Japan Cable Television, or JCTV, is a licensed CATV operator under the Japanese Cable Television Law, enacted in 1974. It is rather unique in that it, alone among cable television operators, is permitted to lease its cable network from Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corporation ( NTT ); the ministry of Posts & Telecommunications ( MPT ) generally requires cable operators to own their own networks, although the law does not make such a stipulation. Such freedom from vast capital investment is one of the major factors becind JCTV's success. JCTV was established in 1971, funded mainly by the Asahi Shimbun group, in order to supply an EngliSh-language channel to closed circuit systems of Tokyo's most prestigious hotels. At that time it was practically impossible for various regulatory reasons to build a new cable network, especially in Tokyo ; leasing its cables from NTT made JCTV viable. In 1974 JCTV embarked upon a new venture, so-called "mansion network" broadcasts to individual Tokyo subrcribers. Due to the high montyly charge, however, this service was mainly limited to foreign businesses. While JCTV charged its subscribers \3,000 per month, subscribers were forced to pay an average of \100,000 monthly to NTT to maintain their line. Even with such exorbitant fees, JCTV managed to gain 5,000 new subscribers by the mid 198O's. In 1982 JCTV formed a partnership with Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) of Atlanta, Georgia (USA) and began a systematic program exchange. A direct satellite link established in 1984 not only added proglams from CNN (Cable News Network) to JCTV programming but allowed JCTV to supply CNN 24 hours a day as an alternative service available on subscribers' request. In addition, JCTV produced a Japanese version of "Daywatch" and similar programming for Asahi National Broad-casting Company, Ltd. (ANB), one of the four nation-wide private TV network orgenizers in Japan and a major JCTV shareholder. ANB, in turn, began selling these programs to its local network operators.

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1. The Background This study is based the theories involved in the social construction of reality and the quasi-statistical sense by mass media. Past studies found that people who are exposed to television construct a social reality based on the content of television. Another study found that the amount of television exposure and social reality occured for those who trusted television to be an accurate representation of actual life, and not for those who were skeptical of television. News reports which highlight a specific category of life conducts the social construction of reality through the mass media. News reports aregenerally considered to be an accurate representation of actual life, however, due to the process in reporting news, the objective reality of news is converted into a social reality, therefore, mass media can be inferred to contribute to the social construction of reality among individuals. A possible type of social reality constructed through mass media news can be found in the theory of Spiral of Silence. In this theory, quasi-statistical sense is a factor that is presumed to occur. This ability is suggested to be conducted through the mass media. 2. Purpose A primary objective of this study is to clarify the relationship of mass media news source exposure and credibility leading to a quasi-statistical sense. The independent variables, mass media news source exposure and news source credibility were configured to explain the assessment of distribution of opinion. The dependent variable, quasistatistical sense is configured under the topic of socieconomic conflicts between the U.S. and Japan. With this objective, the following hypothesis was formulated. Hypothesis:Heavy exposure and high source credibility to mass media news sources lead to a higher quasi-statistical sense concerning the mass media news content. 3. Method 570 university freshman and sophomores were randomly selected from three universities in the vicinity of Tokyo in order to homogenize age and other demographical factors. 260 reponses were collected and after screening incomplete results, the resultant number was 244. The questionnaire method was used to gather the date. The questionnaires were administered at three univirsities during the period of April 6 to April 15, 1992. The independent variable of television news source exposure is measured through news program selection and a conversion of each program into minutes. Newspaper exposure is measured through a time scale that is divided every ten minutes. The Gaziano-McGrath Factors were utilized for the items of news source credibility. This item is measured through a live point scale. The items for measuring the assessment of distribution of opinion are based according to the joint survey by NHK and ABC "50th Anniversary of The War between Japan and the United States" in The NHK Monthly Peport on Broadcast Research (1992) For analyzing the data, correlation and multiple regression between the independent and dependent variables was used. 4. Results and Discussion A primary objective of this study was to clarify the relationship of mass media news source exposure and credibility leading to a high quasi-statistical sense. The hypothesis: Heavy exposure and high source credibility to mass media news sources lead to a higher quasi-statistical sense concerning the mass media news content, was supported. Television news source exposure and credibility were highly significant factors leading to quasi-statistical sense. Even though the selected sample was deficient in subjects with heavy exposure to newspaper sources, one can still suggest that the hypothesis can be significantly supported, especialy concerning mass media news source credibility. From the results of this study, one can infer that mass media news source exposure and credibiity are both factors that can be considered as important elements for assessment of opinion

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