Well, after 2 years working on this piece, I am glad to finally announce it’s publication as a peer-reviewed article in the Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies. The genesis of this article has a certain amount of history, although it no longer has any significance in my current context...in more ways than one. What is important now is to offer my heartfelt gratitude to my co-author Jenny, who was ever earnest and diligent in her role as my co-author.

Academically, I’ve always felt that this article would be of use to students of Japan since so many of them express opinions regarding Yasukuni Shrine while knowing so little about the history of the controversy. Indeed, my feeling is that the mass media, in Singapore at least, creates a very negative bias towards the shrine. While I’m not saying that the mass media’s point-of-view is right or wrong, I truly hate this kind of paternalism because most people absorb and absorb without critically analyzing what their being fed with. In this light, I do hope that the article can provide those who have an interest in the Yasukuni Shrine controversy with some researched factual information, as well as some insight into the effects that the mass media’s reporting can have on people. Provided below are the complete citation (and link) to the article, and the abstract:

Tan, Joseph and Ni Zhen (2009), “Chinese and Japanese Newspaper Reporting of the Yasukuni Shrine Controversy: A Comparative Analysis of Institutional Media Bias,” Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies, 15 April. Available at http://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/articles/2009/TanZhen.html.

“Studies looking at the dynamics of the state-media relationship usually focus on structural reasons, such as geopolitical or economic, to explain how the media frames the news. However, this paper argues that media organizations also have their own agendas independent of existing socio-political restraints, and that they are therefore important social actors in their own right. A news discourse analysis methodology was used to analyze Chinese and Japanese newspapers' reporting on former Japanese Prime Minister Jun'ichiro Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine to demonstrate empirically the existence of institutional media bias within these newsmaking organizations that is not necessarily consistent with the reconciliatory tone of both countries' state actions. A comparison of the results suggest that while institutional ideology may predict how Japanese newspapers shape their reporting, rhetoric is an important factor in the case of the Chinese press where state control is more stringent.”