Hate Speech and the Polarization of Japanese National Newspapers

Abstract

In 2016, the first anti-hate speech law in Japan was introduced against the backdrop of verbal attacks on ethnic Koreans who were targeted with particular force by radical right organizations in the early 21st century. We argue that while the role of social media in the proliferation of hate speech in Japan has received considerable attention, the coverage of hate speech and related issues in mainstream news media has not been sufficiently studied. This article offers an interdisciplinary analysis, grounded in media studies and in linguistics, of the positions of five national newspapers in public discourse about hate speech, discussed as a current issue in Japan from 2016 until mid-2018. We combine agenda-setting theory with discourse analysis of factual reporting in order to evaluate the Japanese media landscape, which, when scrutinized through the lens of the hate speech issue, reveals ideological polarization.

Public preferences for international law compliance: Respecting legal obligations or conforming to common practices?

“…However, this law does not impose legal penalties on hate speech itself, and its salience remains somewhat low. In their text analysis of media coverage of hate speech incidents, Merklejn and Wiślicki (2020) find that newspapers point to official statistics that show an increase in such crimes, but they rarely delve into underlying structural causes. Conservative outlets primarily treat these as isolated criminal cases, rather than as manifestations of deeper, societal issues.…”

PROTOCOL: Hate online and in traditional media: A systematic review of the evidence for associations or impacts on individuals, audiences, and communities

“…The risks associated with the pervasiveness of hate materials, both on online platforms and in traditional media, have been of growing concern among scholars, decision‐makers, and practitioners (Hawdon et al, 2017; Merklejn & Wiślicki, 2020; Perry, 2019; Straus, 2007; Tynes et al, 2008). Individuals may be daily exposed to hate content through media and actively consume, seek it out, or promote it.…”

“…Even though newspapers have had less attention on these issues, some research has emphasized their role in the production of this content. According to Merklejn and Wiślicki (2020), traditional newspapers in Japan, for example, have played an important role in the development of right‐wing hate content targeting the Korean community in the country.…”