The major Japanese broadsheet newspapers in circulation today have a history spanning 150 years. Unlike many of their Western counterparts, these leading newspapers tend to operate at a national rather than a city level. While they primarily focus on domestic issues, they also allocate a certain amount of page space to world news and maintain a network of foreign bureaus. But how do they choose to cover the world? It is reasonable to assume a strong "home" lens, in which countries, regions, and events perceived as impacting Japan’s national interests are prioritized. We can also assume that powerful Western countries exert influence on what is reported. However, long-term research on how Japanese newspapers cover world affairs remains limited, and our understanding of broader trends in coverage is still developing. This panel brings together three new studies on this topic. The first offers a historical examination of how Japanese newspapers covered Japan’s often difficult relationships with its neighbours – China and South Korea – focusing on the early Cold War era. The second traces the decline in the volume of international news coverage in Japanese newspapers over the past 25 years and explores the reasons behind this trend. The third analyses geographical and topical trends in coverage over the past decade, aiming to deepen our understanding of the priorities and interests that shape Japanese newspapers’ reporting on the world.

Authors:
Sonja Viktorija Anić, The University of Osaka, Japan
Maiko Takeuchi, The University of Osaka, Japan
Virgil Hawkins, The University of Osaka, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
-Sonja Viktorija Anić is a PhD candidate at the Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University, Japan.
-Dr Virgil Hawkins is a professor specialising in world affairs and the news media, and is based at the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP), The University of Osaka, Japan.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Wednesday Schedule

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