Media Discourse on the Japanese History Textbook Controversy of 1982 From the Perspective of Foreign Policy and Media Frame

Abstract

This paper’s purpose is to consider a media-foreign
policy nexus on the history perception issues of Japan-South
Korea relations. Previous studies demonstrate that the media
tends to cover the pronouncements of political elites and that the
media faces certain difficulties when covering secret foreign policy
processes. This proves that the media has a negligible effect on the
foreign policy process. However, in terms of a linkage between
foreign and domestic politics, the media more likely focuses on
public opinion in its coverage of foreign policy. With regard to
Japan–Korea relations, previous studies indicated the importance
of the media in the issue of history perception. This paper focuses
on the Japanese history textbook controversy of 1982 and
examines how the media covered the debate from the perspective
of justification.