Japanese Government's Attempt to Reduce Press Conferences Using COVID-19 State of Emergency Declaration Fails

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The Japanese government attempted to reduce the number of press conferences following the declaration of a state of emergency in response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), leading to friction with reporters and ultimately resulting in the plan's cancellation.

According to the Asahi Shimbun on the 9th, the press office at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's residence requested the 'Cabinet Reporters' Association,' a group of reporters covering the Prime Minister's Office, to limit Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga's press conferences to only one session in the morning and to restrict attendance to one reporter per media outlet.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga serves as the Japanese government's spokesperson and has, in principle, held two regular briefings daily, in the morning and afternoon. The press office cited an increase in Suga's workload related to COVID-19 response and the need to prevent infections within the residence as reasons for requesting a reduction in the number of press conferences.

In response, the reporters argued that, given the state of emergency, press conferences should continue twice daily to fulfill the public's right to know and provide reporters with more opportunities to ask questions. Ultimately, the press office compromised by maintaining the usual two daily press conferences but enforcing stricter time limits?typically around 10 to 15 minutes?to prevent them from dragging on.

Besides the press office, the government also proposed reducing the weekly press conferences held twice after Cabinet meetings by four ministers, including the Minister for Regional Revitalization, to once a week and introducing video conferences. The reporters' association is currently discussing how to respond, Asahi reported.

Since the declaration of the state of emergency the previous day, the seating capacity in the venue where Suga's regular briefings are held has been reduced to about one-quarter. The distance between the podium where Suga stands and the reporters' seats has been extended to 3 meters. The number of attending reporters was fewer than 20 in both the morning and afternoon sessions, Asahi reported. On the 7th, Prime Minister Abe's press conference was also held in a larger auditorium than the usual venue.