China tightens rules on Japan reporting

BEIJING, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- China is moving toward tighter controls on media reporting on Japan to silence both anti-Japan views and those with forward-looking views toward Japan.

Zhao Qizhen, head of China's State Council Information Office, recently told Japanese reporters in Beijing that there would be no anti-Japan reporting by major news organizations, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Monday.

It was an unusual admission to foreign reporters that the Chinese government directly controls the tone and substance of press coverage.

The paper quoted a Chinese Foreign Ministry official as admitting that, if left unchecked, Chinese news organizations would churn out strongly anti-Japan reporting.

Chinese authorities are also taking measures to regulate online bulletin boards, where anti-Japan sentiment and messages are proliferating.

On the other hand, Politburo member Li Changchun, who is in charge of news organizations, has reportedly insisted that so-called "new thinking" toward Japan, which seeks to bypass historical quarrels and improve relations, was not official policy.