The Great Kanto Earthquake that hit eastern Japan in 1923 caused approximately 105,000 causalities in Tokyo and surrounding areas. It is reported that about 90 percent of the victims were killed by fires, and one of the factors of expanding fires was strong winds brought by a typhoon developing near the Noto Peninsula on the day of the disaster. A series of landslides in Kanagawa Prefecture is also said to have been attributed to the typhoon-induced rainfall the day before. This paper analyses data from metrological observatories at the time to verify that the Great Kanto Earthquake was a complex disaster caused by combined strikes of earthquake and typhoon. The author also discusses the role of the media from a viewpoint of preventing confusions due to information disruption. It is indicated there have been several complex disasters with an earthquake and a typhoon striking simultaneously or with a time lag since 2000. From the perspective of “eliminating the unexpected,” which has been a major priority since the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the author examined how media should confront these types of complex disasters, using a simulation originally devised by a disaster expert. This possibility of complex disasters was discussed, taking into consideration that some historically large earthquakes occurred in September, which is frequently hit by typhoons, examining how damages would be aggravated with simultaneous or time-lagged strikes of an earthquake and a typhoon, and pointing out the significance of considering new measures against such situations to be better prepared for disasters. On this occasion of 100 years after the Great Kanto Earthquake, the author examined the roles and missions of the media in their efforts to prevent damage by complex disasters, also considering the impact of global warming and the change in social structure.

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The Broadcasting Act of Japan stipulates that broadcasters must “be politically fair” in Article 4. Amid debates on this term unfolding anew at the Diet and on other occasions, Yoshiharu Kawabata, a lawyer who served as chairperson of the Broadcasting Ethics Committee of the Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organization (BPO) for a long term, gave a lecture to a study group on “Media and Law” of The National Council to Promote Ethics of Mass Media in May 2023. This paper overviews his speech. Reflecting the fact that the pre-war mass media cooperated with the military and did not provide accurate information, the Broadcasting Act was enacted by paying utmost respect for the editorial freedom of broadcasters on the ground of the principle of political impartiality and autonomy and independence. How have the government views on the “program editing standards” of Article 4 including “be politically fair” changed over time? How should the media respond to the new challenge of prevailing distrust of the media among information recipients and how can they regain trust as truth-telling organs of public opinion? The paper examines what message the former chairperson of BPO convey to active journalists.

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This paper reports the presentation “Possibilities of Research Opened Up by Fusion of Humanities and Sciences” made as part of the NHK BUNKEN FORUM 2023 organized by the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute. Over the past two years, the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute and the NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories have been committed to their joint research project. At the forum, four researchers from the Institute and the Laboratories reported diverse issues—ethical, legal, and social—that arise when new technologies are implemented in society. The researchers first identified the positioning of the fusion of humanities and sciences, then discussed various non-technical challenges that may emerge with social implementation as well as the relation with nature of public service media, and explored the “Possibilities of Research Opened Up by Fusion of Humanities and Sciences” to conclude the session.

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