Paper short abstract:

This paper outlines techniques and impediments of critical reporting by Japanese mass media in the context of 'Fukushima.' Drawing from a qualitative interview study, the speaker discusses attempts to expand the limits of press freedom in Japan as well as setbacks under the Abe administration.

Paper long abstract:

In the wake of the Fukushima disaster in 2011, Japanese mass media received sharp criticism from inside and outside Japan. Among other aspects, scholars like Itō (2012) and Kopper (2012) accused them of downplaying the nuclear disaster and uncritically conveying the official announcements of the government and TEPCO. They moreover argued that the Fukushima disaster exposed a substantial degree of collusion between government, industry, and media in Japan. Nevertheless, examples of independent and critical reporting were recognized as well (Endō, 2012; Kopper, 2012). There is little empirical evidence, though, how journalists tried to renegotiate their editorial freedom after the '3.11' disaster. This paper fills in this gap by identifying techniques and impediments of critical media reporting in Japan based on narrative, in-depth interviews with journalists (n = 11) and expert interviews with accomplished journalism researchers and scholars of Japanese Studies (n = 5). The results show that journalists at Tokyo-based mass media were indeed confronted with considerable pressure to align to official narratives. The interviewees named internal and external factors that limited their professional leeway, such as different forms of self-censorship respectively a lack of "inner press freedom" (cf. Hanada, 2007), the influence of advertisers on the content of reporting, and nationalist sentiment in society after the disaster. They furthermore described different approaches to circumvent and defy these limiting factors, like focusing on the voices of those affected by the disaster or involved in mitigation efforts. By such counter-narratives, media created pressure on those responsible in politics, authorities, and TEPCO. The speaker discusses the results with regard to the Japanese press club system (Freeman, 2000) and to the scandal surrounding one of the Asahi Shinbun's revelations on the Fukushima disaster. The paper concludes by highlighting the scandal's consequences for investigative reporting in Japan and by assessing the Abe administration's recent efforts to crack down on press freedom.