NSK Guidelines Prepare for Citizen-Judge System

NSK on Jan. 16 unveiled guidelines for newsgathering and reporting related to Japan's planned introduction of a citizen-judge (quasi-jury) system. The system is due to be introduced by May 2009. NSK formulated its new guidelines to harmonize the justice process with press freedom and thereby deliver on the media’s duty to serve the people’s right to know.

The guidelines reaffirm the significance and reason for news reporting on criminal cases. Noting that each media company has been taking human rights into account, the guidelines aim to ensure that newsgathering and reporting on criminal cases does not influence lay juries to excessively prejudge cases on the basis of the media reports.

The guidelines state that NSK members must serve the people’s right to know in harmony with equal justice and the maintenance of press freedom. They also emphasize the significance of news reporting on criminal cases by stating that in addition to unveiling facts about criminal cases, the media has a mission to dig into the background of crimes and dissipate public uneasiness, to enable the public to share information about their own safety and security, and to explore measures to prevent the recurrence of crimes. The media also bears the important task of monitoring the conduct of law-enforcement authorities and the process of trials.

On the other hand, the guidelines refer to a prevailing apprehension that any news reporting that treats suspects as offenders might lead to excessive prejudgment about suspects among members of the general public, some of whom might serve in lay juries in the new system. The guideline therefore calls on the media to:

1) Duly try not to leave the impression that all of the suspect’s testimonies in pre-trial investigation are the truth;

2) Keep reporting on a suspect’s profile and human relations within the scope necessary for the public to understand a case, and deal carefully with publishing a suspect’s criminal record or personal history; and

3) Duly try not to leave the impression that a suspect is guilty through comments or analytical accounts obtained from experts and/or commentators.

The guidelines refer to regulating media contact with citizen juries, as stipulated by law, and say that the media must bear in mind the purpose of the law, which is to ensure the fairness of juries in the reliable performance of their duties. However, the guidelines warn that fair justice cannot be guaranteed solely through the media’s reporting, adding that appropriate measures should be taken in judicial proceedings including the nomination of juries, explanations by judges to juries and the activities of prosecutors and defense attorneys.

At present, each NSK member company is drafting its own respective guidelines on reporting on criminal cases with an eye to the introduction of the new system. The NSK guidelines conclude that each member company is to prepare for the new system responsibly at its own discretion, while taking the NSK guidelines into consideration.

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Fukuchi Takes Office as NHK Head

Former Asahi Breweries Ltd. adviser Shigeo Fukuchi took office as the president of NHK on Jan. 25 for a three-year term. The Management Committee of the public broadcaster first announced the appointment on Dec. 25. The committee is headed by Shigetaka Komori, president of Fujifilm Holdings Corp. Fukuchi is the first head of NHK to be appointed from outside the organization in two decades.

At a news conference, Fukuchi said, “I am undertaking this management role as my top and final duty of my lifetime,” asserting that he would honor the principles of impartiality and neutrality.

Fukuchi joined Asahi Breweries in 1957, rising to become the company's president, chairman & CEO. Fukuchi, who is 73, is also a director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space.

The circulation of general-interest daily newspapers fell 0.2 percent in a third straight annual decline. The combined circulation of sports dailies also fell, dropping 3.6 percent in the seventh straight drop.

SESC Probes Three NHK Workers on Suspicion of Insider Trading

NHK on Jan. 17 announced that three employees -- two reporters and a director -- are under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission on suspicion of insider trading in stocks.

According to the public broadcaster, a 33-year-old reporter at the news bureau in Tokyo, another reporter, aged 30, at NHK's Gifu broadcast station and a 40-year-old director at its Mito broadcast station in Ibaraki Prefecture are under investigation.

They are suspected of insider trading in connection with NHK’s exclusive news about a plan by restaurant chain Zensho Corp. to take Kappa Create Co. under its wing. The news was aired during the 3 p.m. news on March 8 of last year.

According an NHK in-house investigation, the three bought 1,000 to 3,000 Kappa shares on that day and made￥100,000 to ￥400,000 in profit each. Two of the three admitted trading the shares after learning of the news before its public broadcast. The material was apparently accessible to any news-related personnel. One of the three has denied the allegations, NHK said, adding that there is no evidence yet to suggest that the three were in touch with each other.

NHK President Genichi Hashimoto said at a news conference that it is unforgivable for those involved in news reporting, who are bound to the highest ethical standards, to misuse information for their personal interests.”

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Kyushu Press Photo Group Announces Top Annual Award

The Kyushu Press Photographers Association (which groups 25 member companies and 160 individuals) awarded its top prize for a combination of five photos by Hideki Tanaka of the Nagasaki Shimbun’s Sasebo branch. Tanaka took the photos immediately after a shooting rampage in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture.

In the incident, a 36-year-old man is alleged to have shot to death a woman instructor and a former classmate at a fitness center in a shotgun attack that also injured six others. Tanaka heard a siren blaring outside the office and rushed to the scene.

He said that while taking his photos, he felt the extreme shock experienced by people panicking in the midst of a violent crime. He said he hoped his photos would help to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies.