The environment in which Japan's mass media operate comprises two sides. On one hand, it is highly commercialized, dynamic, technologically advanced and information-flooded. On the other hand, it is a closed and interwoven system involving interests of various parties within an oppressive and manipulated society.

Government agencies and corporate enterprises exercise tremendous control over the media through various mechanisms including the reporter clubs, appointment of journalists into government advisory councils, special favors and advertising.

Having grown comfortable with the established structure, the media end up sustaining that order and being part of it. They tend to use sensational reporting to divert people's attention from the real problems in the society.

However, there has been growing public demand and pressure on newspapers to stop just being spoon-fed with news and information but to start providing comprehensive reports and analyses, doing investigative reporting into what the government is actually doing and why. In short, reporters are urged to stop seeing themselves as quiet observers but to be their readers' eyes and ears.

In fact, there has been an increasing number of journalists who know how to exploit the situation and do more investigative reporting, but these reporters are usually regarded as 'match-pump' in the system.

In terms of reporting tactics, public criticism to individual cases such as the Focus case has led to periodic pressure from the government. The proposed bill to revise the present Personal Information Protection Law has already led to much discussion and awareness among journalists on privacy intrusion. There is also an upcoming plan to revise on the JNPEA's Canon of Journalism, which was adopted in 1946, to correspond to the ongoing changes in the society.

The 1946 constitution of Japan guarantees freedom of expression unconditionally, however, self-censorship still reigns in the discussion of a number of sensitive issues.

Sensitive topics are usually those related to national and international politics. They include the imperial family, new religious sects, political groups, socially discriminated groups, organized crimes and topics related to strategic interests e.g. Japan's nuclear development. On the international stage, the G-7 and ASEAN are never criticized, since Japan is eager to keep its membership.

New taboos keep emerging as the media (usually the TV and magazines) try to do more investigative stories and dig into the unexplored topics. One of them is the nerve gas factory. In 1995 a couple of newspapers which covered the issue were closed down. Fuji TV could follow up on the nerve gas factory story only 'up to a certain limit' and were under pressure to kill the scoop.

Yet, TBS's live interview with Tokyo's mayor regarding his discriminating remark on the immigrants from Korea, China and Taiwan may be breaking the convention as a high official openly talked about the racial tension in the Japanese society.

As newspapers are losing ground to other media, the underlying pressure for the mainstream papers to change is even greater. Moreover, ongoing technological advances and increasing involvement of foreign media (e.g. admission of foreign reporters into some reporter clubs and joint-venture with foreign media) will bring new experiences and perspectives to Japan's media world. Such forces will be a strong undercurrent in the established quadrangle relationship among politicians, government bureaucrats, private businesses and the media.