PRESS CONFERENCE

“Advancing News Diversity in Asia”

Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Journalist & President, the Asian American Journalists Association
Misook Lee, Associate Professor, University of Tokyo Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies 
Baye McNeil, Author & Columnist (Joining the event remotely.)
Madoka Nakano, Freelance Journalist & Researcher, University of Tokyo, Office for Gender Equality

 

13:00-14:15 Monday, July 11, 2022

Language: The speech and Q & A will be in English.

*Introduction by: Erica Yokoyama and Kantaro Komiya, co-Vice Presidents for the Japan chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association

 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has always been a controversial issue, especially in Asian newsrooms. In April, the Asia chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, released its Advancing News Diversity in Asia (ANDA) research report. The study offers a snapshot of the state of the media industry as seen by 1,226 professionals in seven Asian countries, including Japan. Among its more remarkable findings was that 90 percent of women journalists in Japan reported suffering sexual harassment from sources and newsmakers. FCCJ has invited a panel of journalists and academics to introduce the survey and discuss their own experiences of diversity, equity and inclusion in media. If you're interested in hearing whether DEI really has a future in Japan, do not miss the opportunity to listen to some of the top experts in this area.

Michelle Ye Hee Lee is a journalist and serves as the president of the Asian American Journalists Association, a non-profit founded in 1981 that has more than 2,000 members across the U.S. and in Asia. In Asia, AAJA is focused on advancing diversity of gender, race, social class and age and inclusion in media organizations.
Madoka Nakano is a freelance journalist and researcher at the University of Tokyo's gender equality office. A former reporter at Nikkei, Nakano has authored books on gender roles in modern Japanese families and was one of the winners of the PEP Journalism Award 2021 for her reporting of sexual abuse cases involving the child care platform Kidsline.
Baye McNeil is an American writer based in Japan since 2004. As an author of two books and a columnist for the Japan Times and Toyokeizai, McNeil has written extensively about issues of race and discrimination, including stereotypical representation of Black people in Japanese media.
Misook Lee is an associate professor at the University of Tokyo. Lee's research has been focused on journalism and social movements such as #MeToo in South Korea and Japan. She was previously a visiting fellow at Harvard-Yenching Institute.
Erica Yokoyama and Kantaro Komiya are co-Vice Presidents for the Japan chapter of Asian American Journalists Association and will present the results of the report. They are Tokyo-based reporters for Bloomberg and Reuters, respectively. 

 

How to attend: 
Please register at front@fccj.or.jp with your name, the name of your media outlet, and FCCJ membership number. Due to space restrictions attendance will be limited. Doors open 15 minutes before the event. Please sign in, giving your name and contact details at the reception, and have your temperature taken before proceeding. 

How to watch online: https://www.youtube.com/c/FCCJchannel/live 
Livestreaming of the press events will be available and video of this event will be uploaded to our FCCJ YouTube channel. 

How to ask questions: https://forms.gle/8zG3YsUDQD4rMU3r7 
Members watching the event online can submit questions for the speakers in advance using this submission form.

TV crew: Please make a reservation at front@fccj.or.jp. Doors open for TV crews only at 30 minutes before the event. 


Professional Activities Committee