ABSTRACT
Dislike of media criticism has led to a crackdown on freedom of the media in both electronic and paper formats under the Abe administration (2012-). This is a worrying development that has even been picked up by the international press1 and by international organizations such as Reporters Without Borders, which moved Japan down its global “freedom of press” rankings in both 2015 and 2016 (Asahi Japan Watch 2015a; Adelstein 2016).2
