The Logic of Broadcast Content Regulation under LDP Administrations since the 2000s and Controversy over NHKs Rightward Shift

Abstract

Since the commencement of the second Abe Shinzō administration, concerns have been raised regarding the rapid move to the right of NHK, Japans public broadcasting network. Although ideally a public broadcasting company should adhere to a neutral political stance, NHK has always been inextricably linked to the positions of the government and the ruling party. The institutions allowing for this arrangement have existed throughout the postwar period, established under US military rule and perpetuated under the prolonged rule of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Keeping this continuity in mind, this paper analyzes the logic and features of NHK broadcasting content regulation under the LDP since the 2000s. Overall, the LDPs regulatory stance has been colored by the domination of neo-nationalist politicians campaigning to shed the postwar regime. Without altering broadcast legislation per se, LDP administrations have actively reinterpreted existing laws (particularly the Program Editorial Rules [Hōsō Henshū Junsoku]) as a basis for intervening in broadcast content, advancing the logic of neo-conservative regulatory expansion.