Retrieving the Historical Origin of Japanese Newspapers’ ‘in-house training’ for Journalists

Abstract

This study explores the historical origins of Japanese newspapers’ “in-house training” for their journalists (kisha no shanai kyoiku). That independent and high-quality journalism education was crucial for ensuring the media’s performance in serving public interests has been a consensus among media researchers. Despite fierce academic criticism against Japanese newspapers’ current “in-house training” system for journalists, the historical roots of such a system of educating the journalists, and the failure of the independent practical journalism education programs, have not been fully studied. This study addresses the peculiar social-political circumstances, which favored Japanese newspapers' “in-house training” for journalists, but hampered standalone journalism training programs outside of the newspaper companies, between the Meiji Era until the American occupation of Japan after World War II. This study utilizes the primary sources of Japanese journalists’ career memoirs, and the career guidance published for Japanese youngsters throughout the Meiji until the Taisho Era. It also integrates American newspaper men’s observations of Japanese newspapers’ flourishing in the early twentieth century. This study locates itself in both Japanese studies and journalism history research.