Japan Sets ¥300 Million Cap for Security-Policy Publicity; 'Comedy Duo' Campaign Draws Diet Criticism
TOKYO — The Japanese government disclosed at a Senate Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting on November 5 that it has capped publicity spending for its security policies at ¥300 million in total, ahead of a planned revision by year-end of the three security documents including the National Security Strategy. A Cabinet Office official said the publicity is divided by audience, with a ¥150 million cap each for younger audiences and for middle-aged and older audiences.
The government plans to step up security-policy publicity through videos on the internet and social media and through television advertising. One campaign aimed at middle-aged and older audiences went online on the Government PR Online site on October 26, using a Yoshimoto Kogyo 'married-couple manzai' comedy act to explain how security relates to daily life, aimed mainly at women over 40. The youth-oriented campaign is still in production.
The approach drew criticism in the Diet. Constitutional Democratic Party Senator Maiko Tajima told the committee that security is a matter of human life and that turning it into a comedy act was highly questionable. The Cabinet Office replied that government publicity aims to make important policies easy to understand, and that this campaign is meant to deepen public understanding of how Japan's security environment is closely tied to everyday life.
The planned revision of the three security documents is expected to cover unfamiliar topics such as new operational concepts and the capacity to sustain a response in a prolonged contingency, while defense spending is set to rise substantially, and the government hopes to prepare public opinion in advance.
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(Source: Cabinet Office, Japan)
Source: Cabinet Office, Japan
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于日本东京的国会议事堂（资料图，本站档案图）。 / Photo: The National Diet Building in Tokyo, Japan (file photo, GSM archive).
