Hardened times for Foreign Correspondents in Japan

Reaching Japan shores

""Major foreign media outlets are leaving Japan in

droves, a sign of financial difficulties at home as the

news industry struggles with falling advertising

revenue. But observers note that Japan is also losing

its appeal as the most newsworthy country in Asia, with

China now the hot spot.

Extract of the article from the Japan Times, by Mariko

Kato in today's edition, an interview of a colleague of

mine Takashi Uesugi, ex New York Times, today a

successful freelance journalist who even has time

twitting. http://tinyurl.com/ycdwpml

"The financial situation of the companies in their own

countries is a big factor". "But the second reason is

(the decrease in) Japan's national power. Foreign

media are becoming increasingly more interested in

China and setting up offices there, while they withdraw

from Japan." (Takashi Uesugi, a freelance journalist

and expert on journalism said.) The Washington Post

office in Tokyo has only one reporter left and the Los

Angeles Times branch has closed, according to Uesugi.

Numbers reflect the trend. According to the Foreign

Correspondents' Club of Japan, its foreign members

numbered around 250 during the late 1980s and early

1990s when the booming economy provided both

interesting news and an attractive home for overseas

correspondents. The count was more than 300 if

Japanese staff employed by foreign media companies were

included. However, the ranks have since been

decreasing steadily, with only 144 foreign members

registered as of March 2009. "This means that news

about Japan becomes more dependent on news wires. Even

if (those media that have left Japan) hire temporary

staff here, only correspondents are actually eligible

to write stories, which would lead to lack of depth or

analysis," Uesugi said.

For correspondents elsewhere in Asia to visit Japan and

report news, the event would need to be as big as Aum

Shinrikyo's sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system or

the Great Hanshin Earthquake, which both happened in

1995, or last year's Lower House election that led to

the first major change in government since the 1950s,

he added...

Uesugi said the hostile setup has served to encourage

foreign correspondents to move elsewhere in Asia. "The

current government has the desire to communicate more

with the outside world, but it needs to do more,"

Uesugi said. He acknowledged it is already too late to

woo the foreign press back to Japan, except for the

unlikely event that Japan's national power increases or

China's politics becomes too unstable to remain

there..."" End of quotes

Assistance for Foreign media: http://fpcj.jp/

Briefing for foreign press & foreign media event

Foreign Press Center online office

Foreign press club event

✍✍✍ Comments✍✍✍

1 "This article title should have been "US Media (rather

than "foreign" media)" is pulling out of Japan. In

fact, Middle East media is increasing its coverage of

Japan and more reporters are needed (who can speak

Arabic). I also think the environment is better in

Japan than China in terms of freedom of reporting. But

the article is right about the closed doors against the

foreign media by Japanese kisha clubs, but this is not

the reason why the US media is leaving."

Khaldon Azhari

Panorient News, President.

Tokyo