A dispute between the media and the Defense Agency over the agency's plan to halt regular weekly news conferences by the chiefs of staff of the Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces continued Thursday.
On Wednesday, the agency withdrew its initial proposal to terminate the briefings beginning Monday after facing strong protests from the press club at the agency, of which The Japan Times is a member. The proposal was made Tuesday.
The Defense Agency said it hopes to hold further talks with the press club and reach an agreement by the end of this month. The press club, consisting of 11 newspapers, two news agencies and seven TV companies, is debating whether to accept the proposal.