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Japan: Government INTERFERENCE IN THE MEDIA AND HARASSMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNAL ON JAPAN'S MILITARY SEXUAL SLAVERY

We, at VAWW-Net Japan, a Tokyo based women's organisation lobbying for justice for the survivors of the sexual slavery and co-organiser of the Women’s International Tribunal on Japan’s Wartime Military Sexual Slavery held in December 2000, urgently need your help and support. Recently the news broke out that the Deputy Cabinet Secretary of the Japanese Government at the time when the Tribunal took place, had met with the NHK (Japanese National TV channel) management prior to the broadcasting of the programme about the Tribunal and put pressure on them to “edit” key information . Now there is an evermore stronger pressure to silence us and the conscientious media about the issue of "comfort women". Please, immediately express your commitment once again to the causes of the Tribunal and of the struggle of the women survivors of Japan's military sexual slavery. Please read the following description of the developments:

1) In Dec 2001, the Japanese national media hardly reported about the Tribunal with a few exceptions. The NHK programme "wartime sexual violence questioned", which was aired on 30/Jan/2001, was going to be the only proper documentary produced by a Japanese television station, judging from the content of the request made to VAWW-NET Japan for a grant to shoot the Tribunal and other related things, and for providing a due cooperation to the crew. In the end, however, the programme actually broadcasted was completely different from what one would anticipate from the kind of request. The programme had nothing about the basic information about the Tribunal, e.g. who held it, who were accused, etc., and nothing about its judgement or decision.

2) Then it came to our knowledge that extraordinary changes had been being made to the programme until immediately before the broadcasting. We brought the matter to the court against NHK as a way of finding all the truth about how such a distorted programme was aired in the end.

3) Just before the court hearing of our appeal case, when the conclusion of the hearing was anticipated, the following took place: - In mid-January (only several days prior to the court hearing), the Asahi Shinbun newspaper reported that politicians might have put pressure on the programme. On the following day, an NHK producer who had been in the editing group of the programme came out and told more details about what happened and what he heard had happened from his senior colleagues at the time. - According to these reports, members of the NHK management were called out by and before MPs including Abe and were exposed to their pressure to alter the programme within a couple of days before its broadcasting. The extraordinary alteration of the programme made by the NHK management itself that took just before the broadcasting (taking out a large part of the footage including the pronouncement of the late Emperor's guilt, testimonies of survivors and Japanese veterans etc) was under the particular political pressure.

4) Abe, who was the Deputy Cabinet Secretary at the time, now acknowledges that he heard the NHK management "explain" about the programme prior to its broadcasting, but contains that it was "no political pressure". He makes groundless accusations about the Tribunal.

Unlike their statements in the course of our lawsuit, the NHK management acknowledges that they did explain about the programme to politicians prior to its broadcasting, but contains that this is a part of "routine work".

5) That an MP or a member of the cabinet expresses an opinion about a programme before it is broadcasted, however, is itself a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of Japan, which stipulates the freedom of speech and press, and Article 3 of "Housou-Hou", the law on broadcasting, which prohibits interference to a radio or television programme. This is regardless of whether or not the politician means or has meant to put pressure. "Explaining" a programme to MPs prior to the broadcast is itself an act on the part of the NHK management to violate the Housou-Hou, and it is even a greater problem if it is truly a part of their "routine work" as they claim. The alteration as a result of this, of the programme which was to be the only television documentary inside Japan to fully report and discuss the Tribunal, and the groundless accusations about the Tribunal repeated by Abe and others and the Japanese media after this incident of political pressure was exposed, are unforgivable contempt against our Tribunal, which tried to bring justice to the victim, and violence, more than anything else, against the survivors and victims of Japan's military sexual slavery.


Ever since this news broke out, our office keeps receiving threatening phone calls, faxes and emails, male voices yelling left on the answering machine, irresponsible magazine reporters phoning to ask absurd questions, which reminds us of the time of the Tribunal. But members and supporters of VAWW-Japan and other NGOs throughout the country put up petitions, hold meetings and conferences to inform more about the issue and the Tribunal itself to conscientious politicians and the general public, and visit NHK local bureaus in their own areas with their protest and request to stand for freedom of speech and press rather than against it.

We will keep trying, but we do really need your support. It is very, very encouraging to hear from you for all of us here. We would like to put your messages and its translations onto our website, so that people can see it anytime. Appeal letters to NHK with your support opinion on the Tribunal would be highly appreciated.

The points your letter can focus:

• to urge NHK to admit that "explaining" about the programme to politicians prior to its broadcasting undermines independence of the press which enshrined in the Constitution of Japan, and ensure its independent standpoint from any political pressures.
• to request NHK to conduct swift and full investigation on the political interference in the TV programme and disclose the result to the public.
• to demand NHK to broadcast the TV programme before the editions - to condemn all groundless defamations to the Tribunal and harassments to VAWW-NET Japan
• to urge the Government of Japan to acknowledge fully its responsibility for the wartime sexual slavery which was in violation of international law and put their effort to implement reparation for the survivors.

Thank you very much in advance for your immediate response.

NISHINO Rumiko & SHOJI Rutsuko
Co-representatives of VAWW-NET Japan