A group of intellectuals including academics and journalists called Monday on the government and major news associations to open news conferences to a wider spectrum of media, saying the closed nature of the ministries' press club system has compromised the public's right to know.
"We demand unrestricted access to news conferences and conference rooms," journalist Masayuki Takada, one of the organizers of Kaiken Kaihou wo Motomeru Kai (Meeting to Open News Conferences), said.
Opening news conferences to all media outlets would not only improve the quality of journalism but also cultivate true democracy and freedom of speech in Japan, the group said in a statement.