The dark side of the Japanese mass media

I believe many people felt the biased coverage by Japanese mass media, especially for the coronavirus disaster last year.

Today I will talk about the dark side of the Japanese mass media.

Many companies performed well even amid the Coronavirus disaster, while the most notable ones were the record high performances of game-related Nintendo and instant foods industries such as Nissin Foods.

During the period where citizens were encouraged to stay home, it's good to avoid going out obediently. However, it meant for many people staying home in their room, absorbed in video games and eating cup ramen.

As with the prevention of colds, prevention of infection with the new coronavirus should be washing hands, getting enough nutrition and sleep to boost immunity.

Instant foods are cheap and convenient, but they contain a massive amount of additives that are harmful to the body, which increases the risk of getting cancer if someone continues to eat.

In addition, parents who grew up consistently eating instant foods will have children prone to cancer.

However, since the companies that handle instant foods, such as convenience stores, are important sponsors for prominent Japanese newspapers and television networks.

Even during the pandemic, such ideas were never even brought up or reported.

Since October 2020, as many economists had predicted, depression and suicides have increased.

Although there is a clear correlation between worsening economic conditions and the number of suicides in Japan (In Japan, a 1% increase in the unemployment rate will increase the number of suicides by about 2,300),

This is also the responsibility of the media, if you ask me.

From beginning to end, the mass media stir up the fear of Covid-19, causing anxiety and stress to many people.

It goes without saying that anxiety and stress are not good for health.

I believe they should report positive news more. Still, the media rarely covers that sort of news.

The number of deaths associated with influenza infection has dropped significantly compared to last year, or the number of crimes decreasing year by year.

Commentators who appear in the major mass media have a good status.

However, I believe we should be aware that in consideration of both parties' interests, they only make harmless comments and never make ones that would stir up trouble.