represented nothing other than a closely coordinated campaign that brought certain right-wing media groups, most notably Sankei and Bungei Shunjū groups, together with intellectuals and celebrities, religious organizations, and last, but by no means least, a new generation of conservative politicians.

Furthermore, the electoral rout suffered by the DPJ in December 2012 created an unprecedented situation in postwar Japan, as for the first time, the country was not only left without a significant opposition party to speak of, but also equipped with a couple of right-wing "satellite" parties of the LDP further to its right on some issues. We are now dangerously close to the type of state-press relations that prevailed in the wartime era. The government gets to decide and impose what it considers to be "fair," "impartial," and "neutral" to the detriment of press freedom.