“I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to do so.” – Voltaire 1694 - 1778

The management board of the International Federation of the Periodical Press (FIPP) has issued a resolution of support to the Japan Magazine Publishers Association (JMPA), against three bills currently being debated by Tokyo’s government. It is feared the legislation, if passed in its current form, will pose a serious threat to the freedom of Japan’s press.

FIPP, the umbrella organisation of 42 national magazine associations (and their constituents), and 161 publishing and associate companies, offered full support to JMPA’s efforts to add transparency to three potentially restrictive bills, on 18 April 2002 – during the last day of its regional conference, FIPP Seoul 2002, in Korea.

FIPP Seoul 2002 had been opened by Korea’s Prime Minister, Han-Dong Lee, as “the Olympics for world magazines”, and more than 580 delegates had attended the event when the resolution of support to JMPA was announced. The three bills in question are the bill of personal data protection, the human rights protection act, and the bill of counterplan on the youth’s harmful social circumstances.

Young-Bin Min, chairman of FIPP Seoul 2002 and president of Asia’s publishing giant, YBM Sisa, stressed that publishers need to look beyond the innocuous names given to the legislation and ensure that press freedom is not sacrificed for the so-called national good. “The bills all look good on the surface”, said Min, “but there are hidden clauses and implications which will infringe upon the freedom of the press.”

The bill of the personal data protection, aimed at regulating the acquisition, custody, and use of personal information, was first submitted to the Japanese government Diet in April 2001. The bill is designed in line with international trends to protect personal information, such as name, age, occupation, and phone numbers, which at the moment can be disclosed without the knowledge of an individual and potentially abused by private business. However, unlike similar bills submitted around the world, Japan’s fails to exclude the press from recrimination.

There is no opposition to the sentiments of protecting an individual’s details from the world at large, but it is feared the bill will also be used to oversee reporting activities and repress unfavourable news reports. The obligation to obtain consent before releasing details about an individual could, in many circumstances, undermine the media’s position. Political corruption scandals, for example, would become practically impossible if those involved cite the legislation. JMPA is lobbying the government to exempt the media from the bill, recognising that without such exclusion the legislation goes against the foundations of freedom of expression, a cornerstone stipulated in Japan’s constitution of 1947.

Similarly, the human rights protection act, aimed at saving and protecting people from unfair discrimination by the media, has serious implications on press freedom. The bill seeks to establish a committee which will police all reported rights violations, including those allegedly caused by intrusive journalism. This committee will have the power to investigate any news organisations accused of violating human rights. However, the legislation fails to recognise the media’s right to defend themselves. The committee alone would decide, through aggressive investigation, if human rights have been violated or not. JMPA joins four major umbrella groups and defenders of human rights in opposing it - the Japan Bar Association, Japan Pen Club, Buraku Liberation Alliance and Japan Newspaper Union.

Similar government control is feared as a result of the counterplan bill on youth’s harmful social circumstances. While attempts to protect the young from sexual and violent information is a commendable ambition and a genuine concern in this information age, JMPA see the current legislation as paving the way for print media to be scrutinised by the government. “Any government initiative for the media, including legislation, can be misused to muzzle and control the press,” said Min: “All print media, including the magazine industry, should be allowed a reasonable period of time to solve problems and accomplish worthy social objectives themselves before legislation is enacted.”

JMPA is joined by a host of Japanese media associations in its fight against these bills, including the Japan Newspapers Publishers and Editors Association and the National Association of Commercial Broadcasters in Japan. Condemnation has been consistent and clear. The Mainichi Daily newspaper described the personal data protection bill as ‘Orwellian’, while the Yomiuri Shimbun asked for the Diet to “completely exempt news organisations, even from the basic principles of this legislation.” The four opposition political parties have also blasted the bills, saying they will infringe on freedom of speech by making information harder to get.

Although the bills are presently local to Japan, Min believes it is very possible they could be used as a precedent for similar legislation in other parts of Asia: “If the regulatory system for the media gets established in an advanced country it has a negative impact on those countries where the media environment is less developed.”

After issuing the resolution, Donald Kummerfeld, president of FIPP, said the association would always support its members under such circumstances: “We have supported our members at their request in other countries over the years. FIPP will always support and defend the
freedom of a pluralistc press.”

The government hopes to get the bills passed during the current Diet session, which ends on 19 June. As we went to print an announcement by Japan’s Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, acknowledged the media’s opposition to the legislation and said “we would like to make compatible the freedom of expression and the protection of personal privacy and human rights. I believe they can be made compatible.”

Related URLs:
http://www.magazineworld.org

Author‘s E-Mail Address:
info@fipp.com