JCP criticizes bill to revise Broadcast Law

   In the December 12 House of Councilors General Affairs Committee meeting, Japanese Communist Party representative Yamashita Yoshiki demanded the withdrawal of a bill to revise the Broadcast Law which will strengthen the authority of the Board of Governors of the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK).

   The bill was jointly revised by the Liberal Democratic, Komei, and Democratic parties and was passed in the House of Representatives on December 11.

   Yamashita pointed out that the Broadcast Law was enacted in 1950 on the basis of a reflection on Japan’s broadcasting during pre-war and wartime days in which it was used as a mere tool to inform the public of the intentions of the military.

   Stressing that the Broadcast Law should be regarded as the means to protect broadcasters from intervention by the state or political parties, Yamashita stated that NHK’s Board of Governors must fulfill its fundamental task to ensure the independence of NHK.

   Yamashita pointed out that among the eight regions across the country from which members of NHK Board of Governors are chosen, in three regions (Kanto, Tokai, and Kinki regions) business circles’ representatives have monopolized the posts for the past 20 years. He criticized such a composition of the board as the result of the negligence of the principle of “independence from power.”

   “An increase in competitiveness is the only direction we can notice in the composition of the board,” Yamashita said.
 - Akahata, December 13, 2007