Liaison Committee on Human Rights and Mass Media Conduct

The Liaison Committee on Human Rights and Mass Media Conduct (Japanese: 人権と報道・連絡会, commonly abbreviated 人報連 / Jinporen) is a Japanese civil-society organization that brings together journalists, lawyers, academics and citizens to examine how the mass media report on crime, criminal suspects and human-rights issues. Its official website describes its purpose as introducing the committee's activities and providing information useful for thinking about human rights and reporting, and about the proper role of the media. The committee is best known for its regular monthly study meetings (定例会), its annual symposium series "Thinking about Human Rights and Reporting" (人権と報道を考えるシンポジウム), and its public statements. Its website records symposia from at least the 18th through the 20th editions in 2002–2004, and a 40th-anniversary symposium held in 2025, indicating a long institutional history. It has also published or supported books and reports, including work on media coverage of the abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea, and has issued joint NGO statements, such as a 2010 call for the full recording of interrogations. The organization operates as a volunteer, non-profit-style network rather than a commercial company. Its site is hosted on the JCA (Japan Computer Access for Peace and Justice) APC network, and it communicates through a mailing list and periodic meetings. It has been associated with figures such as journalist and Doshisha University professor Kenichi Asano, who is listed as a committee organizer (世話人), and with the Yasuko Tada Anti-Power Human Rights Award, which the committee received. In 2025 the site announced the committee's resumption of activity and a 40th-anniversary symposium, and it continues to publish commentary on crime reporting and media ethics.

The Liaison Committee on Human Rights and Mass Media Conduct (人権と報道・連絡会, Jinporen) is a Japanese civil-society organization that has monitored the relationship between human rights and mass-media reporting. Its website records a continuous program of monthly study meetings and annual symposia, with the 18th, 19th and 20th editions of its "Thinking about Human Rights and Reporting" symposium documented in 2002–2004. The site itself opened in 1998, according to a 2004 update to its introductory text, and the committee marked its 40th anniversary with a symposium in 2025, implying an origin in the mid-1980s. The committee's work has focused on crime reporting and its effects on suspects and their families, on the conduct of police, prosecutors and courts, and on media coverage of politically sensitive cases. It has published or supported books such as an examination of media coverage of the return of Japanese abductees from North Korea, and it has issued statements on issues including the full recording of interrogations. It has also been involved in supporting individuals in legal disputes with media organizations, including Doshisha University professor Kenichi Asano, a committee organizer, in his labor and defamation cases against the publisher Bungeishunju. In 2025 the committee announced a resumption of activity after a period of reduced public output, and held a 40th-anniversary symposium featuring a commemorative lecture by former Sendai High Court judge Motokazu Okaguchi. The organization continues to publish commentary on crime reporting and media ethics through its website and mailing list.

• Official website opened (according to a 2004 update to the site's introductory text).

• 18th symposium on human rights and reporting held; report posted.

• 19th symposium on human rights and reporting held; report posted.

• 20th symposium on human rights and reporting held; report posted.

• Joined a joint NGO statement calling for full recording of interrogations.

• Announced resumption of activities.

• 40th anniversary symposium 'Thinking about Human Rights and Reporting' held; digest published.

A volunteer civil-society watchdog and discussion forum focused on media ethics, crime reporting and human rights in Japan.

• Monthly study meetings (定例会)

  Regular meetings reported on the website, with reports and next-meeting notices posted monthly.

• Annual symposium on human rights and reporting

  Annual public symposium series; the 18th–20th editions are documented in 2002–2004 and a 40th-anniversary edition in 2025.

• Books and reports

  Includes an examination of media coverage of the return of Japanese abductees from North Korea, published with Social Review Press.

1. 1人権と報道・連絡会 (official website)jca.apc.org
2. 2JIMPOREN: What's Newjca.apc.org
3. 3Wikidata: Liaison Committee on Human Rights and Mass Media Conductwikidata.org