It’s perhaps not surprising that online media in Japan tends to attract a broader cross-section of perspectives compared to traditional platforms, something the Black Lives Matter coverage over the past month has helped to illustrate.
The failings of traditional media in Japan to cover the death of George Floyd and subsequent protests against police brutality in the United States have already been well-documented, with The Japan Times' Black Eye columnist Baye McNeil addressing the issue in a hard-hitting contribution titled “‘No justice, no peace’: The sentiment that resonates in America, Japan and all over the world.”
For those who need a quick summary of events to date: On June 7, NHK aired a cartoon as part of its explanation of protests in the United States that included racist stereotypes. Not to be outdone by the public broadcaster’s problematic cartoon, at around the same time TBS invited a self-described white supremacist and then a white comedian on talk shows to provide analysis on race issues on the other side of the Pacific. The coverage wasn’t all bad but the negative reaction to such missteps dominated discussion.