Comments from Members of the Open Newspaper Committee (1)

What is the Open Newspaper Committee?

The Open Newspaper Committee of the Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd. is responsible for the following three tasks: 1) to express its views on the company's response to any complaints or opinions it receives with regard to human rights and announce them to readers; 2) to express opinions if it finds any problems involving the Mainichi's news coverage; and 3) to propose ways in which the company should improve its news coverage.

The committee is made up of four members: writer Kunio Yanagida, freelance journalist Akira Tamaki, Sophia University Professor Yasuhiko Tajima and non-fiction writer Michiko Yoshinaga.

Channel for unedited information

By Michiko Yoshinaga, Nonfiction Writer

The WaiWai column lent credibility to articles that Japanese readers would ordinarily take with a grain of salt. Foreign readers cannot tell whether or not the Japanese magazines that originally published the articles are reputable and can be taken at face value. There was a danger, therefore, that the column could invite great misunderstanding. It is frightening to think that the responsibility for such a column was left completely in the hands of an individual staff writer. A company that gives precedence to the number of web hits over consideration of what information should be conveyed cannot be properly called a newspaper.

Claims have been made that the column shed light on certain aspects of Japanese society. This claim is unsupportable, for rather than shedding light, it provided something close to misinformation. The articles resorted to generalizations about the behavior of "Japanese mothers" and "Japanese schoolgirls." A simple disclaimer that the information was based on magazine articles does not ensure immunity from responsibility. If it did, it would condone the simple discharging of unedited information.

There were two opportunities to review the work the staff writer was performing, first following his probationary period when he was hired on a fulltime basis as a contract employee, and second when he was named Mainichi Daily News (MDN) Chief Editor. How was his work evaluated that he was given a position of editorial responsibility? The columns and articles written by the staff writer should naturally have been checked. It is hard to believe that they continued to be posted on the Web without any checks for the accuracy of their content.

Questions also arise regarding the Mainichi Newspapers' response to this issue, as problems with the column have been pointed out on repeated occasions. Protests regarding the site were lodged in May, but nothing was done until June 21, almost a month later. That the company failed to perceive the gravity of the situation and respond as an organized corporate entity reveals a shocking lack of sensitivity. This is a truly damaging blow, for now all of Japan has become aware of the turn of events.

Incredulously, in announcing punitive measures for the in-house managers and staff members responsible, the company added that it "is determined to take legal action against ... clearly illegal acts that constitute defamation." Gaining the understanding of the public from such a position would be impossible, for what was called for at that point was an apology, not an assertion that it, too, was a victim.

The problems that the Mainichi Newspapers has pointed out with Web-based information sources and the efforts it has made to convey information in an accurate manner are at great odds with the reality of the WaiWai column. It is my hope that the MDN takes this fact to heart and adopts fundamental measures to reform its operations.