Japan-Korea Relations and TV Broadcasting
Kazuo Kaifu
Media Analyst
Broadcasting Culture Research Institute
NHK(Japan Broadcasting Corporation)
Foreword
Notwithstanding the dissemination of the Internet today, television continues to be the most important source of information. According to the White Paper 2005 published by Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, while the Internet is most frequently used to obtain information useful in everyday living, television is most often used by private individuals for access to news. Television also carries greater weight in access to overseas news topics and incidents. The 2003 survey conducted by NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute (Bunken) also shows that the television is the most useful media in gaining information on overseas events and issues for 69% of respondents in Japan. On the other hand, only 2% of the respondents chose the Internet as the most useful media in gaining overseas information. In view of this condition, the choice of“The real and false images of Japan telecasted overseas between 1990 and 2005”as the symposium theme holds great importance.
The greatest issues that Japan faces today vis-à-vis the rest of Asia are its relations with China and the two Koreas. Bunken conducted a detailed survey several years ago, in conjunction with researchers in Japan, South Korea and China, on issues related to TV broadcasting in each of the three countries regarding each other and its relationship to the image of each country. Moreover, the year 2005 marks the 40th anniversary of normalization of diplomatic ties between Japan and South Korea. For this reason, this writer looks into the relationship between the image of each country as perceived by the other and television broadcasting, based on the research findings and with attention to the arguments submitted by the panelists.
1. Survey by the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute
| (1) | News Analysis Findings -- Tone and Content of Arguments In the trilateral joint research sponsored by NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute (Bunken) on Japan, South Korea, and China, analysis of television news in Japan and South Korea was conducted in cooperation with Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, employing a common code between the two countries for the first time. Research covered eight years of television news reporting, starting in January 1992 and ending in December 1999. The study covered news on South Korea broadcast on "News 7," a leading news program of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.), and Japan-related news reported on "News 9," broadcast by KBS of South Korea. The number of news items analyzed was 1079 for NHK and 998 for KBS. The findings are summarized here as reported by Akudo, Lee, Shioda & Hattori (2000). The percentage figures quoted in the following passage have been rounded off tothe nearest whole number. |
| (a) | News content According to the survey, 64% or nearly two thirds of the news on South Korea reported on NHK’s News 7 were related to relations between the two countries, followed by 16% on the Korean political situation, 10% on Korean society, 4% of the Korean economy, and others. The survey classifies bilateral relations into (a) the "post-World War II reparation" issue stemming from Japanese colonial rule over Korea and (b) "current issues" stemming from incidents after World War II. When classified in these two categories, "postwar reparation" accounted for 6% of all news items. KBS's News 9 showed trends similar to NHK's News 7, with 53%, or more than half, of the news concerned relations with Japan, followed by 18% on Japanese society, 6% on Japanese politics and 5% on its economy. However, the "postwar reparation" issue on Korean news program accounted for16%, relatively higher than for News 7 in Japan. More specifically, 172 news items were related to the problem of interpretation of history and 92 concerned the comfort women issue. |
| (b) | News tone The tone of news coverage by News 7 showed very little positive or negative suggestions, focused on neutral reporting based chiefly on facts. On the other hand, the tone of coverage by News 9 was clear, with 27% reporting positively on Japan and 38% reporting negatively on the country, showing that many news reports were shown in these two contrasting tones. The survey also points out that News 7 in Japan did not communicate any image on South Korea or its people, while News 9 very often reported both positive and negative images of Japan and the Japanese. Nonetheless, the survey also notes that news coverage by News 9 which generates sensational images diminished dramatically over the eight years on which the survey was conducted. |
| (2) | Joint Survey on Public Awareness Alongside analysis of television news coverage, the survey conducted a poll of people numbering from 1300 to 2000 in October 1999 in the three countries, asking about their perception and image of other countries, and their attitude toward bilateral relations. According to the findings, the percentages of people in South Korea and Japan who expressed interest in the other country were 34% in Japan and 55% in South Korea. The proportions of people who said they like the other country were 45% in Japan and 36% in South Korea. On whether the respondent was interested in something about the other country, sightseeing spots were rated at the top among the Japanese, followed by Korean perceptions and way of thinking, politics and economic issues. Among Koreans, interest in the Japanese economy was at the top by a wide margin over others, which included education and technology, Japanese businesses and products, etc. Also, the percentages of people who thought that bilateral relations are amicable were 36% in Japan, compared to 43% in South Korea. The percentages of people who thought relations were poor were 61% in Japan and 57% in South Korea. |
| (3) | Agenda-Setting Function of Television Broadcasting This Bunken survey conducted analysis into the relationship between information source and image/interest of the people in one country toward the other country, based on the aforementioned analysis of TV news broadcasting and public opinion poll, and concludes that they have found an "agenda-setting function of TV broadcasting," that is, the impact of choice and rating of news provided by the TV media on public opinion. In particular, correlation in rating is strong, in the case of Japan, between television broadcasting, on the one hand and the area of interest in South Korea and mutual relations on the other. In South Korea, correlation is strong in terms of TV broadcasting and the important issues and problems between the two countries. According to the research team "TV news reporting is believed to perform an agenda-setting function toward public opinion, particularly on what should be examined and what are the important current issues today." (Akuto et al., 2000, p.152). |
2. Current Japan-Korea Relations
The year 2005 marks the 40th anniversary of normalization of diplomatic ties
between Japan and South Korea with the conclusion of the Treaty on Basic Relations
between Japan and the Republic of Korea in 1965. It has been named Japan-Korea
Friendship Year, with a large number of media organizations who, operating with
their counterparts, organized public opinion polls in the two countries between
March and July. Of the public opinion polls conducted by leading media organizations,
survey findings restricted to South Korea have been organized in a table, chiefly
on the common questionnaire items.
The results show that current bilateral relations and popular sentiment toward each other are clearly antagonistic, contrary to the objective of the Friendship Year.
| (a) | Sentiment toward Japan According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, the percentage of people who responded that they "can trust" Japan dropped from 23% in a poll conducted in 2002 to 9%. On the other hand, the people who said they "cannot trust" Japan rose 15 percentage points from 75 to 90 percent. The survey by Nippon Research Center (NRC) also shows that the percentage of Koreans who feel a sense of familiarity with Japan dropped from 30% in 2001 to 18 percent. |
| (b) | Japan-Korea Relations Findings in the Asahi Shimbun and the Yomiuri Shimbun surveys show that roughly 90% in Korea think that current bilateral relations are either "not doing well" or "bad." In the surveys by the Yomiuri Shimbun, Kyodo News and NRC, only 14 to 41 percent of the respondents believe that future relations "will improve." In these surveys, Japan is believed to be "necessary" for South Korea but not a country with which South Korea should build friendly relations. It is apparent that sentiment regarding bilateral relations has worsened significantly compared with the results of 1999 survey conducted by Bunken.* |
* Underlying the rapid deterioration of Korean perception toward relations between Japan and South Korea is the approval by the Shimane prefectural assembly in March 2005 of an ordinance to designate February 22 as "Takeshima Day" in reference to the island (called Dokto in Korean) over which the two countries are disputing territorial sovereignty. Exactly 100 years ago in January 1905, the Japanese government decided to claim the island as Japanese territory with a cabinet resolution. On February 22 of the same year, the island was named Takeshima in a Shimane Prefecture ordinance. After World War II, South Korea had in effect controlled the island with definition of the Syngman Rhee Line in 1952. Although the Japanese have proposed arbitration of the issue in the International Court of Arbitration, South Korea has rejected this claiming that the island is originally Korean territory. |
| (c) | Issue over the Historical Past In Japan's relationship with Asian countries, its relations with North and South Korea are special. Japan had annexed the then Empire of Korea under the 1910 annexation treaty. Until Japan's defeat in 1945, the country had been under colonial rule as occupied territory. For this reason, past history had constantly overshadowed relations with the two Koreas since then. On this issue, the Asahi Shimbun public opinion poll revealed that 93% of the Korean respondents and 75% of the Japanese said that "the issue of history is important in bilateral relations." Moreover, only 5% in South Korea said "Japan's compensation toward victims during the colonial period has been settled." Even in Japan, the percentage remains at 30 percent. 95% in South Korea and 60% in Japan feel that the issue has not been resolved. The Kyodo News survey also rates "apology and compensation for past deeds" at the top of the "most important issues" to be settled for growth of bilateral ties. The question of compensation toward victims during colonial rule is claimed to have been resolved with the conclusion of the 1965 Japan-Korea treaties from the perspective of diplomatic relations. It is important to note that the proportion of people who think the issue "has not been settled" is high even among the Japanese. |
3. Dissemination and Power of the Internet
As mentioned in the introductory passage, television has not lost its power as
the leading source of information to this day. Notwithstanding, we are now in
the Internet age. According to the NRC survey mentioned earlier, the largest
number of people in South Korea responded that television and newspapers are
the leading media for access to information on Japan and other Asian countries
(81 and 55 percent, respectively). Yet, the percentage of people who chose the
Internet is significantly high at 27 percent. The ratio leaps to 61% especially
among those in their 20s, rising higher than newspapers as an information source.
In Japan, TV and newspapers are likewise the top sources at 80 and 67 percent,
and the Internet has growing to 12 percent.*
Established media represented by newspapers and broadcasters are considered as
unified, organized media disseminating information one way to an indiscriminate
number of people because they are large organized bodies. On the other hand,
the Internet is said to be a plural and interactive media among indiscriminate
number of people that matches the sender and the recipient, because it is a media
in which a private individual is able to communicate information easily.
Yet, information transmitted by established media enjoys a high level of reliability
while information spreading over the Internet poses serious issues on authenticity
and reliability.
In addition, the Internet can wield explosive power all forming public opinion
and mobilizing people, depending on how it is used. Especially if there are nationalistic
motives underlying information, communication on the Internet can seriously harm
international relations. This problem has been described in detail by Professor
Liu Zhiming of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, taking up the movement
in China opposing Japan's membership in the UN Security Council as a case study.
* South Korea is presently one of the most advanced nations in the area of Internet communication. According to "2005 Internet White Paper," the Internet dissemination rate in South Korea is 65%, placing it at No. 10 in the world and at the top in East Asia. The dissemination rate for Japan is 55%, placing the nation at No. 21 in the world. The success of Roh Moo-Hyun in the 2000 presidential elections is said to be the product of a spontaneous civic network formed through the Internet, and the president has been reported to be "the world's first Internet-elected president" (Hyun, 2005).
4. Television Overseas News Reporting in the Internet Age
With the Internet achieving such explosive growth, how should television news
broadcast be, particularly for other countries?
| (a) | Objectivity to be primary in importance First of all, the most important key is to adhere to an objective stance in news coverage. Objectivity means news reporting with attention to the perspective of allthe persons / parties covered, extending into efforts to portray an objective general view to the greatest possible extent. For this reason, it is important to know the historical background and to examine issues based on underlying facts. |
| (b) | Coverage also of "soft" news topics The next point to be taken into consideration is to promote mutual understanding through coverage not only of "hard" news in the political, diplomatic and economic arenas but also of "soft" topics related to lifestyles and culture. Mutual understanding and sentiment between the people of the two countries looks not as grave as at the governmental level. As mentioned before, the Asahi Shimbun survey shows that 60% of the Japanese believe the issue related to compensation to victims during colonial rule, which the government of both countries claimed to have diplomatically settled, have not been resolved, suggesting understanding toward Korean awareness regarding this issue. In the Chunichi Shimbun poll, 54% of the Japanese respondents said they "understand" Korean opposition toward the Yasukuni visits by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Also, Koreans have pointed to the good aspects of the Japanese and aspects from which they can learn, such as diligence at work (50%), orderliness (44%), hospitality (37%) and good manners (35%). South Korea welcomes liberalization of Japanese popular culture (63% in the Asahi Shimbun survey). Kyodo News reports that interest in Japanese popular culture is particularly high among the young generations (52% for Koreans in their 20s). In the Asahi Shimbun survey, people who have frequently watched Japanese movies and dramas are inclined to say that they feel "familiarity toward Japan."* |
* Liberalization of Japanese popular culture in South Korea
came only in 1998 under the Kim Dae Jong administration. To this day, however,
there are still partial restrictions imposed on access, such as in broadcast
of Japanese TV dramas and song programs on terrestrial broadcast stations. |
| (c) | Moving Away from Magnification of Hatred One of the important points of note in the research findings by NRC is that the lack of familiarity between the Japanese and the South-Koreans seems to stem from the fact that asignificant proportion of the people of one country expresses strong antagonism toward the other. The survey reports that 67% of the Japanese do not feel familiar with South Korea due to strong anti-Japanese sentiment in that country, this rating is at the top of the causes for the lack of familiarity. In Korea, anti-Korea sentiment in Japan ranks third as the reason for not feeling familiar with Japan. It is important that both political forces and the mass media should not recklessly magnify hatred, but rather engage in more calm and objective reporting of the facts. |
| (d) | Mobilizing the Internet The next key point is that television media should take advantage of the Internet. As mentioned earlier, television news programming enjoys a high level of reliability both on fundamental and general perspectives, vis-à-vis the Internet. It is necessary for the media to make greater efforts to communicate reliable information through the Internet and take advantage of its potential. |
Conclusion
Because of the convenience in use and the fundamental and general nature of information provided, television is expected to remain at the top and a fundamental source of information today and in the foreseeable future. The same is true for its function as source of information on overseas news.
Associate Professor Henry Lawrence of Bowdoin College in the United States says that television coverage of Japan is very limited in the United States and the reality is that the greatest forces that forms the image of Japan in his country are not the mass media but political and diplomatic relations with Japan and the attractive products and pop culture that the country offers.
However, if television news coverage of each other’s country is as extensive as between Japan and South Korea, the content of news programming will affect bilateral ties and an image of the other country.
This writer believes that information on other countries should be reported with objectivity and, to the best possible extent, with depth and calmness, and with attention to the powerful influence that television can wield, in order to contribute to greater international understanding.
Material
- 2005 Japan-Korea Public Opinion Surveys (PDF File / 11.7KB)
Bibliography
- AKUTO Hiroshi & HARA Yumiko. "What Images Do the Other Countries Conjure Up?: From the Public Opinion Survey Conducted in Japan, Korea & China" , The NHK Monthly Report on Broadcast Research, August 2000.
- AKUTO Hiroshi, HARA Yumiko & HATTORI Hiroshi. “The Influence of TV Reporting on Views of the Other in South Korea and Japan: Who is Being Influenced”, The NHK Monthly report on Broadcast Research, May 2001.
- AKUTO Hiroshi, LEE Jeongsun, SHIODA Takehiro & HATTORI Hiroshi. “A Comparative Study: Japanese and South Korean Television News Coverage of the Other”, The Annual Bulletin of NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, December 2000
- HARA Yumiko & SHIODA Takehiro, Image of the Other Country and the Media: From the Public Opinion Survey Conducted in Japan, South Korea and China,” The NHK Monthly Report on Broadcast Research, March 2000.
- HYUN Mooam, Digital Democracy in South Korea. Tokyo: Shueisha, 2005.
- Internet Association Japan(Ed.). Internet White Paper 2005. Tokyo: Impress, 2005.
- Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. White Paper 2005 Information and Communications in Japan.2005.
Public Opinion Surveys
- Asahi Shimbun, April 27, 2005.
- Chunichi Shimbun, August 1, 2005.
- Kyodo News, June 25, 2005.
- Nippon Research Center, August 15, 2005.
http://www.nrc.co.jp/rep/rep20050815.html - Yomiuri Shimbun, June 10, 2005.
TV Program
- NHK. BS Documentary, Japan-Korea Treaties: Inside Stories of the Negotiations. June 18, 2005.
Profile
Mr. Kazuo Kaifu
Mr. Kazuo Kaifu graduated in 1965 from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law.
Employed at NHK the same year as a reporter. Became a correspondent and then
vice-director of the Foreign-News Department. Also served as the chief editor
of BS News 50, as media analyst at NHK Broadcasting Culture
Research Institute. He teaches at Aoyama Gakuin University and Shizuoka Sangyo
University.
