GNVIn this report, we have analyzed the disparities in international media coverage from various aspects. In the course of our analysis of media coverage, we have found that some regions receive a great deal of media coverage, while other regions receive little.phenomenonhave been captured. Factors that cause differences in the amount of coverage include the country's or region's demographic and economicscaleThe most important of these is the relationship between Japan and theRelationshipsId.

In this issue, we would like to focus on the Southeast Asian region, which is geographically close to Japan, and analyze the volume of its media coverage. Southeast Asia accounts for about 10% of the world's population of over 7.8 billion people and has been experiencing dizzying economic growth in recent years. In addition, Southeast Asia has a deep relationship with Japan in various aspects, including trade.relationshipThere is a So, do the Japanese media reflect the size of this region and its relationship with Japan in the amount of coverage?

View of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Photo: hams Nocete / Flickr [CC BY-SA 2.0])

Southeast Asia Overview

Southeast Asia consists of 11 countries: Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Laos. Southeast Asia as a wholepopulationis about 680 million, of which Indonesia has the largest population at about 280 million. This is the fourth largest in the world after China, India, and the United States. Furthermore, Southeast Asia is home to a variety of ethnic identities, languages, and religions, which straddle national borders to form a multi-ethnic nation. Singapore, for example, has a population of 761 TP3T Chinese, 151 TP3T Malays, and 7.51 TP3T Indians, with a variety of identities and ethnic rootsconfigurationThe language of the region is diverse and has its roots in the local language. In terms of languages, there are a variety of languages that are rooted in the land. However, despite being a multi-ethnic country, many countries have several official languages, including the languages of the former sovereign states, in addition to the major languages. Various religions have also spread along with the movement of people and goods. Buddhism is practiced in continental countries such as Thailand and Myanmar, Islam in Indonesia and Brunei, and Christianity in the Philippines. However, there are also religious minorities in each country.

Looking at the economy, the total gross domestic product (GDP) of each country exceeds US$3 trillion, accounting for about 3.51 TP3T of the world's GDP. By country, Indonesia (16th in the world), Thailand (26th in the world), and the Philippines (32nd in the world) are the largest in terms of GDP, in that order. The difference is as much as 40 times greater in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Timor-Leste. AlsoEast Timoras of 2019.multidimensional poverty rateis as high as 45.81 TP3T. This goes beyond mere monetary indicators and refers to the percentage of the poor after taking into account how poor people are on a daily basis in terms of health, education, and livelihood. Thus, the economic disparity is striking even when compared within Southeast Asian countries.

In recent years, Southeast Asian countries have experienced remarkable economic growth. Since its independence in 1965, Singapore has succeeded in achieving economic growth thanks to policies such as the attraction of foreign companies and efforts in the tourism industry. Its growth has been historic, and it is now known as an Asian hub for logistics. Vietnam has also shown stable economic growth with an average growth rate of 6.31 TP3T from 2011 to 2019, especially in 2018 and 2019.7%exceeded.

Economic and political ties are also being promoted to some extent. The manifestation of this is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which was established in 1967 by Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia to build friendly relations. Brunei joined in 1984, followed by Vietnam in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999. Various meetings and conferences, including the ASEAN Summit, the highest decision-making body, are held annually in ASEAN countries. The ASEAN Summit is the highest decision-making body of ASEAN, and various meetings and conferences are held every year in ASEAN countries, including the ASEAN Summit.frameworkIn 1993, a free trade agreement called the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) was signed to remove tariff barriers on all products produced in the region. Currently, the intra-regional trade ratio is both exports and imports.Approx. 20However, the increase in the number of foreign trade partners, such as China and the U.S., has been offset by the increase in the number of foreign trade partners.

Downtown Hanoi, Vietnam (Photo: Funcky Chickens / Flickr [CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0])

A look at the political systems of Southeast Asian countries reveals that many of them do not have democratic systems in place. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) classifies the world's countries into four categories, in descending order of level of democracy: "full democracies," "flawed democracies," "mixed democracies and authoritarian regimes," and "authoritarian regimes.Democracy Index 2020."According to the "Mere Old Man," Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Laos have authoritarian regimes with the lowest levels of democracy. Other countries with democratic regimes are also classified as flawed democracies, and no country in Southeast Asia has fully realized democratic regimesjudgmentThe lack of a democratic system can be seen in the coup d'état that has broken out in Southeast Asian countries. The lack of democratic institutions can be seen in the outbreak of coups in Southeast Asian countries. In recent years, coups have been staged by the military in Thailand in 2014 and in Myanmar in 2021, indicating that the military remains in power in these countries.

Security problems in Southeast Asian countries go beyond coups d'état. Southeast Asian countries are also engaged in a number of armed conflicts. Recently, Rohingya refugees from the conflict in western Myanmar have been the focus of much attention, but Myanmar also has a number of armed conflicts in the north and east of the country.armed conflicthave occurred frequently. Other recent examples include southern Thailand, Mindanao in the Philippines, Aceh in Indonesia, andWest PapuaBut there has been a history of armed conflict. As a result of these long-term conflicts, political instability continues in many Southeast Asian countries.

Southeast Asia-Japan Relations

Next, we will look at Japan's relationship with Southeast Asia. Japan's acquisition of resources during World War II to continue the Sino-Japanese war.Objective.He turned to Southeast Asian countries as1941After landing on the Malay Peninsula at the same time as the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1945, he successively visited Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Burma (now Myanmar), the Philippines, Malaysia, and other Southeast Asian countries.occupationAnd then, the first time, the first time, the first time, the first time, the first time. And.1945Japan's colonial rule in Southeast Asia until its defeat in 1949 cost the lives and livelihoods of millions of people. The following is a specific look at the relationship between Southeast Asian countries and Japan, focusing on four aspects of the relationship.

The first is on the trade front. The total trade between Japan and ASEAN countries, including exports and imports, exceeded 23 trillion yen (in 2019), accounting for15%Japan's trade partners are Thailand and Vietnam, which are among Japan's top 10 trading partners. Among them, Thailand and Vietnam are among Japan's top 10 trading partners. Japan to ASEAN countriesexported goodsThe majority of the products in the ASEAN countries are steel, semiconductors and other electronic products, and automobile parts, while the opposite is true for the ASEAN countries to Japan.exported goodsare mostly liquefied natural gas and clothing and clothing accessories. In addition, natural rubber imported to JapanApprox. 69%is Indonesia, shrimpApprox. 20%The first three countries in the list are Vietnam, Japan and Southeast Asia. This makes Japan and Southeast Asian countries important trading partners for both sides.

Piles of cargo being transported to Singapore (Photo: Storm Crypt / Flickr [CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0])

The second is the industrial aspect. In Asia, the division of labor between processes developed after the late 1980s, when Japanese companies began to actively invest directly in the region. Southeast Asian countries, in particular, were positioned as important production bases where relatively inexpensive labor could be obtained, and the manufacturing industry developed. Expansion into Southeast Asian countries increased the competitiveness of Japanese firms, and Japanese firms accelerated their expansion into these countries. For example, Japanese companies operating in Indonesia are1,489 companies(2019). Of these, 60% are in the manufacturing sector, particularly manufacturing transportation equipment parts and electrical and electronic products. Similarly, Japanese companies operating in Malaysia are1,385 companies(2018). Of these, the electrical and electronics manufacturing industry accounts for the largest share, with more than 30% of the manufacturing companies operating in the country. Malaysia has also developed into a concentration point for the electronics and electrical industries, with a thriving electronic components industry as a supporting industry. In recent years, Japanese companies have been establishing local subsidiaries in Southeast Asian countries, and those that used to import products from Japan are now being produced locally. At the same time, there are also companies that aim to develop markets in order to produce closer to consumers.increaseThe company is doing so.

Third is the security aspect. Maritime shipping routes in Southeast Asia are of particular importance to Japan. In maritime trade between Japan and Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia, merchant ships engaged in maritime trade will pass through the Strait of Malacca, located between Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula, and the South China Sea.2007Year.dataThen, Japan will be able to use its energy resources through the Strait of Malacca.8It imports 60% of the world's food and 60% of the world's food. Japan is not the only country that considers the maritime routes through Southeast Asian countries important.2020The world of the yearmaritime tradeIn the trade goods5-th (e.g. one fifth)1And the oil3-th (e.g. one fifth)1are transported through the Straits of Malacca.

A topic of concern for Japan is therefore China's expansion into the South China Sea. between Southeast Asian countries and China, which claim territorial rights in the South China Sea.frictionHowever, if friction intensifies, there is concern that this could hinder Japan's use of maritime shipping routes. Also, the sea areas around Southeast Asia that arise in thepiracyalso occurred on the sea routes of Japanese merchant vessels. In recent years, the number of incidentsdecreaseAlthough the piracy problem has been a problem for some time, it is still occurring today. Therefore, it is necessary for Japan to address the issue of piracy for the safety of maritime traffic.

Warships passing through the Strait of Malacca (Photo: U.S. Pacific Fleet / Flickr [CC BY-NC 2.0])

Armed conflicts in the Southeast Asian region also involve Japan. For example, the Aceh conflict that took place in Indonesia30Lasts more than a year2005The conflict ended in 2006. The conflict was a dispute between the Indonesian government and rebel forces over the natural gas-rich province of Aceh, which at the time was the main source of natural gas produced in Aceh.export destinationwas Japan. Also, as noted above, conflict has been raging in Mindanao, the Philippines, for half a century. Japan imports most of its bananas from the Philippines, but the bananas produced in the Philippines84%is from Mindanao. Thus, armed conflicts in Southeast Asia are no stranger to Japan.

The fourth is the aspect of human exchange. Southeast Asia's rapid economic growth has led to the emergence of a middle class.increaseIn addition, the Japanese market has seen the entry of low-cost airlines into the market. There is also a high level of interest in Japanese society and culture, and thepopularityis increasing. This has led to an increase in the number of visitors to Japan, and the number of foreign visitors to Japan (2019) in six Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia) isApproximately 3.8 million peopleThis is equivalent to 121 TP3T of the total number of foreign visitors to Japan. This is 121 TP3T of the total number of foreign visitors to Japan. In addition, the number of outbound Japanese (2018) with destinations in ASEAN countries isApproximately 5.2 million peoplewhich is 27.61 TP3T of the total outbound visitors. Although travel is restricted as of September 2021 due to the new coronavirus outbreak, the number of visitors to Southeast Asian countries from 2011 to 2019 has been increasing every yearincreaseThe country is also a major tourist destination. Many Japanese people visit the country for tourism because of its relative proximity to Japan, abundance of tourist resources, and low cost of living.

Human traffic between Japan and Southeast Asian countries is not limited to tourism. The Japanese population living in Southeast Asian countries isApprox. 200,000and account for 161 TP3T (in 2020) of the total Japanese residents. On the other hand, the population of people from Southeast Asia living in Japan isApproximately 900,000 peopleand amounted to 32% (in 2020) of all foreign residents in Japan. By country, Vietnam has the largest number of foreign workers living in Japan Approx. 440,000The ratio of foreign workers to the total number of foreign workers is 2.5%, which is the highest among all foreign workers in Japan.25%The second largest share is held by China, with approximately 2.5% of the total. China is next, with approximately4210,000,000 (24%(about 1.5 million) in the Philippines, and about1910,000,000 (11%(*1), in that order. By status of residence, status of residence based on status (*1) is the most common, followed by Approximately 550,000 people(in Japanese history)32%The number of employees in the technical internship program is about 2.5 million (about 70% of the total number of employees).4010,000,000 (23%), and activities outside of their status, including study abroad. 3710,000,000 (21%) and follow later. To give a specific example, among the crew members of Japanese international merchant vesselsApproximately 70% of the totalIn terms of human exchange, the relationship between Japan and Southeast Asia is very deep. In terms of human exchange, the relationship between Japan and Southeast Asia is very deep.

Bananas from the Philippines (Photo: Shubert Ciencia / Flickr [CC BY 2.0])

2019Yearly media coverage analysis

It is now clear that Southeast Asia is large in terms of population and economy, and has very close relations with Japan in various aspects. It is therefore quite predictable that this region will be covered extensively by the Japanese media, but what is the actual situation?

In analyzing coverage of Southeast Asia in Japan, this year's report dealt with coverage of 11 Southeast Asian countries in the Yomiuri Shimbun in 2019 (*2). The total volume of coverage shows that of the total 12,121 articles of international coverage, 488 articles were related to the 11 Southeast Asian countries (*3). This value is extremely small, at 4.01 TP3T of the international coverage. However, even among these, a large number of articles include coverage of relations between Southeast Asian countries and other countries and regions, such as Japan's relations with Thailand and U.S.-China relations in Southeast Asia. The number of reports on Southeast Asian countries alone is even smaller. In fact, only 184 articles (37.71 TP3T) of the 11 Southeast Asian country reports focused exclusively on Southeast Asian countries. As for articles related to countries outside the Southeast Asian region, Japan was by far the largest in terms of percentage of coverage by country, but articles related to China were also relatively well reported. In addition, there were many scattered reports that merely set the stage for events in countries outside the region, rather than covering the situation in Southeast Asia. For example, the U.S.-North Korea summit was held in Vietnam in 2019, but most of the coverage was not about Vietnam, but about the U.S. and North Korea.concernIt was a thing.

However, the low volume of coverage is not only in 2019: a count of the number of articles on 11 Southeast Asian countries in the Yomiuri Shimbun from 2015 to 2017 (*4) showed that the percentage of total international coverage on 11 Southeast Asian countries was about 4.51 TP3T in 2015, 4.71 TP3T, and 3.41 TP3T in 2017. As a result, the percentage of Southeast Asian coverage to total international coverage has remained around 41 TP3T in these three years, and it can be easily inferred that the long-term trend has also been low coverage. Considering the aforementioned population and economic scale of Southeast Asia and its strong ties with Japan, can we really say that the "news value" of Southeast Asia is being adequately reflected?

What is being reported?

By the way, what exactly is being reported in the 488 articles of Southeast Asia coverage in 2019? Comparing the amount of coverage by country, Thailand has the most with 82.9 articles or 17.01 TP3T. Indonesia followed with 49.9 articles at 10.2%, Vietnam with 44.2 articles at 9.1%, and the Philippines with 43.9 articles at 9.0%. On the other hand, Laos and Brunei had 1.5 articles, and East Timor had zero articles, indicating that the amount of coverage varied even within Southeast Asian countries.

Next, what events were reported? Among the events that received the most coverage were those involving ASEAN, which accounted for 38.3 articles. Among them, articles about the ASEAN Summit and meetings in the East Asia Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), in which both ASEAN countries and Japan participate, stood out. Looking at individual countries, the general elections in Thailand and Indonesia in 2019 were cited as a factor in the increase in the volume of coverage. Specifically, there were 31 articles on the general election in Thailand and 11 articles on the general election in Indonesia. There were also 7 articles each on the Myanmar regime and armed forces, and 7 articles on Rohingya refugees. Politics was the predominant theme of the articles focused on within Southeast Asian countries.

On the other hand, how was the relationship between Southeast Asian countries and the rest of the world reported? A relatively large number of articles (26 out of 488) related to Japanese companies and technology, but the majority of articles were about Japanese companies expanding or establishing industrial bases in Southeast Asian countries. There were 25 articles about Southeast Asians who plan to work in other countries. Among them, there was a special feature on Southeast Asian technical intern trainees aiming to work in Japan, which basically included the word "Japan" in the article. There were also 16 articles on the aforementioned issue of China and the South China Sea as a long-term problem.

What was not reported?

So far we have analyzed the breakdown of the amount of media coverage. We will now turn our attention to the opposite: what relatively major events in 2019 went unreported or received relatively little coverage? One of the most important news stories surrounding Southeast Asia was the establishment of a provisional autonomous government in the Philippines over the Mindanao conflict. This is the first step toward bringing peace to a conflict that has been raging for half a century. There were only three articles on this event (*5). Also,2019In the yearcorruptionThe first trial of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Buzak, who has been indicted on charges, is also underway. This corruption case exposed the misappropriation and embezzlement of funds that took place between 2009 and 2014, and is considered the largest corruption scandal in the world. The case was reported in only one article, and even that was brief, introducing only the fact that former Prime Minister Najib has pleaded not guilty (*6).

One event that was not reported with a focus on disasters: a massive earthquake in a wide swath of Southeast Asia from July to October 2019.air pollutionThe outbreak of the fire in the forests of Indonesia began with slash-and-burn agriculture in various parts of the country. The outbreak began with slash-and-burn agriculture in various parts of Indonesia, which led to large-scale forest fires.860,000 hectaresNot only did the fires burn down as much as 1,000 acres of land, but the smoke containing toxic substances spread from the fire sites and crossed the border to cover the neighboring countries with polluted air. There was only one article in the press about the health hazards to humans and wildlife (*7).

Forest fires in Kalimantan, Indonesia (Photo: Prachatai / Flickr [CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0])

Other responses to the introduction of laws on measures against fake news in Singapore and Vietnamconcernvoices were raised. One article dealt with a case in which this law was actually applied for the first time in Singapore (*8). Also, a law in Brunei making homosexuality punishable by death wasenforcingThe fact that the Yomiuri Shimbun was not able to report on this incident, even though it was considered a major problem in other countries, was not reported. Even this relatively major event was hardly reported in the Yomiuri Shimbun.

Through analysis.

Southeast Asia has a world population of about1Allotment,GDPIn terms of the size of the economy in terms of the world as a whole3.5%The region occupies a large part of the world's population. In addition, there are various political, economic, and security developments in the region. In addition, the region has deep relations with Japan, and we had expected a certain amount of media coverage. In reality, however, it must be said that the amount of coverage is comparatively low. What lies behind this discrepancy between the potential "news value" and the actual volume of coverage? One possible explanation is2There is a point.1Second, Japanese media is higher in high-income countries than in low-income countries.interestThis is the fact that the region is showing Southeast Asia is showing economic growth, but as a region, it is not as high-income as Europe and the U.S., and may not yet have reached the level of interest.2The second point is that the Japanese media concentrates on direct threats to Japan.trendThe first is that there is a Both the Japanese government and the news media seem to focus their attention on areas where direct security threats such as China and the Korean Peninsula are perceived to exist. As mentioned earlier, Southeast Asia is related to Japan in terms of security, but perhaps because it is perceived as indirect, its presence is considered secondary to the news media.

Southeast Asia is expected to continue to grow, and relations with Japan will deepen accordingly. When will the Japanese media realize the importance of this relationship?

1 "Status-based residency" includes permanent residents, spouses, etc. of Japanese nationals, spouses, etc. of permanent residents, and permanent residents.

2 We believe that the trend of international reporting will show a significant impact of the new coronavirus, and that the pre-pandemic2019The year was selected.

3 The Yomiuri Shimbun's online database "Yomidas Rekishikan" was used to research the articles. morning and evening editions alike.2019counter for years (following a number in the hito-futa-mi counting system)1month1from the day of12month31Until the day of the1Southeast Asia, covering only international coverage during the year.11The search was conducted by entering the names of the countries, and only the relevant articles were extracted from the search results. In order to accurately count each article,1In one article.2If you are dealing with two countries, each0.5Article,3If you are dealing with two countries, each0.333Article,4If you are dealing with two countries, each0.25Article,5When dealing with two countries, each0.2It was counted as an article. Also,ASEANFor related articles involving a larger number of countries as an example, we counted them as Southeast Asia as a whole or the world as a whole.

4 Listed in GNVMonthly ReportBased on the data used in the creation of the report, the number of articles about 11 Southeast Asian countries was counted.

5 2021/2/16 (Tokyo Morning News): "Autonomous Region of Islamic Philippines Confirmed: Mindanao: 5 Provinces, 1 City, 63 Villages" and 2 other articles.

6 2021/4/4 (Tokyo Morning Post) "Former Prime Minister Najib pleads not guilty.

7 2021/10/8 (Tokyo Morning Post) "Indonesia: Serious smoke pollution, forest fires continue, and asthma and other symptoms increase sharply.

8 November 28, 2021 (Tokyo Morning Post), "Singapore's first application of countermeasures against fake news: Government orders correction of FB posts.

Writer: Mayuko Hanafusa

Graphic: Mayuko Hanafusa

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