Press Freedom in Japan

Abstract

The bureaucrats of New Japan feared the disruptive effects of a complex occidental culture upon a nation regimented by the shogunate. The press, as the carrier of this dynamic force, was closely supervised. The promulgation of opinion, the revelation of "political secrets," and comment in the press upon "anything, however trifling, connected with our foreign intrecourse" was categorically prohibited. The press evaded the restriction by ironic praise of the administration, by allegories, and by veiled allusions to the despotism practiced by the ministries in Persia and Turkey. Wholesale suppressions of newspapers and imprisonment of editors occurred in 1868, 1876, and 1887. Freedom of speech, press, and assembly was restricted by laws, purposely couched in vague language, which were more rigidly enforced than the strict letter might suggest. The constitution, granted in 1890, accorded a free press "within the limits of law," but imperial ordinances during the Sino-Japanese War and after the Russo-Japanese conflict nullified the grant. Slight improvements have been visible. The ban laid, in 1872, upon "discussing laws" has been modified into an injunction against "reviling laws" (1875) or against "undermining the existing governmental and economic system" (1925). Permanent suppressions may be made only after a court trial, but any one of four ministers may forbid the sale or distribution of any issue. An indefinite and unofficial elasticity of enforcement permits the written law to grow more liberal.