28 May 2002
MEDIA FEAR PRIVACY PROTECTION BILL
A proposed privacy protection bill currently being debated in Japan's Diet (House of Representatives and House of Councillors) is drawing fierce opposition from the media establishment who fear it may curb journalists' freedom to obtain information and conduct investigative reporting, says the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
The Japanese Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association, representing 112 newspapers, 38 television companies and four news agencies, says the proposed law would "pave the way for government interference in freedom of expression." All four opposition parties, as well as several members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, also oppose the bill, which the government hopes to pass before the current Diet session ends on 19 June.
The Personal Data Protection Bill requires those gathering and handling "personal information" about individuals to follow five rules. They must: explain the purpose of obtaining the information; appropriately gather the information; verify its accuracy; prevent the information from being leaked; and give the subject access to the information obtained about him or her, says CPJ.
While the bill exempts media organisations from incurring penalties if they violate the rules, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has stated they will be expected to abide by them, CPJ adds. The bill's definition of a "media organisation" excludes freelance journalists and publishing houses, among others, leaving them potentially open to penalties. And the obligation to reveal the purpose of gathering information and to allow the subject access to that information could discourage journalists from carrying out investigative reporting, says CPJ.
Other critics of the bill say the prime minister â whose once-high approval ratings are plummeting due to a rash of scandals within his party â is using the bill to curb the media's investigative powers, reports Reuters. During previous administrations, the media have played a key role in exposing corruption and government mismanagement.
For more information, see www.cpj.org and http://story.news.yahoo.com.
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