January 16, 2002

THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE

By Tom Plate

Non-confrontational Japanese newspapers reinforce a political culture of caution

(C) 2002 Asia Pacific Media Network

LOS ANGELES --- In the United States, many major reforms were propelled by a crusading news media. Such a pattern of reformist journalism has appeared here over and over again. Recall the notable press campaigns of the New York Times during the "Serpico" police corruption hearings in New York City in the '60s, of the Washington Post during the Watergate revelations of the '70s and of the Los Angeles Times in the Rodney King police brutality scandal of the '90s.

But this would never be the case in Japan, where cultural, political and media traditions, not to mention commercial constraints, box the quality press into a cage of excessive objectivity and neutrality. Deeply embedded in the country's media culture, these tendencies could work against the Junichiro Koizumi government's efforts to effect overdue economic reforms. "The Japanese press has never been a particularly active watchdog," conclude Ellis S. Krauss and Priscilla Lambert, in "The Press and Reform in Japan," just published in Harvard's Kennedy School of Government scholarly quarterly, Press/Politics: "None of the scandals of the 1970s, 1980s or 1990s provide examples of the press initiating and pursuing an investigation into government misdeeds."

Indeed, the country's cautious, neutral newspaper culture, it suggests, may be incapable of leading a crusade against the society's encrusted uneconomic ways and vested interests. That's the inescapable conclusion of this major new study.

To be sure, the quiet, non-confrontational Japanese print media deserve to be appreciated for their important contributions; and some high-quality newspapers offer the extremely literate Japanese populace exceptional editorial products. We don't want to lose that. But from an American perspective, at least, it's hard to imagine a reformist politician like Koizumi overcoming the fierce opposition of vested interests within his entrenched establishment without the aid of powerful, serious newspapers that add to the momentum for reform.

In fact, these American political scientists -- from the elite Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California, San Diego -- suggest that Japan's influential elite news media are by nature and instinct followers, not leaders. They tend to behave not as relentless "watchdogs" (United States) nor as subservient "lap dogs" (China) but as either seeing-eye dogs (illuminating the issues of reform in an almost scholarly fashion) or "guard dogs" (pursuing occasional investigations while spurning the crusader role). On the whole, the Japanese press tends to echo the government's agenda rather than develop one that would pressure the establishment to implement reforms at a more urgent pace.

To be sure, the Koizumi government would be the last to complain about the Japanese media as a whole: Its biggest institutional ally is undoubtedly Japanese television. This image-conscious medium magnifies the prime minister's charisma. Thus, his popular poll ratings remain high, as do those of his controversial foreign minister, Makiko Tanaka, so unpopular with her own ministry for her efforts at bureaucratic reform.

But while television coverage has led to a positive public-opinion consensus on the personalities of Koizumi and Tanaka, the print media, with their unique ability to convey complexity in ways the boob tube can never hope to match, have not helped to create a consensus on policy.

A great deal is at stake -- nothing less than this vital U.S. ally's economic security. Japan's economy may well be on the verge of its worst recession in the post-war era. Few economists are predicting even a quarter of positive growth before the end of the year. The country is now suffering from its third downturn in 10 years.

Against this alarming backdrop, the government still struggles to garner support for reform. "The question for this year," stated The Oriental Economist, the influential New York-based monthly, earlier this month, "is whether Koizumi can survive the assault against his reform plans being mounted by opponents within his own party." And that's a worry for the rest of interdependent Asia as well. For, as much as Koizumi's stature is enhanced, in a superficial way, by the country's flattering Klieg lights, his reform efforts are being undermined by a print news media that, its extraordinary quality notwithstanding, is loath to go out on a limb for the good of the country -- not to mention the region.

Previous Columns:

The Importance of Being Optimistic (January 9, 2002)

(C) 2002 Asia Pacific Media Network