How to confront classified “government secrets” is a critical issue for the media. This is because when the public exercises its right to know, the right is often satisfied by the actions of media, such as coverage and publication.
The Broadcasting Culture Research Institute hosted a symposium themed ‘How the Media Should Confront the “Government Secrecy Barrier”: Finding clues from the federal police raid on Australian public service broadcaster’ as part of its annual NHK BUNKEN FORUM held in March 2021. This paper bases on the summary of the session with complementing information for further understanding of the discussion. The symposium invited journalists and academic researchers, who discussed the issue by examining specific cases where media entities in Japan and abroad had confronted “government secrecy barrier.” With “right to know,” “national interest,” “public interest,” and “citizen’s interest” serving as key words, challenges facing the media and directions to be taken were presented through the discussion.