Press freedom: great step forward of DPJ Okada

Katsuya OKADA, Japan Foreign Affairs Minister of the new

DPJ administration greeted by 200 members of the Foreign

Correspondents' Club of Japan for his open door policy

of his ministry to the press ending the Kisha Club privilege.

A fluo green frog color Press Club's T Shirt was offered to

Minister OKADA with a 1 year Press Club Honorary

Membership.

Mainichi reporting, quotes:

"Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada was true to his word; he

opened up press briefings at the Foreign Ministry to all

media outlets, domestic and foreign, as he had earlier

promised. About 30 foreign correspondents and other

reporters not belonging to press clubs were among those who

attended a press conference at the ministry on Sept 30

thanks to the new open-door policy. Prior to the briefing,

Okada announced that he decided to open press conferences at

the ministry to all media representatives in principle.

Although Okada had made a similar announcement on Sept. 18,

he had withheld the implementation of the new policy, saying

that he needed to consult with the ministry's press club.

"Since it has been a while (since the Sept. 18

announcement), I have decided to open (press briefings to all

media outlets) from now on," Okada said on Tuesday.

To this day, reporters eligible to attend the ministry's

briefings include members holders of the Foreign Press

registration Card delivered by Foreign Affairs Ministry, of

the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association; the

National Association of Commercial Broadcasters in Japan; the

Japan Magazine Publishers Association; the Internet News

Association of Japan; and the Foreign Correspondents' Club of

Japan.

In addition, holders of the Foreign Press Registration Card

(the accredited press) and freelance journalists are also

allowed access to the ministry briefings. Reporters who wish

to attend the press conferences are required to sign up in

advance through the ministry's Web site."

✍ Other issues to come on this subject as foreign media often

suffer from refusal from some Japanese public or private

institutions and we hope to see an end to the preferential

practice of dissemination of news through the existence of

bodies that run contrary to the idea of the free flow of

information.