Japan ranked 66th in world for press freedom

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan is ranked 66th in the world in terms of freedom of the press, up one notch from the previous year, while North Korea fell one place to 180th, bottom of the list, according to a recent survey by Reporters Without Borders, or RSF.

Norway topped the standings for the fourth straight year, the Paris-based group said in its 2020 World Press Freedom Index, with Finland, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands making up the top five.

Despite a rise in the ranking, newsrooms of the Japanese media "are still heavily influenced by their bosses in the 'keiretsu,' the media-owning conglomerates that put business interests first," RSF said.

The United States was ranked 45th, up three places. But the group noted President Donald Trump's "hostility" toward news outlets, saying "The abuse is only getting worse amid the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, as journalists covering the Trump administration's response to the crisis are subjected to the president's attacks during his press briefings."

Citing a correlation between suppression of media freedom in response to the coronavirus pandemic and a country's ranking, RSF said China and Iran, down three to 173rd, "censored their major coronavirus outbreaks extensively."

China, which remained at 177th, "never stops enhancing its system of information hyper-control and persecution of dissident journalists and bloggers."

According to the index, Cambodia ranked 144th, down one, and Thailand fell four spots to 140th because their respective regimes have increased their crackdowns on dissent.

In contrast, Indonesia rose five places to 119th, as a result of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's policy to put press freedom at the center of his second term.

South Korea fell one place to 42nd, RSF said, citing the government's use of national security as a pretest for curbing journalistic freedom, especially with regard to sensitive information about North Korea.