Jiji Press

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — A government council on Monday stopped short of saying whether the country should scrap the broadcasting law’s Article 4, which demands that broadcasters be politically fair in reporting.

Broadcasters strongly oppose the abolition of the political fairness clause, an idea floated within the government. Some lawmakers of the Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling bloc are also cautious about such a move.

The time has come to discuss reform measures on how broadcasting should respond to major changes in the environment, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a meeting of the Regulatory Reform Promotion Council. But he made no mention of the idea.

The council listed three issues that should be discussed for broadcasting system reforms — how to create new business models amid progress in the fusion of broadcasting and telecommunications, diversify program content and achieve its overseas expansion, and build the best system for effective use of radio bands.