Jun 14 (the-japan-news.com) - A U.N. human rights expert on Monday expressed concern over the Japanese government's possible pressure on media organizations.
"I am especially concerned by the direct and indirect pressure that [government] officials can exert over the media," David Kaye, U.N. special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, said in his speech at a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Kaye, who visited Japan in April last year to investigate the situation surrounding freedom of expression, pointed to the problem of the nation's Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry having regulatory authority over broadcasters.
Noting that global standards promote broadcasting media regulations by independent organizations, he said, "I encourage the government [of Japan] to move in that direction."
Japan counters argument
In response, Junichi Ihara, ambassador to the Permanent Mission of Japan to the International Organizations in Geneva, said that government officials have not put pressure on journalists illegally or wrongfully.
He said that a broadcasting operation suspension order has never been issued in Japan under the country's broadcasting business law. The law has never led the government to pressure broadcasters, Ihara added.
In his report released last month, Kaye called on the Japanese government to revise the country's state secrecy law in order to avoid any chilling effects on the work of journalists.
Source: ANNnewsCH
