NEWSWORTHY
In Japan no one wants to talk about sex education
The English "penis" — which rhymes with "Venice" in katakana — is the preferred technical term when discussing male genitalia in Japan, but even that seems to be taboo in broadcast situations.
Sankei Shimbun retracts unverified story of rescue by U.S. Marine in Okinawa
The Sankei Shimbun has retracted a story it published last year about a U.S. Marine saving a person involved in a car crash in Okinawa, saying in its Thursday edition that it could not confirm that the events took place. The national daily apologized to ...
Ad money makes the news world go round
In a Nov. 8 press release, the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center announced that Katsuya Takasu, the most famous plastic surgeon in Japan, was no longer a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS). Previously, the center had been urging the AACS ...
Political protest or textbook harassment?
In 1979, The New Yorker ran a very long article by Frances FitzGerald about American history textbooks and how they had changed over the years. She said that the framing of history depends on who is writing it and, more importantly, who is supporting ...
How the word 'terrorism' can help pass a bill
During the recent Diet grilling over his alleged involvement in the Moritomo Gakuen land purchase scandal, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe accused his opposition party tormentors of resorting to inshō sōsa. The most accurate English translation is probably "image manipulation," which, in the age of ...
South Korea's pre-election speech freedoms falling victim to sudden online curbs
With cheap and ubiquitous access to the world's fastest Internet speeds and a lively democracy, South Korea's cyberspace could flourish with rich discussions and debates ahead of the country's general election this week. The reality, however, is that online comments or posts depicting a candidate ...
Battles over history, the media and the message scar 2015
A rundown of the top 10 human rights issues of the past year as they affected non-Japanese residents.
Seoul prosecutors say they will not appeal the recent acquittal of a Japanese journalist they had earlier charged with defaming South Korea's president. Prosecutors had sought an 18-month prison term for Tatsuya Kato of the conservative Sankei Shimbun newspaper, but a Seoul district court declared ...
Sankei journalist Tatsuya Kato acquitted of defaming South Korean leader
The Seoul Central District Court cleared Kato in a case that raised new questions about media freedom.
South Korean prosecutors seek 18 months in jail for Sankei Shimbun journalist
Prosecutors on Monday sought an 18-month prison term for a Japanese journalist on charges of defaming President Park Geun-hye in an article he wrote in August 2014. Tatsuya Kato, a 49-year-old former Seoul bureau chief for the Sankei Shimbun newspaper, is on trial at the ...
The Sankei Shimbun's former Seoul bureau chief Tatsuya Kato visited Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday after returning to Japan from South Korea, where he had been facing a travel ban, accused of defaming President Park Geun-hye. "I thanked (Abe) for giving me encouragement by ...
Sankei case reason for deleted references on S. Korea in Diplomatic Bluebook
The Foreign Ministry erased the description that South Korea shares "fundamental values" with Japan from this year's diplomatic policy report to criticize its prosecution of a Sankei Shimbun journalist, according to a senior member of the Liberal Democratic Party. Tatsuya Kato, former Seoul bureau chief ...
