With kisha clubs back in the news again following the opening up of press conferences by the new DPJ administration, three veteran Japanese journalists came to the FCCJ on Nov. 16 for a lively panel discussion on the subject.

To some, this is already a non-issue, with the new government’s more open approach being seen as the final stage of a process that began with accredited overseas journalists being admitted to most kisha clubs back in 2002. Others, however, in both the foreign and domestic media, believe there is still a way to go for true reform of the system, as well as some logistical issues that need to be addressed regarding what will replace it.

“Maybe we are just rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic,” suggested Hirotsugu Aida, a senior writer at Kyodo who teaches journalism at Sophia University, in reference to the wider challenges facing traditional media.

Aida said he had come to represent the side of the “old conservative kisha clubs, and to play devil’s advocate – though I don’t know if kisha clubs are the devil.”

According to Aida, the two main areas of concern in the reform of the system are the practical issues of who organizes and hosts press conferences and who is allowed to attend them. He pointed out that with some ministries now hosting pressers, this raises the specter of government press manipulation through restricting access – one of the very problems that reform has sought to address.

While the opening up of press conferences to a wider range of journalists
has been generally positively received, there are still practical limits on the number of people who can fit into any venue, and few are advocating granting access
to the general public. Aida pointed out that someone has to decide who can attend press conferences, and suggested that an association of journalists is better than government officials.

Some pressers are now being jointly hosted by Kasumigaseki kisha clubs and ministries, pointed out Tetsuo Jimbo, who worked for a number of foreign media outlets before founding one of Japan’s earliest online news broadcasting companies. Given their mutual interests, this arrangement made sense, Jimbo said.

Veteran freelance political journalist Junichi Fujimoto described his shock at being told – while exchanging name cards with a senior LDP politician many years ago – that “freelancers can’t be trusted all.” But he then came to regard it as a “badge of honor,” and how it implied that kisha-club reporters could be controlled.

Fujimoto went on to describe how so many important political and economic decisions were once made in upscale ryotei restaurants, that he spent a great deal of time and money cultivating contacts among the cooks, wait staff and geisha that worked at them, in order to find out who was meeting whom.

The new administration was attempting to conduct business in a more transparent manner, Fujimoto
suggested.

“The analogy I’d use is they’re trying to move from the closed rooms of the ryotei to making decisions in a burger shop with big glass windows,” he said.

While praising Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada’s opening up of his press conferences, Jimbo accused Hatoyama of reneging on a campaign promise by allowing the pressers at the prime minister’s residence to remain closed.

Fujimoto meanwhile, maintained there is little to be learned from press conferences or kisha clubs, and that they discourage journalists from thinking for themselves.

“The current rivalry between the established media and the new media (over access to pressers and kisha clubs) misses the point. I don’t care if they even exist or not – there are other ways to get the story,” opined Fujimoto.

This view was largely echoed by Jimbo, who said, “The kisha-club system has spoiled the Japanese media, as it means they don’t go out and do investigative journalism.”

Although Jimbo claimed to have been fighting the kisha-club system since 1980, having experienced it from various sides working for major overseas outlets, and his own VideoNews.com, he urged the foreign press to play a more active role at official press conferences.

After the initial novelty of Okada’s open presser, Jimbo suggested overseas journos have been thin on the ground at subsequent ministerial briefings.

“Where is the foreign press? I urge my foreign colleagues to be there, be part of the negotiations,” implored Jimbo. “Ask harsh questions, get barred, don’t see it as a privilege, be active in opening up the kisha clubs.” ❶