Photo/Illutration Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya, second from right, speaks at a news conference in the Diet building on July 22. (Takeshi Iwashita)

Sanseito refused admittance to a reporter from The Kanagawa Shimbun who had written critically about one of its candidates from its regular news conference in the Diet building on July 22, sources said.

On July 23, Sanseito, a rising opposition party, told The Asahi Shimbun that “it is true that we denied the attendance.”

The Kanagawa Shimbun protested Sanseito’s action on July 23, saying that, “It is an act of disregarding the public’s right to know and it is unacceptable.”

The reporter denied entry was Gaku Ishibashi. After Ishibashi entered the venue and took a seat, he was asked to leave by a party staff member who cited a need for “prior registration.”

Before the news conference, Sanseito had sent an announcement to media outlets, including The Kanagawa Shimbun, saying that the party would “talk about the Upper House election, review the campaign’s outcome and announce future goals.”

However, the party has withheld an explanation for refusing Ishibashi’s entry, saying that it will “discuss it internally.”

Ishibashi had written critical articles about the remarks made by and actions of a Sanseito candidate who ran in the Upper House election on July 20 in the Kanagawa district.

The Kanagawa Shimbun said the news conference notice did not mention any requirement for prior registration and that it also confirmed that other reporters without such registration were allowed entry at the venue.

In an interview with The Asahi Shimbun, Ishibashi said, “I asked the other reporters at the venue whether they had been required to register in advance, and none of them said they had. This is an attempt to screen out reporters inconvenient to the party, and it amounts to pressure on the freedom of speech.”

Journalist Shoko Egawa said, “As a national political party, Sanseito has a responsibility to answer questions openly. If the party excluded a reporter because it didn’t like the reporter, that is something that must not occur in a democratic country.”

She added, “If fear of expressing criticism spreads, it will have a negative impact on journalism as a whole. Even if individual media outlets hold differing views, the media must unite to protest against such an action.”

(This article was written by Ryota Goto, Ryo Sanada and Yuta Ogi.)

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