The State and the Mass Media in Japan, 1918-1945

351 Pages·1988·5.161 MB·English

by  Gregory James Kasza

The State and the Mass Media in
Japan, 1918-1945

The State and the
Mass Media in
Japan, 1 9 1 8 -1 9 4 5
Gregory J. Kasza
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
Berkeley • Los Angeles • London
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
©1988 by Gregory J. Kasza
Much of chapter 4 has appeared as Gregory J. Kasza, “Democracy and the Founding of
Japanese Public Radio,” Journal of Asian Studies, vol. 45, no. 4 (Aug. 1986), pp. 745—
767. Reprinted by permission of the Association for Asian Studies, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kasza, Gregory James.
The state and the mass media in Japan, 1918—1945.
\
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Mass media policy—Japan. 2. Government and the
press—Japan. 3. Japan—Politics and government—1912-
1945.1. Title.
P95.82.J3K37 1987 302.2'34'0952 86-25095
ISBN 0-520-05943-3 (alk. paper)
Printed in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Contents
List of Tables ix
Preface xi
PART I DEMOCRACY AND LIBERTY UNDER
PARTY GOVERNMENTS, 1918-1932
1. The Meiji Heritage 3
Early Meiji Press Policy, 1868—1889 3
The Primacy of Administrative Policymaking 7
The Constitution and Press Controls 10
The Diet and Press Policy:
The Newspaper Law of 1909 14
Democracy and the Mass Media:
Introductory Remarks 20
2. The Press 28
Administrative and Judicial Sanctions 29
Censorship Standards 33
The Modest Impact of
Administrative Controls 35
Subjugation of the Radical Left 38
The Range of Acceptable Criticism 44
The Failure of Liberal Reform 51
V
VI Contents
3. Film 54
Bureaucratic Policymaking:
The Regulations of 1925 55
Administrative Control in Practice 57
Censorship Standards 61
4. Radio 72
Bureaucratic Planning for Radio 73
Democratic Government and Radio Policy 79
Terms of the First Broadcasting Licenses 82
The Founding of NHK 83
Program Control in Practice 88
Personnel and Financial Controls 97
Intrastate Conflicts over Radio 100
5. Comparative Analysis 102
Policymaking in a
Democratic-Bureaucratic Regime 102
The Disparity between
Democratic and Liberal Values 111
PART II ADMINISTRATIVE REVOLUTION
UNDER MILITARY-BUREAUCRATIC RULE,
1937-1945
6. Transition to Military Rule, 1932—1937 121
Party Decline and Military Ascendancy 121
The Growing Statism of Party Politicians 126
Censorship of the Right 137
Planning for Mobilization 149
NHK and Creation of
the United News Agency 153
Mobilizational Military Regimes:
The First Generation 157
7. The Press: The Consultation System 168
Early Wartime Mobilization 168
The Consultation Format 172
Mobilization Directives 175
Prior Censorship of Magazines 180
The Blacklisting of Writers 182
The Atmosphere of
the Consultation Meeting 185
The Phase of Illegal Consolidations 187
Contents vii
8. The New Order for the Press, 1940—1945 194
The State Total Mobilization Law 194
New Order Policymakers and
Their Ideology 200
Planning for the New Order in
Mid- to Late 1940 207
A “Voluntary” Control Organ for
Newspapers, May—December 1941 210
Completion of the New Order for
Newspapers, 1941-1945 216
A “Voluntary” Control Organ for
Magazines, December 1940-March 1943 218
Completion of the New Order for
Magazines, 1943—1945 223
State Sanctions and the Scope of Criticism 225
9. Film 232
Early Wartime Mobilization 232
The Film Law 234
Consolidation of the Film Industry 242
Wartime Movies 249
10. Radio 252
The Structure of Program Control 253
Wartime Broadcasting 256
11. Comparative Analysis 266
The Lessons of Civil Resistance 266
The Structure of State Control 273
War, Ideology, and
Administrative Revolution 279
The Regime and Control System in
Comparative Perspective 285
Appendix: Overview of State Controls 299
Works Cited 307
Index 319

Tables
1. State Restrictions on the Periodical Press, 1869—1890 5
2. Prime Ministers and House of Representatives Election
Results, September 1918-May 1932 25
3. Judicial Verdicts in Trials of Individuals Prosecuted for
Violating the Newspaper Law, 1918—1932 30
4. Administrative Controls Enforced against Domestic
Periodicals Subject to the Newspaper Law, 1918—1932 32
5. Newspaper Editions Banned for Violations of Pre-
Publication Warnings, by Subject of Warnings,
1931-1932 37
6. Domestic Leftist Periodical Editions Banned under the
Newspaper Law and Publication Law, by Political
Tendency, 1930-1933 39
7. Arrests, Prosecutions, and Prison Sentences pursuant to
the Peace Preservation Law, 1928—1934 42
8. Administrative Sanctions Imposed under the Motion
Picture Film Inspection Regulations, July 1925-1932 59
9. Paid Inspections of Films Submitted for the First Time
and Those Cut under the Motion Picture Film
Inspection Regulations, by Area of Production, July
1925-1932 60
10. Pieces of Film Cut under the Motion Picture Film
Inspection Regulations, by Censorship Standards and
Area of Production, 1927-1932 62
IX
X Tables
11. Administrative Sanctions Imposed under the Motion
Picture Film Inspection Regulations, 1932—1937 137
12. Administrative Controls Enforced against Domestic
Periodicals Subject to the Newspaper Law, 1932—1937 138
13. The Number of Active Rightist Periodicals, by Political/
, Thought Tendency, 1932—1935 140
14. Domestic Rightist and Leftist Publications Banned for
Violating Regular Public-Order Censorship Standards,
1931-1935 141
15. Domestic Rightist Periodical Editions and Books Banned
for Violating Regular Public-Order Censorship
Standards in 1935, by Subject Matter 145
16. Active Periodicals Registered under the Newspaper and
Publication Laws, 1937—1944 224
17. Administrative Controls Enforced against Domestic
Periodicals under the Newspaper Law, 1937—1944 226
18. Administrative Sanctions against Domestic Periodicals
for Violations of Public Order under the Newspaper
Law, 1937-1944 227
19. Judicial Verdicts in Trials of Individuals Prosecuted for
Violating the Newspaper Law, 1937-1940, and the
Number of Individuals Prosecuted, 1941—1943 228
20. Administrative Sanctions Imposed under the Motion
Picture Film Inspection Regulations and the Film Law,
1937-1942 237
21. Pieces of Film Cut under the Motion Picture Film
Inspection Regulations and the Film Law, by
Censorship Standards and Area of Production, 1937-
1942 238