Japan: Proximity and Ties

After the discussions that we've had in class so far, I noticed that the most prominent factor that appears in the selection of "world" or "international" news on the Japanese websites tend to follow the concept of proximity both geographical and literal (as in involving Japan or Japanese citizens.) For example, on the "World News" webpage of the Asahi Newspaper, of the thirteen articles featured that were published between February 28 and this morning, every single one of them have related the issue or event to Japan. Whether the article talks about the International Space station, Nail salon operators in China, peace missions to Sudan, Croatia's opinion on Kosovo's independance, or rabies in Nepal, they all mention someone, some place, or some thing that brings the reader's attention to Japanese involvement.

Admittedly, unlike the Mainichi Daily News or the Yomuiri Daily, all the articles in the world news section of the Asahi are written by Asahi Newspaper's own journalists. None of them are attributed to Reuters or the AP as is normally found in the other two papers. Perhaps, this trend is a result of the market influences on the Japanese papers. When the company spends its own resources on an article then they want to attract the biggest readership possible to make up and even out weigh the costs. By relating international events to Japan, the Asahi may be utilizing the ties to Japan to interest people into reading their paper. Regardless of the authors of the articles, however, they don't appear to be any more biased or framed than the AP and Reuter articles that appear in other two newspapers. In fact, except for the constant mention of Japanese connections in the articles, they are fairly neutral in their reporting. For example, the third article in the list, Philippines to seek 'comfort women' apology, reports on the decisions of the Philippine government regarding the politically sensitive topic of Japan's actions during World War II, which have shadowed relations between the two countries. Yet, the author does not offer an opinion on the matter. It begins by with the fact that the Philippine government will ask Japan for a apology for forcing Filipino women into sex slavery. The next four paragraphs reports some background information: why the government has acted and what they have done. Then are a few quotations from comfort women and their supporters. Ending in a warning that there is not much time left because the former "comfort" women are passing away as these political work occurs.