Book of the Week

A Public Betrayed 
A Public Betrayed is the first book on the subject of shukanshi. Beginning with an overview of Japan and its media drawing from the writings of Karel Van Wolferen, Chalmers Johnson, Alex Kerr, Ivan Hall, etc, it is followed by a history of the shukanshi. The book then concentrates on 5 case studies. Two concern smear campaigns and defamation of a Buddhist leader and a victim of an Aum terrorist attack, both of which highlight the extremely weak libel laws in Japan. Another chapter focuses on the curious cases of anti-Semitic and Holocaust-denial reporting and the final 2 concern the whitewashing of the Nanking Massacre, and the issue of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery, the “comfort women”--two issues that continue to make the news even since the publication of this book.
A Public Betrayed - Available on Amazon.com