Since its landmark victory in the Aug. 30 general election, the Democratic Party of Japan has continued efforts to shake up the power structure to make good on its promise to create an accountable administration.
But its latest steps to cancel routine news conferences by bureaucrats and open up the closed press club system have met resistance from major media outlets, with some questioning whether the change will actually reform the bureaucracy.
Right after returning from the U.N. General Assembly last month, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada on Sept. 29 announced that some magazine and online news reporters will be allowed to attend his regular news conferences at the ministry.