sabaikalagishikshya

Media system in JAPAN

2009-12-15T07:22:00.000-08:00

The Japanese media presents some startling differences when compared with the press in other leading industrial countries of the world. At first glance, the condition of the Japanese press seems to be parallel to that found in the United States. There are major national daily newspapers, a prestigious financial newspaper, and many regional and local newspapers. The level of reporting is quite good. There is a vigorous and increasing use not only of television for the dissemination of news, but also of the Internet. The population is highly literate; indeed, Japan has one of the highest literacy rates in the world, at over 90 percent. The vast majority of Japanese people read at least one newspaper every day.

Just five newspapers are "national" papers, and their circulation (in both morning and evening editions) accounts for half of the country's total newspaper circulation. These are (with 1996 circulation figures in millions, combining morning and evening editions) the Asahi Shimbun (12.7), the Mainichi Shimbun (5.8), Nihon Keizai Shimbun(4.6), Sankei Shimbun (2.9), and the Yomiuri Shimbun (14.55).

A closer examination of editorial style and content shows a considerable uniformity among these newspapers. It is almost impossible to characterize one or another of them as predictably and regularly representing a specific political position, as, by way of example, the New York Times can be assumed to take a liberal standpoint, while the Wall Street Journal 's editorial page usually is conservative. Part of this uniformity in editorial posture is due, of course, to the overwhelming dominance of the Liberal Democratic Party, with its six or so internal political clans but a broad consensus on policy.

To understand this condition, it is useful to take a brief excursion into the history of Japanese journalism. Newspapers as we know them came late to Japan, and were not much present until the very end of the era of feudalism, which was precipitated by the arrival in 1853 of an American armada. Initially, they seem to have been crudely printed gossipy broadsheets ( yomiuri , literally "for sale to read"). The Shogunate made many efforts to control the dissemination of information and opinion, although with the proliferation of lending libraries it was not possible to make any tight controls effective. It was not until the modernizing reforms of the Meiji Restoration (1868-1912) that a formal press was permitted.

Challenges From the Script System

The mechanical challenges of printing a daily newspaper anywhere in the world should not be underestimated. In Japan, as elsewhere, hand set moveable type was one option. Since the runs of Tokugawa broadsheets were limited to as few as dozens or the low hundreds of copies, crude materials such as rice cakes were used for inking the paper with the appropriate marks, and some publishers even resorted to the use of blocks of a hard, taffy-like sweetening material called mochi . If the Japanese newspaper world was to come of age in the Meiji period (after 1868), with high volume and multi-page runs issued daily, however, it would need to adopt modern machinery.

However, there are significant complexities in the Japanese script system that precluded the development of linotype machines in Japan until 1920. (Rotary drum presses were beginning to enter Japanese usage as early as about 1900.) The Japanese use a great number of Chinese characters ( kanji ), and to read a newspaper requires knowledge of at least 2,000 of these characters. Obviously, a keyboard is difficult to devise or to operate which would allow for these thousands of kanji .

However, since the Japanese language (unlike Chinese) is highly inflected, in order to express Japanese in writing at all a supplementary script is required ( hiragana ). Derived from stylized and simplified elements of the Chinese characters, this is a basic collection of forty-eight characters which, when combined with simple diacritical marks, allows for the representation of all 104 sounds that one can make in Japanese. A second and parallel syllabic system was later also developed, called katakana . Although the characters are similar in their essentials, this is a much more angular script in appearance than the rounded hiragana , and has been preferred in modern times for the written representation of foreign words and phrases.

Finally, it is possible to take the entire Japanese language and write it down in western style characters ( romaji ). It was briefly proposed after the Second World War that Japan be required to shift to western-style writing (as happened in Vietnam in 1906), but this idea died quickly.

In this most cumbersome of all the world's script systems, all four of these scripts are used in regular daily contexts, including in newspapers. The symbols of three of the four ( hiragana , katakana , and romaji ) tell the reader how to pronounce the word, but pronunciation of the kanji is not self-evident, and must be memorized. It is not uncommon to see a small-print pronunciation clue written above a kanji character in hiragana , and increasingly, signs in Japan are presented in two or more script systems simultaneously.

Adding additional complexity, the Japanese language is fairly "sound-poor" while nonetheless being "symbol-rich", which means that there are an extraordinary number of homonyms. For example, out of the 35 characters that can be vocally rendered by the sound rin , the meanings vary all the way from "morals" to "a female Chinese unicorn" to "luring fish with a bonfire." Finally, each character has both a classical Chinese pronunciation and a Japanese language pronunciation.

Therefore, we may come to three conclusions. It is very difficult even for native speakers to become truly and fully literate in their own language. It is a high challenge to achieve exclusive precision of meaning either in speech or in writing. It is also a major undertaking to devise a keyboard that will enable its user efficiently to write the Japanese language in the form that most closely approximates that which Japanese eyes and ears would find comfortable and familiar. As to this last problem, modern computers have helped greatly to mitigate the difficulties of typing in Japanese, since they can fairly easily supply pull-down scrolls and menus, listing options both for meanings and characters.

Press Laws and Censorship

Japan's history involving press laws is unusually complex, even considering its long march toward the twenty-first century. It is most coherent to approach the topic somewhat chronologically, noting the cumulative effect from era to era.

Transition to Constitutional Monarchy (1856-1889)

In an attempt to gain some familiarity with the news of the world, the struggling Shogunate established the "Barbarian Literature Research Department" in 1856. Initially comprising fifteen men, it rather quickly grew into an academic institute, was renamed the "Development Institute" in 1863, then progressed into the kernel that finally matured as Japan's great Tokyo University.

In 1868, as the anti-Shogun revolution proceeded, the triumphant "restorationists," who were going to "re-store" the Emperor to his "rightful position" at the head of the government, banned all pro-Shogun newspapers and sent publishers to jail. Newspapers in the future must have a publication license, obviously issued by the restorationists. Consequently, one of the first acts of the new government, in February, 1869, was to issue a Newspaper Publishing Ordinance, encompassing the key provisions that there would be no prepublication censorship, that editors' names and addresses must be carried in the newspapers, and that they would be responsible personally for newspaper contents.

Under this new law, the first true daily newspaper began on December 1, 1870, as the Yokohama Mainichi Shimbun (Daily News). However, the early days of the new government were marked by considerable unrest (as many as thirty riots per year), and so in 1873, the fundamental press law was revised as the Newspaper Stipulations. To the original eight articles of the 1869 Ordinance were now added ten additional articles. Their general tendency was to make it harder to publish editorial opinion that could be construed as unsympathetic to the authorities. The very next year, however, saw a major crisis, a revolt of a conservative wing of the 1868 restorationists, and there was a significant amount of political commentary in the newspapers. This opinion could roughly be divided into a pro-government and a pro-rights section; in response, the authorities issued and withdrew the status of "newspaper by appointment" quite freely.

The revolt of the conservative samurai having been contained, on June 28, 1875, a new "Press Ordinance" was issued, consisting of 16 articles. Its most startling bias was that any form of criticism of the state could lead to fines and imprisonment. Later that same year, on July 6, a Libel Law strengthened this tendency, and a year later, on July 5, 1876, the Home Affairs ministry gained the power to enforce a press ban for disturbance of the national security.

Nonetheless, a people's rights movement continued to emerge, so that there remained a number of relatively liberal newspapers in print. This led the government to issue a new Press Ordinance in 1883. Its forty-two new provisions allowed suppression of a newspaper if its editorial approach threatened "public peace or morals." The enforcement of this ordinance was devastating to independent partisan newspapers. Finally, on December 25, 1887, the Peace Preservation Law further supported tight control of the press.

Constitutionalism and Initial Imperialism (1889-1912)

After long discussion and negotiation, the Meiji Constitution was promulgated on February 11, 1889. This fundamental document in Japanese modern history had three articles that directly impacted the press. Article Eight allowed that extraordinary imperial ordinances could override any laws. Article Twenty-nine promised the citizenry that they "shall within the confines of the law, enjoy the liberty of speech, writing, publication, assembly, and association." "The confines of the law" was not, however, defined. Article Seventy-six established that all existing press laws as well as the Law on Public Meetings and Associations were to go into effect as part of the new constitution.

What these constitutional guarantees really meant can easily be measured. Between 1892 and 1895, 490 publications were suspended. National unity apparently over-rode all other considerations, as Japan entered an era of increasingly overt expansion. However, the introduction in this period of the rotary press method of printing had the effect of radically increasing the circulation of those newspapers still allowed to print. Circulations during this period of the leading papers were up to the 75,000-90,000 range, with a top figure of 140,000.

In these major newspapers in the 1890s, the nature of imperialism was openly debated, for instance the advisability of war with Russia. However, since Japan won both of its wars in this period (against the Chinese in 1895, and the Russians in 1905), this discussion was somewhat truncated by the passage of events. Nonetheless, the compromising nature of the resolution to the war with Russia led to widespread opposition to government policy, one result of which was that most Tokyo newspapers were shut down by the government, and there was considerable consolidation among the survivors.

Yet another new Press Law dated May 5, 1909, was issued to try to control criticism of the government. Legal responsibility now was extended even to proofreaders. Half of Japan's newspapers were out of business within a year.

Liberalism and Democracy (1912-1926)

Historians frequently and energetically debate whether or not there was a period that can properly be called "Taisho Democracy." Far from being a sterile or arcane argument among academics, the debate over the nature of Taisho democracy provides a central touchstone.

Before 1912, most of the institutions of government were in the hands of a collection of non-democratic power groups, including the institution of the Emperor, the remains of the restorationists, a collection of senior statesmen, the upper house of the parliament, the Privy Council, and the military leadership. Among those who felt that there should be more democracy as an abstract goal and those who worried that Japan could never really catch up to the West unless it went beyond superficial imitation, there was much frustration.

The catastrophic personal weakness of the Taisho emperor himself opened the door to a pro-democracy effort. Yoshihito, the Taisho Emperor (1879-1926), had suffered from meningitis as an infant. He was physically frail, hyperactive, and may have had some problems with mental stability. He was never able to exert public authority on behalf of the imperial institution, and had none of his father's genius for public symbolism.

An affiliated ingredient was the continuing concern that Japan had reached a kind of glass ceiling in its efforts to be a player on the world stage. Some felt that Japan had adopted the externals of western culture without buying into its essence of individualism. They saw liberalization as key.

The old Popular Rights movement resurfaced, this time in the form of a movement to encourage the development of political parties. These reformers emphasized that the only available route for the emergence of any true democracy was to control the government and its policies through the lower House of Representatives. Then, they hoped, public opinion, expressed both through the media and through elections, could be brought to bear on policy formation and the control of the various oligarchic factions might be diminished, if not entirely broken. Hence there occurred a long struggle to see if it might be possible to set up disciplined, policy-making political parties which were responsive to the electorate. Freedom of the press had the potential to play a central role in this effort. Debate has continued as to whether the Taisho democracy was a step on the way to true democracy or a tripping point.

Freedom of the Press in the Taisho Period

During the first half of the period, the central issue was whether or not cabinets could be made responsible to the Diets. With the restoration oligarchs aging but still struggling to control politics, the editorial policies of the Osaka Asahi Shimbun (Morning Sun) emerged as a key focus for the people's rights movement. In 1918 there were major rice riots, leading to martial law and a press blackout. The Osaka Asahi Shimbun responded defiantly by publishing with blank spaces where the censored articles originally would have appeared. The government, incensed, threatened to close the paper, whereupon the paper's editorial leadership resigned. Their successors published an apology on October 14, 1918 (as quoted in de Lange, 126-127): "in recent years our arguments have greatly lacked in moderation, and we realize we have been given to favouritism." Osaka Asahi Shimbun next announced it would in future be "free from party affiliations," and the movement for constitutional government and universal suffrage thus was damaged. In a highly ironic twist, the new prime minister to emerge in this crisis period was Takashi Hara, who had been president of the rival newspaper the Osaka Mainichi Shimbun .

Surpassing even this elaborate shuffle being carried out by the two great Osaka newspapers in 1918, 1923 brought a further element of drama. The great earthquake and fire of September 1, 1923, devastated Tokyo's newspapers, opening the door for the Osaka-based Asahi and Mainichi to become national newspapers with circulations of over one million per day. But by this time, with the 1918 humiliation of the Asahi fresh in mind, neither one was likely to become a partisan opponent of the government, especially since the mildly reformist Hara was assassinated in 1921 by a rightist.

If one of the hallmarks of a free and democratic society is a free and unfettered press, it is clear that the Taisho period, while marking the emergence of Asahi and Mainichi , hardly saw the parallel development of an uncensored press. Censorship was self-imposed, unless there was a public crisis of any description, at which time the government moved in forcibly.

The Age of Militarism (1931-1945)

Although there were minor incidents earlier, most historians would date the rise of militarism from the 1931 Mukden Incident. Yomiuri Shimbun had migrated from a small-circulation literate and literary paper, through a period of post-earthquake populism, to nonetheless losing ground to Asahi and Mainichi as these two papers moved into a commanding position as the nation's serious providers of hard news. Its relative market share dropping steadily from 15 percent down to 5 percent, after the Mukden Incident Yomiuri made yet another lurch in style, still seeking to locate a viable marketplace niche. In the early 1930s, it took on an editorial stance favorable to aggressive action on the mainland, notably in Korea, Manchuria, and China. Thereby becoming a leading force for public support of aggressive militarism, it was able to increase its circulation and at the same time immunize itself from hostile government action.

After the assassination of Prime Minister Inukai and an attempted coup by militarists on May 15, 1932, the now openly military government established a formal system of "thought police," supported informally by groups of right wing extremists, and bookstores and newspapers were raided and closed across the country. In February 1936 an even more extreme set of militarists attempted a coup but failed, resulting in a massive purge of the most radical militarists, but this had little impact on freedom of the press, since that liberal entitlement had already been drastically curtailed. However, on July 7, 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident opened the China war, and on April 1, 1938, a National General Mobilization Law included articles giving sweeping powers under Article Sixteen and Twenty to limit newspaper coverage, restrict or confiscate papers, and capture original plates.

By 1940, as the crisis deepened, the government created a single national press agency. A first step was to reduce the number of newspapers nationally from about 1,500 to 300. Later that year, the information departments of all key ministries were merged, further centralizing news flow. Paper was in short supply, with the result that the number of pages per issue was reduced, columns were crowded, and print made smaller. After the formation of "The Newspaper League" in May of 1941, the number of papers continued to shrink so that by the time of Pearl Harbor, there were only fifty-four papers remaining. The contents of the surviving papers increasingly were slanted toward the prevailing military ideology, with emphasis on State Shinto, Emperor worship, the way of the warrior, and the divine origins of the Japanese race.

The war did not go well, despite the creation of a "National Spiritual Mobilization Movement" which rhapsodized on the beauty of the shattered jewel and the solidarity of one million hearts beating as one. By March 23, 1944, Mainichi Shimbun was emboldened to criticize the war plans ("Of what use are bamboo spears against airplanes?"). However, it seems actually to be the case that most of the Japanese public was uninformed about the negative progression of the war and was genuinely stunned by the surrender.

The Occupation (1945-1952) and Beyond

One of the early acts of the Occupation government was to issue a "Memorandum on Freedom of Speech and Newspapers," a Press Code, and an order removing all legal constrictions on the press. The Press Code was the most important. Its ten articles emphasized adherence to the truth, but there were limits on the coverage of the Occupation itself. Not only could the Occupation government carry out pre-publication censorship, but also there could be no reference to such activity. In fact, there was more censorship over the Occupation government than over the old militaristic ideologies.

Under the tutelage of the Occupation, a new constitution was drawn on November 3, 1946, which included an apparently absolute statement about freedom of the press (Article Twenty-one). However, as the Cold War began and then deepened, American policy toward Japan entered into a period of change ("the Reverse Course"), through which Japan increasingly would be built up as an ally against the various socialist and communist forces of the world. This meant that there would be less and finally no tolerance at all for leftist newspapers, such as Yomiuri had become, and on June 26, 1950, the day after the invasion of South Korea, a "red purge" was carried out. However, the signing of a general peace treaty on April 28, 1952, allowed the Japanese left wing press to re-emerge.

Since that time, Japan has had an ostensibly free press system. However, this openness has been severely restricted by the existence of the press club system.

State-Press relation

Relations between the Japanese press and the state have gone through rather dramatic changes since the Occupation. As long as the economy and attendant issues of statecraft were working well, it seemed to matter very little if the Japanese media gave the government a "free pass." But it also meant that underlying difficulties in the system were not publicly debated, alternate arrangements were not explored, and corrupt practices were slow to be exposed. Superficially, this criticism might seem hard to sustain, since leading newspapers have been sharp on occasion in denunciation of a particularly inept politician. However, the underlying national economic and political system remains essentially unchallenged. In other advanced countries, the press might be expected to play a substantive role in the search for new approaches to national problems.

Journalism and Scandals

Little in the way of constructive analysis let alone criticism appeared in Japanese popular journalism at the time, although one could argue that deeper and underlying problems in the Japanese system pointed the way of the biggest story of the period 1985-1995. Foreign journalists long based in Japan wrote such critiques, but were quickly dismissed as "Japanbashers." In a curious echo of the Tokugawa era, Dutch journalists, led by Karel van Wolferen, provided most of the initial intellectual firepower.

Among the Japanese journalists, what negative attention was given to government once again was lavished on more scandalous breaches of the public trust, similar to coverage of the Lockheed scandal in 1976 that had exposed actual bribery of former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka. Even in those instances, however, the initial energy for investigating Tanaka's "money politics" in 1974 and the Lockheed payoff in 1976 had come from American sources. In the first instance, it was a Los Angeles Times reporter, and in the second an American Senate investigating committee that asked all the difficult early questions and pressed the issue to the level of public consciousness in Japan.

The Japanese Media and Its Role in Setting the National Agenda

Therefore, finally, how should we characterize the relationship between the media and the state in Japan? Harvard's Susan J. Pharr has offered an exceptionally interesting and powerful metaphor in an essay published in 1996: "Media as Trickster in Japan: A Comparative Perspective" in the book edited by she and Ellis Krauss. In this essay, and in others that fellow scholars have written for her book, evidence and argument are provided both from theoretical assessments and from case studies, leading to a mildly more hopeful view of the Japanese media.

In addition to the many occasions on which the press has over-focused on scandal and avoided alienating government "handlers," there have also been moments of achievement. Environmental pollution, a surprisingly severe problem in Japan, is on the national agenda thanks to journalistic coverage. Twice at least a ten-year period, something resembling a moment of potential political reform has surfaced (in 1993, and again with the emergence of Prime Minister Koizumi in 2001), both significantly helped along by the media. The government's weak handling of the crisis presented by the 1995 Kobe earthquake certainly also was highlighted in news coverage. Furthermore, Pharr points out that the media in Japan should not be confined to the five national papers. The weekly publications as well as anti-mainstream papers seem freer to deviate from the "press club" and "lecture" systems of gathering news. Finally, it is probable that Japanese public opinion, informed and encouraged by newspapers and other forms of media, is much more sophisticated than the national political leadership in understanding what needs to be done. This certainly is the view of a leading American observer who has lived in Japan for decades (Alex Kerr, in his two important books Lost Japan and Dogs and Demons ).

After reviewing the standard social-utility positions traditionally assigned to the media in Japan (spectator, watchdog, and servant of the state), Pharr concludes that none of these are fully satisfactory in explaining the relationship. She borrows from symbolic anthropology the notion of "stranger-outsiders" living in an "unfixed social position." Pharr approvingly cites the work of Barbara Babcock-Abrahams in interpreting the tricksters as "active mediators who are independent and both creative and destructive simultaneously, and who ultimately alter or stretch social and political boundaries and prevailing arrangements of authority" (25).

What does a "trickster" actually do? The trickster "provides release" by bringing ridicule and defiance to bear on the structures and institutions of public life. It also "evaluates," often rather harshly, with the result that the national community must confront some of its own mythologies. Third, the trickster "horrifies" by making sure that the public must look at the outlandish aspects of modern society. Additionally, the trickster "induces reflection," and finally it forces the wider community to "bond."

This application of anthropological theory to mass communications reality provides a tool for deeper understanding of the potential role of the Japanese media, and goes far beyond the surface issues raised by such terms as "liberal," "conservative," "national," "regional," "self-censorship" and "free democratic press." When studied closely in Pharr's article and accompanying essays, the notion leads toward an approach with improved texture and nuance. It also requires that we distinguish (at the very least) between the media conglomerates and their front-line practitioners, a few of whom are able and willing to "secure a measure of autonomy and space." In such a view, without denying the problems that exist, Pharr and her fellow authors find good hope that Japanese conformism will not entirely overwhelm clear and free thinking in the media about the future needs of the land and its people.

Media is to serve the international community. Many Japanese who are involved professionally with the wider world, however, can read English well. Consequently, it is not at all unusual when using the bullet trains to see Japanese individuals reading The International Herald Tribuneor The Japan Times either to the exclusion of or in preference to Japanese language newspapers. English language versions of Asahi , MainichiYomiuri , and The Asian Wall Street Journal are also widely available.

The Japan Times mines the major international news services for articles and often reprints them whole and unedited. In this way, it serves somewhat as an anthology of world reporting, easily available inside Japan to those who can read English.

However, those five national Japanese newspapers publishing in the Japanese language and producing half of the daily copies available in the whole country rely much more heavily on their own reportage system for their information and texts. Perhaps this is why the business and intellectual leadership in Japan turns to the English-language press to the degree that it does. Just as in the 1850s, if one really wants to know what is going on in the outside world, one needs to seek information and interpretation from that world, and not rely solely on sources internal to Japan.

News agencies

As in other areas of media history, Japan's first news agency (1871) was associated with an external power, Denmark. Mitsui established its first native agency in 1888, with the active support of the Japanese government. By 1926, there were thirty-three news agencies based in Tokyo alone. However, as the age of militarism set in, centralization took place rapidly, and by 1936, the government permitted only the Domei News Agency to exist. After the war, Domei broke into two units (Kyodo and Jiji), still the largest in Japan.

Kyodo is a cooperative, comprising sixty-three newspapers and Nippon Hoso Kyokai's radio and TV. It is linked to international news agencies, and maintains thirty foreign bureaus. Daily, it provides about 150-200 articles, of which about 75 percent originate with its own writers.

Jiji in its earlier years emphasized the delivery of news to corporations, businesses, and government agencies, but after 1959 broadened its scope to compete with Kyodo in providing general news coverage.

The Radio Press specializes in translating foreign short wave broadcast information.

The major trading conglomerates maintain their own internal news agencies. Mitsui, for example, has about 1,600 agents in over 500 overseas locations, transmitting about 65,000 bulletins of information daily. The leading foreign news agencies have also made considerable penetration in Japan, usually operating through annual contracts and set fee structures.

Broadcast media

NHK (Nippon Hoso Kyokai) is the public broadcasting system of the country. TV users pay reception fees which produce 98 percent of NHK's revenues. In the mid-twenties, NHK was founded as the sole radio broadcaster, and remained so until 1945. The Broadcasting Law of 1950 allowed commercial competition, which began in the following year on radio and in 1953 on TV.

Early in the twenty-first century, NHK used two television channels, and for radio employed one FM and two AM channels. In 1987, NHK introduced twenty-four-hour satellite broadcasting, and as of 2002 was using twenty-two languages to send broadcasts around the world.

Commercial broadcasting dates from 1951, first of course on radio and after 1953 on TV as well. By 1990, there were 83 radio stations of all varieties, and 109 TV stations. Radio stations collaborate in cooperatives led by Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, Nippon Broadcasting System, and the Japan Radio Network. Prominent television networks are the Japan News Network, the Nippon News Network, the All Nippon News Network, and the Fuji News Network. One prominent station leads each of these networks.

The central enabling legislation, nicknamed "The Three Radio Wave Laws," passed in 1950, requires that broadcast media be independent of the government, but also that it maintains neutrality in politics. The same dynamic seen in other industrialized countries operates in Japan. Commercial TV news, heavy budgets for advertising, and continuous broadcasting all have given televised programming more weight in Japanese society than can now be assigned to the print media. Approximately 95 percent of Japanese people watch television daily for an average of three and one half-hours. In a country of 127 million people, there were 87 million TV sets (1997), and 121 million radios. Counting every station, Japan had 7,108 broadcasters in 1999 (CIA World Factbook).

Electronic news media

Internet communications have surged in Japan, with about 47 million people using the Internet in 2000. There are more than seventy Internet service providers, almost all having the potential to connect with customers through telephone lines. However, wireless Internet services are growing explosively, so that at least one third of the users opt for that form of connection.

A number of the leading newspapers have now developed web capability both in English and in Japanese. English-language versions of papers such as Asahi Shimbun, Chubu WeeklyChunichi Shimbun (Nagoya) and twenty-eight other papers ranging from the national to the local are all available online. Additionally, the Nippon Television network, a leading commercial TV organization, maintains its own web site, as does a site associated with the Nikkei stock market. A simple web search, using intuitive categories, reveals a rich world of electronic media. The full impact of this new form of news dissemination remains to be seen, but it is safe to assume that over the next few years, the entire information industry will be transformed.

Summary

Japan indeed has a complex news media industry and history. Although Japan has almost all the elements of a world-leading press, both its media history and its customs have combined to create a situation wherein its greater potential seems unlikely to be realized. In this view, Japan's media reflects most simplistic assessments of the prospects for the country as a whole.

On the other hand, Japan is open to almost all the forces lumped together under the rubric "globalization." Further, Japan has shown remarkable resilience in the past 150 years. It has a highly educated and energetic population, one of the most literate in the world despite the challenges of its language, and a long tradition of innovation and adaptation. Only the most foolhardy or willfully pessimistic would suggest that Japan has anything but a bright future, led by its public opinion and its news media. Japan will develop in its own way and on its own schedule.

Number of Daily Newspapers:	110
Total Circulation:	71,896,000
Circulation per 1,000:	669
Newspaper Consumption (minutes per day):	28
Total Newspaper Ad Receipts:	1,247 (Yen billions)
As % of All Ad Expenditures:	27.60
Number of Television Stations:	7108
Number of Television Sets:	86,500,000
Television Sets per 1,000:	682.3
Literacy rate	99.0%
Number of Cable Subscribers:	18,705,060
Cable Subscribers per 1,000:	147.4
Number of Satellite Subscribers:	10,620,000
Satellite Subscribers per 1,000:	83.8
Number of Radio Stations:	305
Number of Radio Receivers:	120,500,000
Radio Receivers per 1,000:	950.5
Number of Individuals with Computers:	40,000,000
Computers per 1,000:	315.5
Number of Individuals with Internet Access:	47,080,000
Internet Access per 1,000:	371.4

B IBLIOGRAPHY

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). World Factbook 2001 .

De Lange, William. A History of Japanese Journalism: Japan's Press Club as the Last Obstacle to a Mature Press . Richmond, England: Japan Library, 1998.

Frederic, Louis. Japan Encyclopedia . Cambridge: Harvard, 2002.

Huffman, James. Creating a Public: People and Press in Meiji Japan . Honolulu: University of Hawaii, 1997.

——. Politics of the Meiji Press: The Life of Fukuchi Gen'ichiro . Honolulu: University of Hawaii, 1980.

Japan: Profile of a Nation . Revised Edition. Tokyo: Kodansha, 1999.

Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia . Two volumes. Tokyo: Kodansha, 1993.

Kasza, Gregory J. The State and the Mass Media in Japan, 1918-1945 . Berkeley: University of California, 1988.

Kerr, Alex. Lost Japan . Oakland, CA: Lonely Planet, 1996.

——. Dogs and Demons: Tales from the Dark Side of Japan . New York: Hill and Wang, 2001.

Landers, Peter. "Read All About It-and More Often: Japanese Newspapers Spike a Tradition." The Wall Street Journal, March 12, 2002.

Pharr, Susan J. and Ellis S. Krauss, editors. Media and Politics in Japan . Honolulu: The University of Hawaii, 1996.

van Wolferen, Karel. The Enigma of Japanese Power . New York: Vintage, 1990.

COMMUNICATION AND GLOBALIZATION

2009-09-06T07:05:00.000-07:00

Communication has played a vital role in the transformation of society.Due to communication,newer society is formed.The basic element of communication process starts fron an individual and it results in mass communication.

In the point view of society,we have reached to global community.In the context of communication,we have reached mass communication of global scale.Globalization is the phenomenon by the help of which the existence of global community is possible.It helps in forming a new structure of human society.It is a two way process.It has affected media and media industry also have affect globalization.today's world is mediated world where the scope and role of media has been crucial.There is always agenda setting by the media.It is a factor which brings people together.We have conquered over time and space with the help of globalization.Mass media has been changing it's target area as well.Transformation of media has been from local to national,national to regional,regional to international and finally international to global.As every aspects has been changed to global our knowledge also must be global knowledge.Globalization has help to bring people from different country into one place and make the global society.Media connects with the world and bring people together emotionally and informatively although it may not be physically.

Our visit to Radio Nepal

2009-06-02T10:23:00.000-07:00

Radio Nepal was established on 1st April 1951. Initially, the transmission covered duration of 4 hours and 30 minutes through a 250 Watt SW transmitter. Over the years, Radio Nepal has strengthened its institutional capacity considerably and diversified itself in terms of programme format, technical efficiency and coverage. Radio Nepal airs programmes on Short Wave, Medium Wave and FM frequencies. Regular broadcasts cover duration of 18 hours everyday which includes about 2 hours of regional broadcasts 09:45 hrs. to 11:00 hrs. in the morning and 18:00 hrs 18:30 hrs in the evening. FM Kathmandu, the first FM-Channel covering Kathmandu valley and adjoining areas was started in 1995 from its premises at Singh Durbar, Kathmandu.

Radio broadcasting is the cheapest and quickest means of mass communications in Nepal. In a mountainous country like Nepal, radio broadcasting has proved to be a very effective medium for disseminating information, educating people and entertaining the masses. Radio Nepal recognizes that its primary obligation is to serve its listeners. It has been providing various programs aimed at creating mass awareness in its attempt to reflect the views of all sections of the society. The people in the hilly areas and many of the remote villages have little or no access to motorable roads nor to any communication and entertainment facilities. Illiteracy being a common feature among the people, little use is made of the newspapers, which have very limited and delayed circulation. Therefore, Radio has been the most suitable means of disseminating information and providing entertainment to masses in Nepal.

The short Wave transmission of Radio Nepal is estimated to reach listeners throughout the kingdom.Medium Wave transmission covers 70% to 80% of the population.

Radio Nepal has its own studios for programme production, music recording, drama recording, talks shows and news broadcasts. A music library at its premises in Singh Durbar has a collection of about 40,000 songs. Foreign broadcasting Stations also make use of our Studio facilities and transmitters for live and other broadcasts on a rental basis.

The Broadcasting Headquarters at Singha Durbar in Kathmandu has two broadcasting houses consisting of one drama studio, two music studios, one reporting studio, three continuity studios, one news studio and seven programme production studios. One of the music studios is equipped with a 24 track recording facility. This studio is open for hiring purposes for anyone desirous of recording music digitally whether solo track or for albums after payment of studio charges which are very relatively reasonable compared to other private studios.The complex also has one open air live theatre facility for functions and musical performances.Like other transmitting stations, the Head quarters also has a 100 kVA stand by diesel generator to cope with occasional power failure.

Visit to Swayambhunath Temple

2009-06-02T10:08:00.000-07:00

Swayambhunath Stupa is the most ancient and enigmatic of all the holy shrines in Kathmandu valley. Its lofty white dome and glittering golden spire are visible for many miles and from all sides of the valley. Historical records found on a stone inscription give evidence that the stupa was already an important Buddhist pilgrimage destination by the 5th century AD. Its origins however, date to a much earlier time, long before the arrival of Buddhism into the valley. A collection of legends about the site, the 15th century Swayambhu Purana, tells of a miraculous lotus, planted by a past Buddha, which blossomed from the lake that once covered Kathmandu valley. The lotus mysteriously radiated a brilliant light, and the name of the place came to be Swayambhu, meaning 'Self-Created or Self-Existent'. Saints, sages and divinities traveled to the lake to venerate this miraculous light for its power in granting enlightenment. During this time, the Bodhisatva Manjushri was meditating at the sacred mountain of Wu Tai Shan and had a vision of the dazzling Swayambhu light. Manjushri flew across the mountains of China and Tibet upon his blue lion to worship the lotus. Deeply impressed by the power of the radiant light, Manjushri felt that if the water were drained out of the lake Swayambhu would become more easily accessible to human pilgrims. With a great sword Manjushri cut a gorge in the mountains surrounding the lake. The water, draining away, left the valley of present day Kathmandu. The lotus was then transformed into a hill and the light became the Swayabhunath Stupa.

Swayambhunath's worshippers include Hindus, Vajrayana Buddhists of northern Nepal and Tibet, and the Newari Buddhists of central and southern Nepal. Each morning before dawn, hundreds of pilgrims will ascend the 365 steps that lead up the hill, file past the gilded Vajra and two lions guarding the entrance, and begin a series of clockwise circumambulations of the stupa (Newari Buddhists circle in the opposite, counterclockwise direction). On each of the four sides of the main stupa there are a pair of big eyes. These eyes are symbolic of God's all-seeing perspective. There is no nose between the eyes but rather a representation of the number one in the Nepali alphabet, signifying that the single way to enlightenment is through the Buddhist path. Above each pair of eyes is another eye, the third eye, signifying the wisdom of looking within. No ears are shown because it is said the Buddha is not interested in hearing prayers in praise of him.

The area surrounding the stupa is filled with chaityas, temples, painted images of deities and numerous other religious objects. There are many small shrines with statues of Tantric and shamanistic deities, prayer wheels for the Tibetan Buddhists, Shiva lingams (now disguised as Buddhist chaityas and decorated with the faces of the the Dhyani Buddhas), and a popular Hindu temple dedicated to Harati, the Goddess of smallpox and other epidemics.The presence of the Harati Devi temple signifies the intermingling of the pantheons of Hinduism and Buddhism in the development of the religious trends of Nepal. As Buddhists had no deity in their own pantheon to protect against the dreaded smallpox, they adopted the Hindu deity for assistance.

Atop Swayambhunath hill is another fascinating, though smaller and less visited temple. This is Shantipur, the 'Place of Peace', inside of which, in a secret, always locked, underground chamber lives the 8th century Tantric master Shantikar Acharya. Practising meditation techniques which have preserved his life for uncounted centuries, he is a great esoteric magician who has complete power over the weather. When the valley of Kathmandu is threatened by drought, the King of Nepal must enter the underground chamber to get a secret mandala from Shantikar. Soon after the mandala is brought outside and shown to the sky, rain begins to fall. Frescoes painted on the inside temple walls depict when last this occurred in 1658. The small temple has a powerful atmosphere; it is mysterious, stern and slightly ominous.

The complex of temples atop Swayambhunath hill is one of my most favorite sacred places in the world. It was here, in 1967, when I was thirteen years old that I first became enchanted with visiting and photographing ancient pilgrimage shrines. Swayambhunath stupa is also called the `Monkey Temple' because of the many hundreds of monkeys who scamper about the temple at night after the pilgrims and priests have departed. These monkeys and a hashish inspired yogi first introduced me to the magic of sacred places. Nearby the Swayambhunath hill are other important temples such as the Shiva Jyotir Linga temple of Pashupatinath, Boudhanath stupa, Changu Narayan, Dakshinkali, and Budhanilkantha. Readers interested in studying the sacred sites of the Kathmandu valley in detail are referred to the works of Bubriski, Majupuria and Moran listed in the bibliography

Nepal National Library

2009-06-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

The Nepal National Library was established by Government of Nepal in January 1957 (Poush 2013 BS). The core collection was the personal library of Rajguru Hem Raj Pandey, spiritual advisor to the King, which had been purchased for the nation in 1956. The collection was moved to Sikri Dhoka, a building within the complex of Singha Durbar, a Rana Palace modeled on Versailles, and said to be the largest in Asia at the time. Singha Durbar was also the home of the Central Secretariat Library, with which the Nepal National Library was merged. At that time the total collection numbered 34,292 books and periodicals.

The post of “Chairman” of the library was created at its establishment, and the first postholder was Mr Gangadhar Parajuli. Two assistant Pundits, one Bahidur, and four Ardalis were also appointed. It was not until 1985 that a professional was appointed as Chief Librarian.

The Nepal National Library was moved to its present location, the Rana palace called Harihar Bhawan, Pulchowk, Lalitpur, in 1961 (2017), where it occupies the southern wing on the first floor of the building. In the early sixties the National Library produced an impressive series of publications, making ancient handwritten texts available in printed form. Lending services were started in 1961, and continued for some years. However, full classification and cataloguing of the stock had never been carried out, and in the early eighties it was decided to suspend lending facilities in order to embark on the mammoth task of cataloguing the entire stock. A full card catalogue for the Nepali, English, and Hindi collections was finally completed in 1988. Since that time the holdings have been made available to all for reading and reference, but in the interest of preservation, circulation services have not been resumed.

The total collection of the library has been divided into different sections according to the language they are published. In addition there are periodicals and children sections.

English collection
Hindi collection
Nepali collection
Sanskrit collection

The library has district-wise maps of Nepal and other maps and atlases in its possession. The users can fully exploit them upon request. There are some photographs of Kings and some well known personalities of Nepal.

The National Broadcasting Act, 2049 (1993)

2009-05-11T22:21:00.000-07:00

In order to protect and promote the freedom of expression and the right to be informed guaranteed to the people by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 2047 (1990), and to raise public awareness also through the language of the nation as well as national languages by creating an environment of equality, mutual good faith, and harmony amongst all the tribes, languages, classes, regions and religious denominations by imparting economic, social and cultural activities of the country to the people through the broadcasting system, it is expedient to make legal provisions on the broadcasting , without any obstruction, of the flow of information in order that the general public get informed about impartial as well as authentic news and information taking place at the national and international level, by making the broadcasting media reliable, effective and strong, with the use of modern technology available in the field of information and communications;

Short title and commencement:
1. This Act may be cited as the "National Broadcasting Act, 2049 (1993)"
2. This Act shall come into force forthwith.

2. Definitions:

Unless the subject or the context otherwise requires, in this Act, -

"Broadcasting " means the radio communication service to be so sent through signal, sound, image, picture or similar other way that the general public may get information.
"Program" means any kind of program to be broadcast through audio or audio-visual means.
"Frequency modulation broadcasting system" means a broadcasting made for the radio or television technology, by a broadcasting institution through the prescribed channel by using the frequency modulation broadcasting system.
"License" means the broadcasting license to be issued pursuant to Section 6 for broadcasting any program or the license to be issued for broadcasting by establishing the frequency modulation broadcasting system.
"Broadcasting institution" means a person or body corporate having obtained the license to broadcast programs under this Act.
"Satellite" means the satellite placed in the space in order to obtain various broadcasting materials or send them elsewhere.
"Cable" means the technology by which broadcasting materials are sent to various customers, members or consumers by wire from any certain broadcasting station.
"Earth station" means a station to be established in the earth surface in order to exchange broadcasting programs through satellite.
"Broadcaster" means a person reading out a program to be broadcast by a broadcasting institution, and this term also includes a person who composes and edits such program.
"Prescribed" or "as prescribed" means prescribed or as prescribed in the Rules framed under this Act.

3. Supervision and operation of programs relating to broadcasting.

4. Prohibition on broadcasting without license.

5. Application for license.

6. Issuance of license.

7. Powers to prevent broadcasting.

8. Power to cancel license of broadcasting institution.

If any broadcasting institution broadcasts any program in contravention of this Act or the Rules framed hereunder, His Majesty's Government may cancel the license obtained by such broadcasting institution.
Prior to cancellation of the license under sub-section (1), His Majesty's Government shall give a reasonable opportunity to such broadcasting institution to defend itself.

9. Special provisions on establishment of earth station:

Any person or corporate body, or a native and foreign person or corporate body in joint investment, who intends to broadcast any program by establishing the earth station relating to satellite and cable television, has to submit an application to His Majesty's Government for permission.
Upon receipt of an application referred to in sub-section (1), His Majesty's Government may, if, following necessary inquiry into that application, it deems reasonable to give permission to the applicant to broadcast any program by establishing the earth station relating to satellite and cable television, issue permission, as prescribed, to broadcast the prescribed programs, subject to observance of the prescribed terms.
Other provisions on the establishment of the earth station and broadcasting shall be as prescribed.

10. Broadcasting and distribution fee.

11. Production and broadcasting of programs.

While producing and broadcasting any program, a broadcasting institution has to give priority to the following matters:-

Development-oriented programs such as agriculture, education, industry, commerce, science and technology, health, family planning and forest and environment protection,
Such kinds of programs as to enhance equality, mutual good faith and harmony amongst all the tribes, languages, classes, areas and religious denominations,
Programs that contribute to the upliftment of various languages and cultures of Nepal,
Programs on such subjects as may enhance the national interest and national unity,
Programs on such subjects as may raise national consciousness and moral awareness,
Such kinds of programs as to raise social consciousness and develop democratic values, norms and culture in the people,
Programs on such subjects as may not cause adverse impact on the relations between Nepal and neighboring countries as well as friendly countries,
Programs relating to the foreign policy pursued by the country,
Programs promoting folk songs and folk cultures,
Important activities happening or taking place at the national and international level.

12. Participation of private sector in production and broadcasting of program.

13. Provision of time to foreign broadcasting institution or communication media.

14. Provision of time to broadcast advertisement.

15. Prohibition on broadcasting of advertisement.

Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 14, no one shall broadcast, or cause to be broadcast, any advertisement of the following matters:-
1. Matters adversely affecting political parties,
2. Materials of vulgar type,
3. Materials with object to oust the elected government by using violent force;
4. Matters of such a nature as to create unusual fear and terror in the general public,
5. Matters contrary to the non-aligned foreign policy of Nepal,
6. Materials misinterpreting disregarding, insulting and devaluing any tribe, language, religion and culture.
Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), nothing contained in this Section shall be deemed to prevent His Majesty's Government, in consultation with the Election Commission, from allowing any political party to give information about matters such as manifesto, program or philosophy of such party, at the time of election.

16. Functions, duties and powers of broadcaster:

The functions, duties and powers of the broadcaster shall be as follows:-

To have necessary investigation as to the truth of the information, news, articles or programs received by him and broadcast, or cause to broadcast, them at the specified time,
To edit and broadcast, or cause to be edited and broadcast, the news by being politically neutral,
Not to broadcast, nor cause to be broadcast, such kinds of programs as may undermine public security, moral and social decency,
Not to broadcast, nor cause to be broadcast, any matters recklessly or negligently,
Even if broadcasting is to be made about any debatable matter, to broadcast it by analyzing it from all viewpoints to the extent possible, and without twisting the state of affairs,
Not to collect and broadcast false and illusive news,
To carry out such other functions as specified by the broadcasting institution.

17. Punishment:

If any person broadcasts, or causes to be broadcast, any program without obtaining the license of broadcasting institution pursuant to Section 6 or without obtaining permission pursuant to Section 9, such person shall be punished, by order of the prescribed authority, with a fine of a sum equal to the license and permission letter fee and the charge as referred to in Section 10, by recovering such fee and charge ten [1] or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or with both punishments.
If any person broadcasts, or causes to be broadcast, any program in contravention of this Act or the Rules framed hereunder or commits, or causes to be committed, any act in contravention of this Act or the Rules framed hereunder, the prescribed authority may punish such broadcasting institution, broadcaster or other related person with a fine not exceeding ten thousand rupees or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or with both punishments.

18. Appeal.

19. Security of broadcasting institution.

20. Delegation of powers.

21. Powers to frame Rules.

22. Prevalence of prevailing law.

23. Saving.

(M)eat dilemma

2009-04-28T21:40:00.000-07:00

This is one of the most boring topics at any given time,but it becomes unbearable during Dashain.At every gathering,opposing friends and relatives start putting forward their "views" about animal rights and healthy diets.Even playing cards and flying kites are forgotten in the discussion.
All this leaves me bewildered.It is a simple matter of our own personal wish and desire.Either you eat fish or chicken;or u eat mutter paneer and mushroom.What is their to argue about?It is with this belief that I try to respect vegetarian though I can think extremely unkindly to anyone who tries to convert me or looks down on non-vegetarians as a whole.
My mum is a strict vegetarian who has never even tasted an omelet;my dad is the type who loves cooking,feeding everyone and relishing his own non-veg dishes.So my mum never has to worry whether the meat preparations are tasty or not.That is why a family expects a vegetarian to cook meat for them maddens me-especially as most vegetarians relate such miserable tales about being forced to handle meat even when the sight or smell sickens them.
About few years ago,my sis took to vegetarianism.Soon after,my dad almost completely turned away from meat due to health reasons.That left only me in the family as non-vegetarians.
Sometimes,during moments of reflection,I think I am an insensitive human being who misses out on the heavenly satisfaction that vegetarians must possess.Wanting to verify my emotions,I asked my sister,"Is it like this-you sit down to eat and gruesome images appear before your eyes?Then you remember the pain and sorrow in the world and you can't eat?"She had to stop choking with laughter before she assured it's not like that ,"I don't just feel comfortable,that's all."

Fundamental Of Life

2009-04-28T21:19:00.002-07:00

Life is a winding road full of sudden turn n twist.It is neither tempest nor a mid summer high dream but it is comedy of errors.Life is also a race and we should not whimper its distance one day we will surely achieve our goal.
It is also a voyage.That's why we should not complain if the storms batter the hull or the wind blowed to shred the sails,one day we shall come to our heaven.
Life is not always the same as it is now,it waits for none and it is not confined for specific time.It goes on whatever happens.So going down into depth is called life.So without being disheartened we must proceed towards our destination.

State of media during emegency (King Gyanendra's rule)

2009-04-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

Gyanendra,who became king in June after the royal family massacre,declared a state of emergency on 26 November.Prior to the declaration,police in Kathmandu raided the offices of three newspapers-Janadesh weekly,Janadisha daily and Dishabodh monthly and seized press materials and stationery from the publication houses.The plain clothes policemen also arrested a total of nine editors,journalists and media workers from the newspaper's offices on charges of being closely associated with the underground Maoist Party.
With the declaration of an "emergency",on 29 November,the police arrested 38 journalists and media workers in the western town of butwal while they were attending reception organized by High-tech publication Pvt.Ltd,which publishes the daily Jangharsha.All but one of the 38 journalists arrested were released on 3 December.The whereabouts of the consultant editor of Janasangharsha,Basanta Pokhrel is still unknown.The police raided Nawajyoti offset press and Bahumukhi Chhapakhana and seized press materials in Chitwan.The police also raided the office of the weekly Chure sandesh in Chitwan and arrested journalists from Siraha and Surkhet on 29 November.
On 28 November,the police and army seized copies of the Kathmandu Post in Kathmandu,which published a picture of a Maoist rebel,entitled "Back to Killing Field",in its Midweek post edition.The police also seized other magazines,such as the Naulo bihani and Dishabodh,which allegedly glorified Maoists.
In order to control the media activities during the state of emergency,the government issued a proclamation outlining 13 rules regarding the publication of information.They also formed a"special cell" to monitor articles in newspapers and posted items on the web related to security matters.The government asked the media to only publish new items on the "police and armed police"after verification by a spokesperson from the ministry of Home affairs.Similarly,the defense Ministry issued a statement that newspapers should not publish articles on the activities of the military without verification by the De fence Ministry.
Perhaps the most positive development that year was a supreme court ruling in favour of the right of private radio stations to broadcast their own new programmes.On 16 January,the Nepalese government restricted the nation's 11 private FM radio stations,preventing them from broadcasting independent news bulletins.Authorities also occurred them of sensationalising stories and broadcasting news without verification.
Nepal's information's and communications Minister issued a directive stating that radio stations will only be allowed to broadcast news supplied by state-authorized sources.Furthermore,in order to be considered for authorization,reports from radio stations would have to be submitted to the ministry at least one week prior to their broadcast.Finally,the directive requested that private radio stations appoint boards of directors of at least three persons,including one individual from the information and communication ministry.
Even though the broadcasting licenses had previously provided for these restrictions,the authorities had not applied them.However,on 26 July,the supreme court declared the government's directive on Nepal's private radio stations illegal,stating it was against the constitutional provision related to the "right to freedom" and the "right to information".
The assault on the Nepalese press had been immense and deeply troubling.More than two weeks after King Gyanendra cut of all communication in the country and imposed total media censorship,many of the drastic measures affecting Nepal's journalists remained in place.A program of military-enforced censorship that began on February 1 had not been lifted and hundreds of journalists who couldn't report the news face layoffs.Communications had been restored with the disturbing caveat that security forces may monitor and cut them off at will.And several journalists remained in detention,including Bishnu Nisthuri,the General Secretary of the Federation Of Nepalese journalists.
Threats to the press leave all citizens at increased risk of abuse by security forces.The media crackdown had been most severe in rural areas,which are the primary site of conflict between the army and Maoist rebels.
Independent FM radio stations had been banned from reporting the news and were limited to broadcasting entertainment programming.Hundreds of broadcast journalists faced layoffs,and the survival of local radio in Nepal.More than 40 outlets were primary source of news to people in districts over the country.
The king's orders had banned all media from broadcasting of publishing negative commentary on the king's activities or indirectly or directly criticizing the security forces in any way that could "affect morale".Anyone who disobeyed those orders would be placed under immediate house arrest,according to state media.
For a period of days following the February 1 declaration,security forces were stationed at the nation's major media houses.Military officers vetted news articles and editorials and imposed the king's new censorship guidelines by threat of force.Though the physical presence of military battalions in media offices in Kathmandu has diminished,media outlets remained under military surveillance and censorship.Security forces continued to enter newspaper and magazine offices at will.Security forces had entered the offices of weeklies Chhalphal,Deshantar and Dristi to censor their content.
Print publications outside the capital were at even greater risk.Because of the disruption in communications,specific information on conditions in the provinces was limited.Many newspapers in the districts had closed completely-some under orders if security forces-or had drastically reduced their staff size.
In the midwestern city of nepalgunj,the military rounded up newspaper editors to issue an order banning them from publishing any on information in civilian deaths by security forces.The 12 point guidelines also banned them from publishing information on political parties pr quoting news about Maoists from foreign media and required them to submit publications to the government of monitoring.
The media was prohibited from reporting on a February 1 student protest in Pokhara,where police shot one student and detained and beat 58 others,many of them severely.Mobile phone lines across the country remained down and the king had authorized security personnel to monitor or ban the use of telephone,radio,fax,TV,e-mail or any other from the electronic media as they see fit.
On February14,security forces ordered Nepal Telecommunications to cut off telephone lines in eastern Nepal's Sarlahi district,isolating thousands of people and disrupting all flow of information in that area.Security forces had also targeted FNJ President Tara Nath Dahal visiting his home and threatening his wife and children.The offices of FNJ remain under military surveillance.
On February 13,security forces arrested two journalists in Chitwan district for unknown reasons.The status of reporters Narayan Adhikari,with the state owned Rastriya Samachar Samiti news agency and Basanta Parajuli of the daily Gorkhapatra was unknown.On February 15,security forces arrested D.R Panta,local correspondent of Kantipur publications in the district of Dadeldhura.Both the people of Nepal and country's international reputation was harmed by dismantling Nepal's communication infrastructure and shutting down the press.

science is always wrong

2008-09-18T22:39:00.000-07:00

Hi friends!!

Science is always wrong.It never solves a problem without creating ten more.
So go for ARTS.