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NSK News Bulletin Online
December 2006
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*	Tokyo Seminar Promotes Reading in Daily Life
*	NSK Community Contribution Award aimed at Public Image
*	Terrestrial Digital TV Broadcasting Now Nationwide

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*Topics
--Mainichi, Sankei Reporters/Bloggers Meet Offline
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Story of the Month>>>
Top Court Upholds Refusal to Reveal News Source
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Tokyo Seminar Promotes Reading in Daily Life

About 400 people turned out for a symposium on reading culture held in Tokyo on Nov. 25.

“The Power of Language and Japan’s Future” symposium was hosted by the “Reading Culture Promotion Institute,” headed by NSK Chairman Masato Kitamura.

Kitamura and five other panelists discussed the status of reading in today's society and speculated about its future.

The symposium also reviewed a plan to set up an Institute for the Promotion of Reading Culture proposed by individuals and organizations in the newspaper and publishing industries, as well as by representatives from the fields of education, business and labor. The institute is targeted to open in October 2007 to complement the Law for the Promotion of Reading Culture adopted in July 2005.

NSK Chairman Kitamura said opinion surveys show that young people -- especially in those in their 20s -- are not reading books. But surveys also show that elementary school pupils are being encouraged to read books through school activities.

One panelist called book reading a way to pass knowledge from generation to generation, saying that if 20-year-olds miss out on reading during their formative years, it would amount to a “national loss.”

Another panelist said many university students now read only news briefs on the screens of their mobile phones, and that a growing number are not clicking through to read the full original news articles.

Some panelists said they hope the planned institute will revive public readings and other activities at libraries to create an environment in which the joy of reading books is shared among as many people as possible.

The participants at the meeting adopted a resolution calling for the promotion of reading in families, schools, workplaces and communities through book-reading activities and the use of newspapers in education.

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NSK Community Contribution Award aimed at Public Image

NSK on Nov. 15 set up the NSK Community Contribution Award to encourage news sales agents to contribute to their communities.

The award is aimed at enhancing the image of newspaper sales agents and building public trust. The award is intended to remind the agents of their important role in the community, as well as reminding them of their responsibilities.

Activities ranging from "making visits to elderly people living alone” and joining in “anticrime patrols” are the type of things that could qualify an agent for nomination for the award.

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Terrestrial Digital TV Broadcasting Now Nationwide

Terrestrial digital TV broadcasts began on Dec. 1 in western Japan in the last eight prefectures not previously served, bringing high-quality digital broadcasts to all 47 prefectures.

Such digital TV broadcasting began in the Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka areas in 2003.

Terrestrial digital TV programs aired for the first time on Dec. 1 in Okayama, Kagawa, Saga, Oita, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, making it possible for 84 percent of all Japanese households to receive such signals (using a digital tuner or tuner-equipped TV set.)

The Association for Promotion of Digital Broadcasting (D-PA) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications marked the nationwide deployment of terrestrial digital TV broadcasting with a ceremony in Tokyo.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, NHK Chairman Genichi Hashimoto, and Michisada Hirose, the president of the National Association of Commercial Broadcasters in Japan (NAB) were among the special guests.

Prime Minister Abe delivered a congratulatory address, saying the government will continue its support for terrestrial digital TV broadcasting, which he said has unlimited potential, praising what he called a new chapter in Japanese broadcasting.

NHK's Hashimoto told the ceremony that commercial TV broadcasters must address the time-consuming and costly task of establishing a network of transmission stations for terrestrial digital TV broadcasting so that the entire nation benefits from the new service.

NAB President Hirose said each household should eventually have access to terrestrial digital TV programs and that analog TV broadcasting must end in July 2011, as scheduled, without any transitional problems. He called on the government, electric appliance makers and broadcasters to work together for a smooth transition.

A representative of the electric appliance industry said that in addition to creating digital TV broadcasting, the government and industry must work to keep the shutdown of analog TV broadcasting in the public's eye.

The ceremony marked the release of the 7th action program for the promotion of terrestrial digital TV broadcasting, and December 1 was designated “Digital Broadcasting Day.”

The latest action program envisages NHK covering 99.5 percent of all households now getting analog TV with digital TV by the end of 2010. A figure of 99 percent coverage was cited as the target for commercial TV broadcasters.

NHK and the commercial broadcasters aim to eventually attain 100 percent digital coverage by using transmission stations and shared common facilities, possibly with government support, to reach remote areas with limited access to terrestrial TV waves.

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Topics.......Topics.......Topics........

Mainichi, Sankei Reporters/Bloggers Meet Offline

Two major daily newspapers held a joint meeting for users of their interactive Web sites in Tokyo on Nov. 15.

The meeting came after Akihiko Isono, a deputy managing editor of the Mainichi Shimbun, introduced Yuri Kataoka, a Sankei female reporter, on its reporters’ blog site. Kataoka hosts a popular blog on Sankei’s new interactive Web site “iza.” About 30 users attended the meeting.

Kataoka told the people at the meeting that her blog site is attracting users with its coverage of the untold stories behind news articles in the print newspaper, backed up by her personal views. Isono said it was significant that the Sankei and Mainichi newspaper companies held a joint meeting in spite of differences in editorial and corporate policies.

The meeting was an informal gathering of bloggers and regular readers who often exchange views and information online. Unlike the gatherings of readers sometimes organized by newspapers, a so-called off-line meeting is entirely informal.

It is becoming very common in Japan for newspaper reporters’ to run blogs on their company Web sites. But, it is rare for those reporters/bloggers to hold face-to-face meetings with readers.

Kataoka, who has held "off-line" meetings with users of her blog, said she could tell by the tone of users’ voices and by their facial expressions that she was genuinely communicating with readers as human beings. “It is the blog site, as a new communication tool, that enables such opportunities,” she said.

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Story of the Month>>>
Top Court Upholds Refusal to Reveal News Source

The Supreme Court, in recent decisions in two separate cases, upheld a reporters’ right to refuse to reveal news sources in connection with a 1997 report on the taxation of a Japanese subsidiary of a U.S. health food company.

It was the first time the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of the right of reporters to refuse to reveal news sources in civil courts.

In a series of depositions before the courts in connection with the same lawsuit, a number of reporters affiliated with Japanese media organizations refused to testify in relation to their news sources.

On Oct. 3, the No. 3 petty bench of the Supreme Court, in a unanimous ruling by the four judges, defended an NHK reporter’s refusal to reveal a news source. On Oct. 17, the top court ruled in favor of a Yomiuri Shimbun reporter in a similar case.

In particular, the Oct. 3 ruling said that news sources fall under the category of occupational secrets and witnesses can refuse to testify in relation to such news sources.

In 1980, the top court upheld a Sapporo High Court decision that recognized a Hokkaido Shimbun reporter’s refusal to testify in relation to a news source. The Oct. 3 ruling clearly specified the criteria for legitimate protection of the identity of news sources. Namely, the top court defined news sources as “professional secrets” protected by the Civil Procedure Code, which allows witnesses to refuse to testify, specifying that refusing to testify is allowed only on matters related to secrets that deserve protection.

The top court also said that whether the secrets deserve protection should be determined by assessing the damage that could arise from disclosure with respect to the right to a fair trial. In this specific case, the top court emphasized the significance of the freedom of the press and of newsgathering guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. The court ruled that concealing the identity of a news source is essential to ensuring the freedom to gather news and has real value for society.

As criteria for a legitimate refusal to testify in relation to a news source, the top court specified the following points:

1) The news reporting must pertain to the public interest;

2) The means of news gathering cannot violate general punitive laws and the news sources must not have consented to the disclosure of secrets; and

3) The civil case at hand must be a serious case of major social significance or with grave social repercussions, in which it is deemed indispensable to obtain testimonies for the realization of a fair trial.

The top court said that so long as these conditions are met, refusing to reveal news sources deserves protection and a reporter is allowed to refuse to testify.

Regarding the civil suit filed by the U.S. food maker, the top court said it is not apparent that the case was of major social significance or had social repercussions and the testimony in relation to news sources would therefore not be indispensable for holding a fair trial.

Kojiro Shiraishi, representative of the NSK Editorial Affairs Committee and managing editor of the Yomiuri Shimbun’s Tokyo Head Office, issued a statement, applauding the top court ruling. “Anonymity with respect to news sources is a fundamental principle of news reporting. We will stick to this principle under all circumstances,” he said. At the same time, Shiraishi expressed concern about ambiguity in the ruling that might leave room for a denial of the right to conceal news sources.

In another case, the Supreme Court said an Oct. 17 case involving a Yomiuri Shimbun reporter was identical with the Oct. 3 ruling and said the Tokyo High Court decision justified the reporter's refusal to talk.

In that case, the Tokyo High Court in June overturned a Tokyo District Court decision made in March that sought to limit a reporter’s right to refuse to testify, and ruled that a reporter’s refusal is justifiable in the public interest of ensuring a free flow of information to the general public. The ruling endorsed the reporter’s refusal to answer any of 21 questions that could directly or indirectly identify their source. The questions included some pertaining to the identities and the number of sources as well as the organizations to which the sources belonged. With the top court decision upholding the high court decision, reporters can now refuse to answer any such questions.

NHK and the Yomiuri Shimbun each issued a statement welcoming the top court ruling.

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