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Press Release

Request concerning participation of the holders of the Foreign Press Registration Cards to on-the-record press conferences held by official bodies

  1. On March 29th (Wed) the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a letter [PDF] requesting the official bodies in Japan to allow participation of the holders of the Foreign Press Registration Cards to on-the-record press conferences held at those bodies.
  2. This measure was taken in response to an EU Priority Proposal for Regulatory Reform on Journalism raised in the Japan-EU Regulatory Reform Dialogue in 2002 and 2003, in which the EU proposed to Japan that the latter 'accept the Ministry of Foreign Affairs press card issued to foreign correspondents of foreign media organizations as accreditation for all media events held by Japan's official bodies, to enable access on an equal footing with all domestic journalists'. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the letter as a result of its consultations with the Nihon Shinbun Kyokai (the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association) and others concerned.
  3. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expects that this measure will help promote dissemination of accurate information on Japan.

For inquiries, contact the International Press Division, MOFA (tel 03-5501-8134).

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