IKEDA, Osaka Pref. — Foreign and Japanese media organizations not part of the Osaka Prefectural Police press club arrived to cover the murder of eight elementary school students only to find themselves locked out of official police briefings.
On Friday, reporters from The Japan Times, The Associated Press, Reuters and Japanese weekly magazines and sports newspapers were told by Osaka police that they could not attend official briefings at Ikeda Elementary School unless Japanese media organizations that are members of the police club granted their unanimous permission.
The media organizations, however, refused to allow the foreign media to participate in the briefings, even as observers.