“Abe probably ‘felt he had no choice but to pursue a campaign of abject flattery’[.]” Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had played golf with former US President Donald Trump when the latter was still in office. Although Abe claims that golf is for deterrence, it may actually be a tactic to preserve US-Japan ties. Donald Trump was anti-Asian, anti-alliance, and sometimes anti-Japan, so Abe likely cultivated their friendship to lessen the chance that Trump and the US would abandon Japan if they were ever attacked. Read full article here
Research
Improving media literacy could boost trust towards the news, IMPRESS report suggests
The UK media is regulated by the likes of IPSO and Ofcom. The report by press regulator IMPRESS highlights the link between low levels of media literacy and trust in the news. The study found that three quarters of those who did not know if journalists were regulated did not trust the news. It suggests that improving media literacy is one way to stem the erosion of trust, and shows that audiences have an appetite for information on news processes. Stakeholders need to collaborate in order to rebuild trust in the news, and independent media is well placed to do this. Read full article here
Merv
February 1, 2023
