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FCCJ Gives Awards to Reporters and Controversialists Bashed by Power Authority and Mass Media Patronized by the Government
Reading the article, it seems that the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan (FCCJ) barely supports Japanese journalism. Without freelance journalists and the Club, we can hardly know anything about the truth. To put it the other way around, the government is likely to step up their crackdowns on them.
You can tell such thing will definitely
happen just by looking at the U.S., while in parallel, it is apparent that
surveillance on the Internet will be strengthened. The website that many people
visit could be subject to oppression in the future. I think the Shanti Phula’s
blog will be all right for the meantime.
Masatoshi
Takeshita
May
23, 2015
English translation of a Japanese article: Ryusaku Tanaka Journal – May 22, 2015 –
FCCJ
Gives Awards to Reporters and Controversialists Bashed by Power Authority and
Mass Media Patronized by the Government
Selection Committee members and Award
winners – They are people inconvenient to the establishment in Japan and Press
club media.
= on the evening of 22 at the FCCJ. Photography by this writer =
The “Freedom of the Press
Awards” ceremony arranged by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan (FCCJ) was held this evening.
The award winners are journalists and
controversialists who have told the truth while fighting against power authority
and terrorism. We introduce the comments of main award
winners:
*Lifetime
Achievement Award: Mr. John Mitchell (Journalist)
He has reported extensively on defoliant
Agent Orange and the issue of U.S. military base in Okinawa over many years.
“Over many years major mass media in Japan
have ignored the violation of human rights which continues to be committed. I’ll keep on reporting to tell the truth for good people in
Okinawa.
*The
Friend of Press Award: Mr. Shigeaki Koga (Ex-bureaucrat of the Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry)
“My opinion ad was posted on New York Times
yesterday. I finished the article with this: “The Abe administration treats
journalists not in a democratic manner but in an authoritarian manner.”
“However, the reality is much worse. I
think information about this important award will not be posted by mass media
in Japan. (A voice from the ceremony site “The Tokyo Shimbun will report it!”)
“I have been greatly encouraged by
receiving this award. All journalists in Japan, let’s
fight together against the pressure of the government.”
Iwao Miyajima, editor at monthly “FACTA”,
was highly evaluated for his in-depth news coverage of inviolable sanctuaries
such as the JOC (Japan Olympics Committee) and Nuclear Power Village. = on the
evening of 22 at the FCCJ. Photography
by this writer =
*Publication
of the Year: Tokoyo Shimbun
The newspaper received the credit for its investigative
reporting of nuclear power plants and corruption (political scandals). Chief
Editor Kengo Suganuma gave a speech as a prize winner as follows:
“In the world of journalism, there is a
phrase that the first victim of war is the truth. In Tokyo Shimbun, which
recognizes that we are in such situation, all reporters
work hard to keep an eye on power authority and report the truth.”
*The Friend of Press Award: Mr. Koichi Nakano (Professor of political science at Sophia University)
It has been revealed that when a foreign reporter of a newspaper posted a comment of
Professor Nakano in an article on the comfort women issue, the foreign diplomatic
missions made a protest against the newspaper and advised it to ask for
an opinion of another expert.
“I think that the government tries to do
the same thing to overseas media as to Mr. Koga at home. The government has
started running a campaign overseas. With regard to the historical issue, in
particular, I don’t want the government to spread the
shame of Japan any more particularly with regard to the historical issues.”
The “Fallen
Hero Award” was presented to the late Mr. Kenji Goto.
Mr. Goto’s mother, Junko, gave a comment
for the award. “I know for certain that Kenji is glad to receive such an
honorable award in the heaven. (snip) I would have to say that my son died a
sad death due to the Japanese government’s failure to act. I call on the
government to reflect seriously.”
The FCCJ has highly
evaluated controversialists who has received the bashing from power authority and
the mass media patronized by the government, and journalists they dare to
ignore, and the Club has awarded them. We are simply astonished
to learn what a big gap there is between global standards and Japanese
standards.
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