Calling for Massive Demonstration to Protest against Media Bias in Tokyo on 05 November 2010 (Fri)
Posted on October 29, 2010 by nico
(Last update on 29 October 2010, 23:30 Japan time, by nico)
デモ情報日本語版はこちら in Japanese language

The information of the demonstration to protest against Media Bias

Theme of demonstration: “Demonstration to protest against Media Bias”

Organizer: “Citizens who protest the abuse of the power & mass media”

Date & Time: 05 November 2010 (Fri), 18:30 (Japan time)

Place to gather: Meiji Kouen (Meiji Park) (nearest train station: Sendagaya)

Map Link (Target A on this map) (in Japanese language)

In order to appeal to the people who are on the way home from office, this rally will be held in the evening time.

*If there is any change or further information, I will cover in this page of this blog.
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The demonstration will be held on 05 November 2010 (Fri) in Tokyo to protest against bias of the main stream media. Now many people started suspecting the uniformed media reports, and realizing that media bias is critical problem for democracy of Japan, and discuss the matter on blogs and discussion board on internet (of course main stream media never reports about media bias). People start using internet to get more reliable information. Internet is gradually becoming the alternative information source of the people. At the same time many citizens are calling for a boycott of the major newspapers and protesting to the sponsor companies of the biased TV programmes.

This public distrust in main stream media was arisen as a consequence of the investigation by the prosecutors’ office and the media’s harsh bashing to the reformist politician Mr. Ozawa Ichiro who is trying to change the current bureaucrat-led politics that has been historical characteristic of the politics in Japan. Major newspapers and major TV stations have been criticized for biased reports to protect vested interests of the old regime including those of bureaucrats and mass media. Now Japanese citizens started believing that a series of the investigation & media reports against reformist politician Mr. Ozawa Ichiro is the trap by the old power side to end his political life.

After nearly 2 years investigation, Prosecutors’ Office was not able to find evidence to indict Mr. Ozawa, and they announced that they would drop the case against Mr. Ozawa. However a self-claimed “citizen group” used the system of Office & Committees for the Inquest of Prosecution (OCIP) which is able to check the case that has been dropped by prosecutors. Committee members are told to be chosen from the nationals by lot and members’ identities are not open to public. Committee members will have closed-door discussion with help from an assigned lawyer and if they judged it is worth indicting, they have power to indict despite the conclusion of Prosecutors’ Office. Many legal experts pointed out that it is impossible to indict, however the committee members have judged to indict Mr. Ozawa. Soon after the verdict was revealed, it was turned out that the members had added another charge which should not be included in their discussion to their verdict, and it is pointed out that the verdict itself is not valid legally. It is suspected that the assigned lawyer might have misled the committee members intentionally.

Regardless of those suspicions in the investigation of prosecutors’ office and the verdict of the OCIP, mass media continues harsh Ozawa-bashing requesting him to resign from Diet with neglecting the principle of assumed innocence.

On 24 October (Sun), the rally to protest the abuse of power of Prosecutors’ Office and the OCIP was staged in Tokyo. It was the first demonstration called for by internet and Twitter in Japan, and was broadcast live on internet. The main stream media neglected and did not cover this epoch-making demonstration that contained the severe criticism for the mass media as well. Regarding this demonstration, please refer to this article.

The same organizer will arrange another rally to protest media bias in Tokyo on Friday next week. If you are interested, please come and join or report the protest.

(Written by nico, http://nicoasia.wordpress.com/ )