著者

Nancy Snow

出版者

Japan Society for Studies in Journalism and Mass Communication

雑誌

Asian Journal of Journalism and Media Studies (ISSN:21898286)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.2, pp.15-27, 2019 (Released:2019-07-25)

参考文献数

35

被引用文献数

15

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Japan’s hosting of the 2020 Summer Olympics and Summer Paralympics is bringing the attention of global media and the world more than the country has experienced since the economic bubble years of the last century. NHK, Japan’s quasi-official broadcaster, is ratcheting up its world service in advance of this international spotlight, which is consequently bringing more attention to the country’s low press freedom ranking, last among the Group of Seven industrialized nations, and 67 among 180 nations and regions, according to Reporters Without Borders. This ranking places Japan above Lesotho and below El Salvador. The Shinzo Abe administration and other government officials are often at odds with press coverage that is critical of the government, reinforced by no public debate on the 2013 state secrets protection law and a unilateral cabinet decision in 2014 to change the pacifist nature of the Constitution of Japan. This chapter will explore the press and politics environment of modern Japan, specifically NHK’s role as an enabler network to the needs and whims of the government. Finally, it will underscore the challenges faced by the Abe administration’s global nation branding efforts against the backdrop of international attention and criticism of Japan’s press-government relations.

著者

Le Thu Mach Chris Nash

出版者

Japan Society for Studies in Journalism and Mass Communication

雑誌

Asian Journal of Journalism and Media Studies (ISSN:21898286)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.2, pp.1-14, 2019 (Released:2019-07-25)

参考文献数

39

被引用文献数

1 8

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This paper analyzes the core essences of social media in Vietnam in the era of Facebook prominence, from 2013 to the establishment of the Cyber Security Law in June 2018. With the growth of social media, unprecedented opposition forces have emerged on social media and challenged the political structures of the single-party country. This paper juxtaposes social media and journalism in Vietnamese political and cultural contexts. First, it indicates a sharp contrast between social media and journalism in six perspectives: function, content, the concept of freedom, content generators, legal framework, and cost. Second, it discusses the differences between traditional Vietnamese social power structures and social media, focusing on the characteristics of religions in Vietnam, the Power Distance Index, and the theories of high and low-context communication. The paper concludes that the essences of social media undermine the existent structures of journalism and social power by creating a space for public criticism and activism to challenge the government. Many opposition groups have been formed and institutionalized on social media, resulting in pluralism in Vietnamese politics and society. The analysis of Tôi và sứ quán (Embassies and Me) Facebook Page provides examples to clarify the differences between social media, and journalism and social power structures in Vietnam, as well as the institutionalization of the opposition groups on Facebook.

著者

Hitoshi Yamaguchi

出版者

Japan Society for Studies in Journalism and Mass Communication

雑誌

Asian Journal of Journalism and Media Studies (ISSN:21898286)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.2, pp.44-56, 2019-05-31 (Released:2019-07-25)

参考文献数

15

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In today's democratic society, public opinion is recognized as an "object of worship." Political elites such as politicians and bureaucrats want to grasp the trends of public opinion, and will sometimes try to control it. Meanwhile, the (mass) media conducts public opinion polls, interprets them, and reports both their results and interpretation. The mass media has become an influential actor in the political process.In this paper, I will examine the concept of public opinion from a constructionist perspective. I present the view that public opinion is constructed by public opinion polls and their reports. These perspectives may not be new, but I would like to ask whether mass media can construct public opinion exclusively in the modern media environment.Based on this question, we will analyze the public opinion reports on the 48th House of Representatives election in 2017. The Asahi Shimbun and other mass media outlets questioned the election’s legitimacy; they questioned whether the election results should be taken as public opinion and they presented "real public opinion" through their own opinion polls and critically commented on the election results.However, these newspaper’ activities were criticized on the Internet. From a constructionist perspective, opinion has often been criticized as being constructed exclusively and predominantly by mass media. However, the opposite is evident in this case. Should we not consider that constructing public opinion will be increasingly difficult in the coming years?