Japan is a country full of contradictions. Politically, its Constitution is democratic and Western-based, but, on the other hand, its imperial tradition is still cherished. Culturally, it is liberal and Westernized, but it is still very "Asian," paying attention to the Confucian virtues. Socially, though Japan plays a major role in export, its society is insulated and closed. There is no other country in the region that has the same attributes and the Japanese are proud of their uniqueness.

Of Japan's more than 123 million citizens, 99.2 percent are native Japanese and among the adults, 99 percent are literate. This creates a vibrant media environment with 158 dailies, more than 2,000 monthlies, hundreds of weeklies, five large commercial television networks, a public television organization, satellite and pay-TV services, a cable system and now the on-line news websites.

This report attempts to give an insight of Japan's media by giving information of ownership, and analysis of the newspapers, the reporter club system, the networks, the magazines, the radio stations, the reporting tactics and the government-media relationship.

Japan's media owners should, as stipulated by law, be Japanese citizens. Foreigners are allowed to invest and to hold not more than 25 percent of the shares. Thus the top management of the media companies is composed of Japanese, which in turn leads to the formation of distinctive aspects of management and editorial policy, such as the close relationship between government officials and media managers.

There is also a trend that media companies expand their business by establishing affiliated companies and collaborating organizations. Since the 1980's, the Fujisankei Communication Group has been running businesses like music and video, real estate and museum management through its member companies, while Asahi, with its 190 companies locally and overseas, ventured into business such as cultural activities, property management, insurance and travel.

Owing to Japan's high literacy rate, it is not a surprise to see that the Japanese are per capita the greatest readers of newspapers in the world. A Japanese family usually subscribes to a national daily and a regional or local paper. All newspapers attempt to appeal to well-educated readers but at the same time to keep those with moderate education.

Generally speaking, economic and political reports in the dailies are the most popular columns among the Japanese; Yomiuri Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun, which are famous for their sophisticated analysis, have the largest circulation. However, other content also plays a major role in attracting readers such as sensational reporting and popular culture.

In order to assess the content of Japan's newspapers and other media, it is worth taking time to study the reporter club, a unique feature in Asia. Reporter clubs are literally everywhere ranging from political parties to police stations to enhance the relationship between important figures or government officials and journalists. The member-only press club system contributes to the uniformity of news stories and generates self-censorship. Because of the fear of ostracism, few reporters dare to release stories or identity of the sources after they were told not to.

By 1997, Japan's television ownership is estimated to be about 80 million and TV networks became the major source of information. The five key networks are Nihon Television (NTV), Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), Fuji Television (Fuji TV), Television Asahi (ANB) and Television Tokyo (TV Tokyo) and are all based in Tokyo. Each is closely connected with a national newspaper. Japan's TV networks are privately owned and heavily commercial.

Since researches estimate that there are more than six television sets per every 10 Japanese and the average Japanese person watches four hours of television a day, the demand for programming is great. Most channels offer general programming, but with specialization of markets, there will be more and more 'narrowcasting' that is programming targeted at small niche audiences. Some types of programming are particularly popular with Japanese audiences such as the full-length, prime-time animated programs targeting both adults and teenagers.

One of the most exciting areas of television program is news. Previously, this field was dominated by NHK (Nippon Hoso Kyokai, or Japan Broadcasting Corporation in English), which is known for its accuracy. However, lately, a new opinionated approach in interviews initiated by an anchor for Television Asahi became very popular and was widely imitated by the anchors at other channels. The Sunday Project, a morning talk show of TBS has also become a popular forum for serious political debate. Politicians who participated in the forum would be asked aggressive questions which are regarded as non-Japanese. However, a lot of politicians still would like to show up because the wide viewership of these programs enable them to go directly to the people.

To the Japanese, magazines are light and entertaining readings so most of the popular magazines nationwide contain a mix of political analysis, cartoons, light news, gossip and some nude photographs.

Four popular magazines in Japan represent typical examples of editorial preferences of the Japanese. They are Sapio, Playboy, Modern Weekly and Friday. The publishing firms of these magazines also publish a number of comic books, the most popular readings of the Japanese, to secure their revenue.

The stories in comic books vary greatly. Comics are used by the author to express views on some of the latest issues regarded as taboo among journalists such as the underground sarrin gas attack or nuclear accidents.

The most prominent radio stations in Japan are NHK and Radio Japan. As a non-commercial radio run by the government, NHK, running two public radio stations, does not keep pace with the commercial ventures in terms of entertainment programming; instead, its emphasis is on public-service such as news and educational programming, which fills an important niche in Japan. As for Radio Japan, it provides shortwave overseas services.

In the 1990's, the major change for Japan's newspapers was the fact that reporters began filing stories electronically and pictures were processed digitally. These changes altered the way information was distributed and paved the way for the appearance of major newspapers' websites. Not only the big national newspapers but also the more progressive local newspapers have home pages giving Internet savvy readers the most updated information.

Though the Japanese media to a certain extent practicing self-censorship, its method of reporting especially crime stories is under severe attack by the public and the government. The Japanese government even tried to monitor the press by introducing a law to prior checking of news stories. Finally, the suggestion was withdrawn but two laws introduced in last year would prevent journalists' right to protect their confidential sources of information and to access several government-affiliated institutions.

As far as the government-media relationship is concerned, it is obvious that as said by Takeshi Maezawa, professor of communications at Kanazawa Women's University, journalists in Japan are completely captured by the government by being appointed membership on advisory councils. The traditions of the press club on the other hand also nurture journalists' fealty to their sources who are politicians and senior government officials.

Lately, Japan's media have begun joint ventures with the Western media. Nikkei and CNBC just confirmed a joint venture. It means a lot more coverage of international financial news--especially news from Japan (for CNBC) and from the U.S. (for Nikkei). This will be a good trend if producers in Japan aren't afraid to use stories that are critical of Japan's economic and trade policies.

Before that, Asahi has had a contract with CNN and CBS. NHK has alliance with ABC. SkyPerfect-DirecTV has just about every major international news organization on their satellite channels.