Editors protest state NHK order

News editors, publishers and media experts lodged protests against the government's action Friday to order Japan Broadcasting Corp, or NHK, to focus more on reporting North Korea's abductions of Japanese nationals in its international radio service, saying the move threatens media freedom.

The Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association, an independent organization of Japan's mass media including NHK, said in a statement, "Although it was based on the Broadcast Law, it cannot be overlooked from the perspective of the freedom of reporting."