PARIS – Japan came 72nd on the 2016 world press freedom list, sinking from 61st in the previous year’s 180-nation ranking, Reporters Without Borders announced Wednesday.
The 11-spot slip reflects the implementation of the controversial state secrecy protection law stipulating penalties against leaks of government information designated as confidential, as well as the confrontational stance Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government against the media, the Paris-based watchdog said.
Many Japanese media organizations, including the public broadcaster, have been guessing the Abe government’s intentions and imposing self-restrictions, it noted.
The group specifically took into account communications minister Sanae Takaichi’s de facto threat to issue a business suspension order under law to a broadcaster the government considers politically biased.
An interview survey on people who work in Japanese media has confirmed self-censorship in the country, group member Benjamin Ismail, who is in charge of the Asia-Pacific region, told Jiji Press.
China ranked 176th, unchanged from the 2015 ranking. The report pointed to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s totalitarian regime.
South Korea fell from 60th to 70th, while the North came 179th for the second consecutive year, followed by Eritrea. Finland topped the list.
In its annual rankings, the advocacy group warned of “a new era of propaganda.”
Christophe Deloire, secretary general of the Paris-based group, told AFP there had been a decline in all parts of the world, with Latin America of particular concern.
“All of the indicators show a deterioration. Numerous authorities are trying to regain control of their countries, fearing overly open public debate,” he said.
“Today, it is increasingly easy for powers to appeal directly to the public through new technologies, and so there is a greater degree of violence against those who represent independent information,” he added.
“We are entering a new era of propaganda where new technologies allow the low-cost dissemination of their own communication, their information, as dictated. On the other side, journalists are the ones who get in the way.”
The situation was particularly grave in Latin America, the report said, highlighting “institutional violence” in Venezuela and Ecuador, organized crime in Honduras, impunity in Colombia, corruption in Brazil and media concentration in Argentina as the main obstacles to press freedom.