It was like a kangaroo court when the House of Representatives Communications Committee in March 1999 grilled the president and chief news editor of Asahi National Broadcasting Network about the contents of a popular news show, said Taizo Fukudomea, who was on the committee.

The two TV men were summoned to the Diet to give unsworn testimony and were severely criticized by both the ruling and opposition parties, who alleged that TV Asahi's News Station show misled viewers by airing a report that claimed high concentrations of dioxin were detected in spinach at a farm in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture.

The report was based on the findings of a survey the broadcaster conducted with a private research institute. It caused a drastic fall in sales of vegetables from Tokorozawa, an area dotted with waste incinerators.

It was the second time TV Asahi executives had been summoned to the Diet over the evening news show, which is anchored by Hiroshi Kume, who is known for his outspokenness.

The report also probably added fuel to politicians' long-smoldering displeasure with the show, as they found the modus operandi of the Tokorozawa report similar to how they had been treated by the media, Fukudomea said. "Many politicians are dissatisfied with the media picking up only the facts that suit their reports."

After the Liberal Democratic Party suffered a major setback in the 1998 Upper House election, complaints about public news reporting grew among LDP politicians.

Later that year, the LDP began to use nationwide monitors to check whether the media was being fair to the party in its coverage. The LDP has made it a practice since then to file a protest whenever it considers news coverage to be unfair or prejudiced.

The party also criticized major news organizations for conducting public opinion surveys on voters and announcing the findings before the elections.

The dioxin report was closely followed by what critics called "frantic" media coverage in Kochi Prefecture of the nation's first organ transplant operation from a brain-dead donor. The media were criticized for widely trampling on the privacy of the donor and grieving family members.

Amid the controversy over the two episodes, the LDP in March 1999 launched an in-house study group on the media and human rights.

During a recent meeting, members of the group criticized television news programs for airing a taped conversation between Liberal Democrat Hidenao Nakagawa and his alleged mistress over a pending police drug raid, according to Kazuo Tanikawa, who presides over the group. The TV report and Nakagawa's apparent, but denied, links to a rightwing figure eventually led him to resign as chief Cabinet secretary. The group, in its report issued in August 1999, called for establishment of an independent press council to address complaints about news coverage because it claimed the media's effort at self-discipline is inadequate.

It also proposed reviewing the judicial system, saying the amount of damages courts award plaintiffs in libel suits is too small.

If a press council does not function effectively, a legally authorized organization and legislative measures to protect human rights and privacy should be considered, the group's report says.

Legislative measures that significantly affect reporting activities are meanwhile already in place.

A law that took effect in August allowing investigative authorities to conditionally wiretap private communications may be discouraging potential informants from contacting journalists, despite claims by the National Police Agency that the telephones of news organizations are free from bugging devices.

The government and ruling parties are expected to submit to the next Diet session in January a bill aimed at protecting personal data on individuals, which the Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association argues would have a "fatal" impact on reporting.

The bill was originally proposed as a safeguard against leaks of computerized personal data managed by public authorities.

Although news organizations have mentioned the need for such a safeguard, they did not expect the activities of journalists to be affected. A government task force last month released the outline of the bill, whose basic principle is that data on individuals must be obtained in an "appropriate and legitimate manner." It also says that the "purpose" must be clarified and "transparency" ensured in obtaining information on individuals.

Although the basic principles in the outline do not stipulate punishment when the law is applied to reporting activities, journalists say the legislation will give news sources an excuse for refusing to cooperate with reporters and pose conflicts with journalists' obligation to ensure the confidentiality of their sources.

"In short, this legislation serves to restrict freedom of the press," said Minoru Akiyoshi, city news editor at the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.

The Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association and other media organizations have repeatedly demanded that reporting activities be exempted from the legislation.

But politicians seem adamant, apparently encouraged by rising public sentiment against the media.

Tanikawa of the LDP's study group said that media-related troubles are likely to occur more frequently as the information technology age advances and that regulations to deal with them will be needed in the future.

"People will not remain silent (against the media)," he said.

At the latest meeting of the LDP's media study group, members said print journalism should also be supervised by a ministry or government agency like other businesses so punitive measures can be taken when privacy is violated, Tanikawa said.

"I guess we will consider that, too," he said.