Japanese commentator: Media openness improves after China´s reform, openning up

Source: Xinhua | 12-15-2008 16:52

by Ma Jie and Ye Jia

TOKYO, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Media openness in China has improved after the country adopted the reform and opening-up policy 30 years ago, which facilitated communication between Chinese people and people in other countries, a commentator from a leading Japanese newspaper said.

"Significant changes have taken place in Japanese media's coverage on China since the reform and opening-up," Tomoyoshi Isogawa, commentator of Japan's Asahi Shimbun, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Isogawa, who has spent a decade working and studying in China, recalled that during the Cold War period, Japanese media usually focused their coverage on the Chinese government and the leaders' movements.

"But now their vision has expanded to every aspect of China, including economy, society, culture and sports," he said.

According to Isogawa, Asahi Shimbun had only one correspondent in China 30 years ago. But it has eight people now based in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenyang and Hong Kong.

Isogawa, a longtime witness to the changes in China, has more personal experiences than many others.

"During my first assignment starting in 1992, I was extremely enthusiastic and wrote a lot of reports about China. However, only a small portion of them get published."