Tightening of Regulations Immediately before the Enactment of Three Radio Laws

Examining the Amendment Process of Rules on Editing Programs of Broadcasting Act and Article 76 of Radio Act

Published: July 1, 2020

There are diverse opinions regarding a question on whether “suspension of operation” (Article 76 of Radio Act) is applicable to violations of rules on editing programs (general programing standards) of the Broadcasting Act, which includes political impartiality. The rules involving this issue were added to the Broadcasting Act and the Radio Act immediately before the enactment of the so-called three radio laws (Radio Act, Broadcasting Act, and Law for Establishment of a Radio Regulatory Commission) in April 1950, but conventional studies have not sufficiently clarified the amendment process, which the author examines based on primary sources.

According to documents made at that time, first of all, the amendment to including the violations of Broadcasting Act in the Article 76 of the Radio Act was discussed mainly by the Radio Regulation Agency and the Legislative Bureau of House of Councillors in mid–February, 1950, and the purpose of the amendment was assumingly to establish consistency between the Radio Act and the Broadcasting Act. Meanwhile, amendments to the general programing standards was separately incorporated in the Broadcasting Act through debates at the Diet. Among them, adopting the standards also to commercial broadcasters was requested by persons in charge of the establishment of commercial broadcasters while changing the content of the standards was advocated mainly by Diet members of the ruling party.

Draft amendments including the above was submitted to the General Headquarters of the Allied Forces (GHQ) in March 1950. However, GHQ’s concern was not the content of the general programing standards and other provisions but how to secure the independence of the Radio Regulatory Commission—a watchdog agency. As GHQ wanted early enactment, the amendments to the general standards and the Article 76 of the Radio Act were approved without any changes, and thus the three radio laws were established.

The sequence of events shows that the amendments to the Article 76 and to the general standards were conducted separately in different contexts and that GHQ did not regard those amendments as an important matter in relation to regulating programs. When considering the question on whether “suspension of operation” is applicable, it is crucial to examine the issue by taking the enactment process into account.

The NHK Monthly Report on Broadcast Research

MURAKAMI Seiichi

in Japanese