"Reporting Scene"

2022/01/19

Even now, the impression of "Mochizuki vs. Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga" likely remains strong. I am sometimes asked in the "past tense," such as "What kind of person was Mr. Suga, after all?" If you ask whether he is a "finished" politician, that point is completely off the mark. It is simply that he is hard to see because he is not on the center stage.

Triggered by questions at a press conference with then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga in 2017, I unexpectedly gained attention. I was bashed online and even received death threats by phone. The Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) co-opted some reporters assigned to the press club and worked hard to label me a "strange reporter." I also faced interference with my questions from Kantei staff acting as moderators. It was an insidious tactic, carried out stealthily while pretending there was a legitimate reason.

Thanks to that, something good happened. The issue of Shiori Ito's sexual violence, which was my motivation for entering the Kantei, and the "suspicious documents" problem surrounding Kake Gakuen became more widely known to the public. It visualized how government leaders do not answer questions head-on and how press conferences, which are supposed to be hosted by the press club, are completely dominated by the Kantei.

An editor took an interest in the commotion around me, which led to the writing of "The Journalist" (Kadokawa Shinsho), which also became the basis for a movie. This book, "Reporting Scene," is positioned as its sequel. In this book, I wrote about the themes I covered or was involved in during the period from when the Kantei's harassment intensified and I became unable to attend press conferences due to the spread of COVID-19, until the time Mr. Suga, who succeeded Shinzo Abe as Prime Minister, saw his approval ratings drop due to failures in COVID-19 measures and stepped down after one year without being able to dissolve the Diet.

The issue of the refusal to appoint members to the Science Council of Japan in violation of the law, the bill to amend the Public Prosecutors Office Act that ignored Diet deliberations, and the problem of long-term detention of foreigners in violation of international treaties—this book criticizes the government's response, but that is not the only thing I want readers to take away.

Because of the long-term administration and the continued collusion with those in power, such as influential politicians and bureaucrats, the watchdog function of news organizations has weakened, and awareness of gender equality and respect for human rights has not been updated and remains old. The roots of the problem are deep within the reporting scene itself.

Even if existing media stop spending money on investigative journalism or stop monitoring and criticizing power for fear of litigation risks, no one will notice if it doesn't come to light. This is the most dangerous part.

"Reporting Scene"

Isoko Mochizuki

Kadokawa Shinsho

272 pages, 990 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.