はじめに

2023年5月3日、日本のゴールデンウィーク連休中に国際NGO「国境なき記者団」 (英語名: Reporters Without Borders | 正式名: Rapporteurs Sans Frontiers: RSF) が2023年度『報道の自由度ランキング』を発表しました。

日本は総合68位で、前年度の71位に比べて3ポイントは向上したものの、依然として危険領域（オレンジ領域） に留まり、G7諸国では引き続き最下位となりました。

評価の順位や項目については各種報道がなされましたが、評価の内容、総論や各論についての報道は今年みかけた記憶がありません。昨年（2022年度）は調査報道を行う独立系メディア「Tansa」が詳細に報じ、総合評価を含め、総論も各論も全訳してくれていました。ところが今年はそれもなく、まさにどのメディアも詳細な報道を行っていない状態なので、遅ればせながら和訳しました。時間の関係でDeepL訳をPE修正する形をとっています。

本編

総評

2023年度指標　68/180位
2022年度指標　71/180位

概要

Japan, a parliamentary democracy, upholds the principles of media freedom and pluralism. However, the weight of traditions, economic interests, political pressure, and gender inequalities prevent journalists from fully exercising their role of holding the government to account.

◇報道を取り巻く環境

In Japan, traditional media remain more influential than news websites. Mainstream newspapers and broadcasters are owned by the country’s five major media conglomerates: Yomiuri, Asahi, Nihon-Keizai, Mainichi, and Fuji-Sankei. Yomiuri and Asahi have one of the highest newspaper circulations in the world, with 6.8 million and 4 million copies a day, respectively. At the same time, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (NHK) is the second largest public broadcaster in the world.

◇政治的背景

Since 2012 and the rise to power of the nationalist right, many journalists have complained about a climate of mistrust, even hostility, toward them. The system of ‘kisha clubs’ (‘reporters’ clubs), which only allows established news organisations to access government events and to interview officials, induces journalists into self-censorship and represents blatant discrimination against freelancers and foreign reporters.

◇法的枠組み

Vaguely worded regulations, enacted in 2021 and first applied in 2023, restrict public (including journalists) access to 58 areas near defence facilities and infrastructure deemed of “national security interest”, such as the Fukushima power plants, under penalty of two years in prison and/or a fine of up to 2 million yen (about US$18,240). The government also refuses to amend a law on the protection of specially designated secrets, which punishes the publication of information obtained “illegally” with up to ten years in prison.

◇経済的背景

In this world's most aged country, the paper-centred model remains the main economic model, but its future is uncertain due to the decline of its audience. Japan does not have regulation against the cross ownership of newspapers and broadcast stations, which has led to an extreme media concentration and the growth of media groups of considerable size, sometimes with over 2,000 reporters.

◇社会文化的背景

The Japanese government and businesses routinely apply pressure on the management of mainstream media, which results in heavy self-censorship on topics that could be deemed sensitive, such as corruption, sexual harassment, health issues (Covid-19, radiation), or pollution. In 2020, the government dramatically reduced the number of journalists invited to its press conferences, using Covid-19 health measures as an excuse, and included public broadcaster NHK on the list of organisations supposed to follow its “instructions” in the case of a major national crisis.

◇安全性

While Japanese journalists enjoy a relatively safe working environment, some have been sued by politicians simply for retweeting content deemed “defamatory”. On social networks, nationalist groups also routinely harass journalists who criticise the government or cover “unpatriotic” subjects, such as the health problems caused by the Fukushima disaster. In an isolated incident in December 2022, the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan received several disturbing phone calls threatening to bomb the club and kill two of its journalists.

前年度比較

22年度結果の検証スレッド

22年度結果検証スレッドのまとめ