著者

具志堅 勝也

出版者

日本マス・コミュニケーション学会

雑誌

マス・コミュニケーション研究 (ISSN:13411306)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.91, pp.3-21, 2017-07-31 (Released:2017-11-07)

参考文献数

13

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While some state that“ the Tokyo-based national media pay little attentionto issues relating to U.S. military bases in Okinawa,” the conservatives arguethat the coverage of local media in Okinawa is unfair, focusing only on protestsagainst the stationing of the U.S. army. The gap between the national mediawith headquarters in Tokyo and the Okinawa-based local media was created bythe different histories of both sides after the Pacific War. When the campaignagainst the proposed revision of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty surged in 1960,the U.S. government acted not only on Japanese political and business leaders,but also on the media to maneuver the silencing of criticism against the treatyrevision. They also moved their military bases from the Japanese mainland toOkinawa and turned the eyes of the majority of Japanese citizens away fromissues concerning the treaty. Although the severe suppression of dissidents wasenforced in U.S.-occupied Okinawa, an immense surge of movement towardsthe reversion of Okinawa to Japan took place and the 20-year-long struggle ofmass media in Okinawa against suppression resulted in their winning the freedomof speech. While the local media have continued to protest against the concentrationof U.S. military bases that have persisted even after Okinawa’sreversion to Japan in 1972, the Tokyo-based national mass media pays littleattention to issues related to the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty due to the effectivemaneuvers of both the government of the United States and that of Japan tohide the military-related issues between the two nations. It is still unforeseeablethat the gap between the local and national media will be narrowed. The intensifying confrontation between the Shinzo Abe Cabinet and theGovernor of Okinawa Prefecture, Takeshi Onaga, as well as the heated politicalargument concerning national security legislation, have stimulated anew theinterests of the Tokyo-based national media in the issues of the relocation ofMarine Corps Air Station Futenma. While the Abe Cabinet tries to forcefullybuild a new military base in the Henoko coastal area in compensation for theAir Station Futenma as proof of the strengthening of the Japan-U.S. militaryalliance, the local Governor continues to appeal against the national government’splans. Media regarded as liberal are especially becoming more attentive to thevoices of people in Okinawa than they were before. The Abe Cabinet, however,has put pressure on the media to manipulate its coverage, and it seems that theapproach of“ guessing the will of the Cabinet and hesitating to irritate them” isbeginning to prevail, which affects media coverage.