Text of report in English by Japanese news agency Kyodo
Tokyo, 6 November: A private group that runs a radio broadcast service in hopes of finding missing Japanese in North Korea on Monday [6 November] criticized the government’s plan to order Japan Broadcasting Corp, the country’s public broadcaster better known as NHK, to feature the abduction issue in its shortwave radio broadcasts.
“To be honest with you, we’re disturbed” by the government’s move, Kazuhiro Araki, who heads the Investigation Commission on Missing Japanese Probably Related to North Korea, said at a news conference in Tokyo. “We are grateful if it means support for Shiokaze, but nothing has been explained to us… It has even been misunderstood that we requested (such a government order),” he added.
Shiokaze refers to the shortwave radio service Araki’s group is running and which was launched in October 2005 to call on North Koreans to provide information on Japanese nationals abducted to the communist country or others missing in a bid to rescue them. Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Yoshihide Suga plans to ask the Radio Regulatory Council, a ministry panel, on Tuesday to discuss whether NHK should emphasize the abduction issue in its shortwave radio service aimed at overseas listeners.
The ministry’s plan has come in for criticism over its implications for freedom of the press, and on Monday the Japan Congress of Journalists, an association of journalists working in Japan, issued a statement protesting at the move. The group called on the panel not to grant a broadcast order to NHK, saying, “Ordering specific and individual (broadcast) subjects violates the freedom of expression and the press guaranteed under the Constitution.” It also asked the public broadcaster to maintain independence from government interference.
Article 33 of the Broadcast Law stipulates that the communications minister can order NHK to conduct international broadcasting by designating broadcast matters, but critics say ordering the broadcast of specific subjects, such as the abductions, could infringe on NHK’s editorial rights. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, known for his firm stance on North Korea, recently instructed his Cabinet members to take measures to resolve the abduction issue and has defended the plan.
(Source: Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, in English 1341 gmt 6 Nov 06 via BBC Monitoring/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)