FOTP 2013 Full Report

Secrets Act, which has served as an obstacle to the implementation of the 2002 Access toInformation Act and the 2011 Protected Disclosures Act, which protects whistle-blowers.Nevertheless, the Official Secrets Act remained on the books at the end of 2012. While thecriminal defamation laws have not been enforced in recent years, civil defamation cases oftenresult in excessive damages.Journalists and media outlets face occasional threats from both state and nonstate actors,and some practice self-censorship on sensitive topics, due in part to concerns over defamationsuits. There were a number of incidents in the lead-up to the December 2011 elections in whichmembers of the then ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) allegedly criticized media workersduring election rallies and used veiled threats to intimidate them.Jamaica has two national daily newspapers and a daily afternoon tabloid. There are anumber of national and regional periodicals serving a variety of sectors and interests, as well asmore than 20 radio stations, 3 terrestrial television stations, and multiple cable channels. Themajority of media outlets are privately owned and provide a range of news and commentary. In a2012 report, the International Press Institute noted that Jamaican journalists are poorly paid andhave limited training in investigative reporting, leaving them overly reliant on government pressreleases.The authorities imposed no restrictions on the internet, which was accessed by nearly 47percent of the population in 2012. The December 2011 election campaign was notable for theincreased use of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, by the main political parties.JapanStatus: FreeLegal Environment: 4Political Environment: 14Economic Environment: 6Total Score: 24Survey Edition 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Total Score, Status 21,F 21,F 21,F 21,F 22,FPress freedom in Japan is constitutionally guaranteed and generally respected in practice.However, in December 2010, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly approved Bill 156 to amend theYouth Healthy Development Ordinance, which authors and fans of Japan’s popular manga(comic books) criticized for limiting freedom of expression. Originally passed in 1964, theordinance aims to promote the healthy development of minors by restricting their access toharmful published material. The amendment allows for the expansion of the definition of“harmful publications” and authorizes the government to regulate images that are “considered tobe excessively disrupting of social order.” Japan has a freedom of information law, but it doesnot apply to the parliament or the judiciary.Some weaknesses in the country’s media environment have been highlighted in theaftermath of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which caused serious damage andradiation leaks at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant north of Tokyo. In an unusual useof Japan’s defamation laws, nuclear industry entrepreneur Shiro Shirakawa filed a libel suit in222