Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The SSRC Tokyo Office is pleased to announce another upcoming Abe Colloquium!


"Japanese Traditional Media in the Digitalization Generation: Global Data Comparison," will be held at the Japan Foundation, Tuesday November 27th, from 6 pm to 8 pm. A detailed outline of the event in English is provided below.


Link (Japanese): https://www.jpf.go.jp/cgp/fellow/abe/news/colloquium181127.html


To register, please contact our staff at abetokyo@ssrc.org <mailto:abetokyo@ssrc.org> with your name, affiliation, telephone number, and email.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you there.


Social Science Research Council

Abe Fellowship Program Tokyo Office

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ABE FELLOWSHIP COLLOQUIUM

"Japanese Traditional Media in the Digitalization Generation: Global Data Comparison"

Notes: Admission is free. Presentation in Japanese with English questions accepted.

When: Tuesday, November 27, 2018, from 6pm to 8pm

Where: Sakura Hall 2nd Floor, Japan Foundation, 4-4-1 Yotsuya, Shinjuku, Tokyo

http://www.jpf.go.jp/j/access/map.html


Speaker:

Kaori Hayashi, Professor, Media and Journalism Studies, The University of Tokyo /Abe Fellow（2014）

Kaori Hayashi is a Professor at the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies at the University of Tokyo, specializing in Journalism and Media. Previous experiences include work as a correspondent for Reuters Tokyo Branch Office, Research Assistant at the Institute of Socio-Information and Communication Studies, the University of Tokyo, and visiting researcher (A.v. Humboldt-Fellow) at University of Bamberg in Germany. From April 2016 to March 2017 under the Abe Fellowship Program, Hayashi joined Free University of Berlin (Germany), Northwestern University USA), and University of London (UK) as a visiting researcher. In 2017, she published "medeia fushin (Media Distrust)" via Iwanami Shinsho Publishing. Other publications include "onna・kodomo no jyaanarizumu-kea no rinri totomoni (Journalism about Women and Children- With the perspectives of "care" ethics) which was awarded the 4th Uchikawa Yoshimi Memorial Mass Communication academic society award. For more information, please see her homepage: http://www.hayashik.iii.u-tokyo.ac.jp/


Commentator:

Tetsuo Jimbo, Journalist, Founder and CEO/Editor-in-Chief of Internet TV "VIDEONEWS.COM"



Moderator:

Hiroki Sugita, Columnist, Kyodo News


Outline:

In many developed western countries, the increase in digital media use has been accompanied by mass ideological polarization, which has given rise to discussions of "distrust in the media." Matters have only worsened with the spread of "fake news" on social media platforms. This has recently garnered attention as a pressing social issue. So, what is the situation in Japan?

Compared to western nations, polarization of views and/or a distrust in the media is not as observable among the general populace. The general public of Japan appear to believe that Japanese media, in the midst of a high growth period, is overall "unbiased, non-partisan journalism," and do not take a critical stance toward its methods of expression or political nature. On the other hand, there is an observable right-wing shift and radicalization of certain segments of the media. The indifference of average citizens to these segments has created a disconnect between the media and the general populace that only deepens as, in a vicious cycle, the media attempts to bridge the disconnect by radicalizing further. In this presentation, I will review comparative global data on these issues, and see what we may discern about the present, and the future, of Japanese media in the digitalization generation.

*This event is jointly sponsored by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) Tokyo Office and the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP). ※Personal information provided will be used for arrangements for the event and evaluation of the event, as well as providing information for future events.