NationStates Jolt Archive

Recently, a major Japanese news organization knuckled under to pressure from the "2chan" internet forum and Japanese bloggers who objected to articles translated from their own tabloids being published in English, and discontinued a popular feature consisting of translations form Japanese tabloids. The common objection was that foreign people wouldn't "understand" these articles, and so they shouldn't be printed in English. Furthermore, thiose responsible are supposedly going to be punished...

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/culture/waiwai/
http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=4958
http://neojaponisme.com/2007/09/20/how-the-world-learns-about-japan/
http://blog.livedoor.jp/tonchamon/archives/51930175.html (This last blog has several other quite racist posts...)

So, questions for the masses:

Should a national level news organization be publishing translations of potentially embarassing articles from tabloids?

Would you be comfortable if your local equiavalent of the NYT posted a Japanese/Chinese/Swahili/Arabic/Martian/Whatever version that included sometimes lavacious articles?

What responsibility do news organizations have to stand up for their right to publish this sort of material?

What can be done to spread the word to the international intertnet community about Japan's internet bullies?

Forums. Spread the word brother!:p

Recently, a major Japanese news organization knuckled under to pressure from the "2chan" internet forum and Japanese bloggers who objected to articles translated from their own tabloids being published in English, and discontinued a popular feature consisting of translations form Japanese tabloids. The common objection was that foreign people wouldn't "understand" these articles, and so they shouldn't be printed in English. Furthermore, thiose responsible are supposedly going to be punished...

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/culture/waiwai/
http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=4958
http://neojaponisme.com/2007/09/20/how-the-world-learns-about-japan/
http://blog.livedoor.jp/tonchamon/archives/51930175.html (This last blog has several other quite racist posts...)

So, questions for the masses:

Should a national level news organization be publishing translations of potentially embarassing articles from tabloids?

Would you be comfortable if your local equiavalent of the NYT posted a Japanese/Chinese/Swahili/Arabic/Martian/Whatever version that included sometimes lavacious articles?

What responsibility do news organizations have to stand up for their right to publish this sort of material?

What can be done to spread the word to the international intertnet community about Japan's internet bullies?

Well the NYT is technically a national news media, CNN, Fox and MSNBC and all those are national news media's...what your talking about are local news medias and it would just be weird of local news medias were doing such things without much need for it.

If they are angering more customers than they are attracting, then it is not profitable for them. Newspapers have the right to make their own business decisions.

If they are angering more customers than they are attracting, then it is not profitable for them. Newspapers have the right to make their own business decisions.

So, if 2chan were to launch a campaign against the NYTimes, would you support that?

Edit: Or to make it closer, if the Japanese edition of Newsweek had a column consisting of translations from the National Enquirer, and 4chan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan) and various bloggers came along and objected bercause it embarrassed the US, and made threats to the persons involved in editing the column, should they drop the column and punish the editors?

Forums. Spread the word brother!:p

Any suggestions you have would be welcome...

Well the NYT is technically a national news media, CNN, Fox and MSNBC and all those are national news media's...what your talking about are local news medias and it would just be weird of local news medias were doing such things without much need for it.

Errr... The Mainichi is on of the major news outlets here, along with the Asahi and the Yomiuri (which one of the articles re this was posted from).

So, if 2chan were to launch a campaign against the NYTimes, would you support that?

Edit: Or to make it closer, if the Japanese edition of Newsweek had a column consisting of translations from the National Enquirer, and 4chan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan) and various bloggers came along and objected bercause it embarrassed the US, and made threats to the persons involved in editing the column, should they drop the column and punish the editors?

you know, i cannot imagine 4chan doing so except just because they found out it might work

you know, i cannot imagine 4chan doing so except just because they found out it might work

Hmmm... how to give 4chan ideas like this? :)

Do we really want that blogosphere of popular mob "true demos" of "whatever the mob says is the truth" setting the standards for national news organizations?

That last blog looked like it might have been interesting but after a promising opening it turned out just to be a lot of doodles. :mad:

To answer your question. Yes, I think we should translate our media into japanese. And not just the NYT and other humdrum stuff, but also the Star, Globe, possibly even Penthouse Letters monthly. That way japanese housewives will finally get to see who they have been mailing their money to every month.

So, if 2chan were to launch a campaign against the NYTimes, would you support that?

Edit: Or to make it closer, if the Japanese edition of Newsweek had a column consisting of translations from the National Enquirer, and 4chan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan) and various bloggers came along and objected bercause it embarrassed the US, and made threats to the persons involved in editing the column, should they drop the column and punish the editors?
It wouldn't be any of my business. If the NY Times or Newsweek decides that all those angry people are likely to represent lost business, they will stop running the columns, and if not, not.

it always sends a shiver down my spine when the internet achieves things :(

personally I would of cracked as well

It wouldn't be any of my business.

whether or not society is subject to the irrational whims of the internet (or anybody else, for that matter) isn't your business?

whether or not society is subject to the irrational whims of the internet (or anybody else, for that matter) isn't your business?
"Society"??? We are talking about a newspaper deciding what columns to run or not run. That is about as much my business as the newspaper deciding whether to stop running Beetle Bailey and pick up some edgy new comic strip. If I really like/hate a certain strip/column, I may write a letter to the editor or an e-mail myself but do not expect my one viewpoint to be decisive.