Great Construction

Appalling Freedom of the Press

     Those who see this title may think it representative of being mentally defective, but from our perspective there is no other way to describe the situation. That is because, as everyone knows, the recent articles carried in the Yomiuri newspapers that are poisonous writings of insult, censure, and slight are unacceptable as coming from a supposedly great newspaper operating under a democratic government. Of the entire text of the article, more than half is taken up by falsehoods and fabrications, and it is difficult to understand where lie the intentions of the editors. The praise for freedom of the press has been, as it should be during Newspaper Week, and we ourselves very much want to celebrate, but as one who has had to suffer not a few calumnies at the hands of this press freedom I cannot but hesitate.
     These calumnies claim that we lead our many followers astray and that we harm society at large, and so the newspaper says that our growth should be blocked. Needless to say, understanding is indeed strained to imagine in what terms should the actions of this newspaper be evaluated. Even the more so since the president of the Yomiuri newspapers, Mr. Tsunego Baba is also head of the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association. It is said that this association has as its motto, “Free newspapers and dictators cannot coexist.” What this newspaper has done is nothing but dictatorship. From past to present, when the press has criticized new religions, criticism was tolerated, endured, and matters ended there, and in this instance, the newspaper swallowed whole the contents of a one-sided letter to the editor, so made no effort to conduct an investigation, and produced a very arbitrary article. This type of anti-democratic action is not to be permitted. The newspaper thus possesses the appearance which does not consider how much damage it may cause. As has always been with the strong against the weak, the strong position of the newspapers, as if they had no choice, is abused to threaten the existence of others. MacArthur’s statement emphasizing that democratic politics includes freedom of faith needs reconsideration.
     Mr. Arthur Sulzberger, proprietor of the New York Times recently said that “Responsibility must accompany freedom,” and we ask that Yomiuri take responsibility for having sought shelter in the shadows of freedom to cause injury to World Messianity. What Yomiuri calls “abuse of freedom of belief” is truly “abuse of freedom of the press” as committed by itself. Not to say, their conduct is of course an excellent example of a violation of the press code. Therefore, World Messianity will initiate legal suit against both the Yomiuri newspapers and the individual who wrote the false report.
     As people of religion, we do not favor appealing to law, but the sparks of fire that are falling down must be put out and swept away, and as long as our goal is to lessen social evil and create a cheerful, easy-to-live-in democratic society, we cannot but brandish the sword that crushes evil against those who would interfere. We do so in order to assist in the correction of the evils of newspapers who do have a serious role in guiding the population today as well as to fulfill our responsibility as a religion.

Hikari, Issue 32, page 1, October 22, 1949
translated by cynndd