Media Discourse on the Japanese History Textbook Controversy of 1982 From the Perspective of Foreign Policy and Media Frame

Abstract

This paper’s purpose is to consider a media-foreign policy nexus on the history perception issues of Japan-South Korea relations. Previous studies demonstrate that the media tends to cover the pronouncements of political elites and that the media faces certain difficulties when covering secret foreign policy processes. This proves that the media has a negligible effect on the foreign policy process. However, in terms of a linkage between foreign and domestic politics, the media more likely focuses on public opinion in its coverage of foreign policy. With regard to Japan–Korea relations, previous studies indicated the importance of the media in the issue of history perception. This paper focuses on the Japanese history textbook controversy of 1982 and examines how the media covered the debate from the perspective of justification.