Media and Diversity Forum (MeDi)

We launched “Media and Diversity Forum (MeDi)” in May 2017. MeDi is a discussion forum for researchers and journalists as well as a network dealing with both activism and research. Its goal is to increase diversity in the Japanese media, both in terms of the composition of staff members as well as the content. Since the Japanese media outlets have long been criticized for a lack of sensitivity towards women and minorities, MeDi examines how media products are created, and discusses what we can do to create a more gender-conscious, diverse media culture in Japan. We also attempt to illuminate these issues from the viewpoint of the internet’s growing presence since it has become an important source of information and it sets the norms and values of contemporary society, particularly among younger generations. We also collaborate with colleagues overseas in order to identify common agenda and challenges in an increasingly globalized media environment.

- Renge Jibu (Journalist)
- Keiko Kojima(Essayist)
- Toko Tanaka (Associate Professor, OtsumaWomen’s University)
- Toko Shirakawa(Journalist)
- Keiko Yamamoto(Journalist, NHK) (All these members are appointed as guest researchers at the University of Tokyo to work for this project.)
- Eun-jeung Lee (Professor, Freie Universitat Berlin)
- Margreth Luneborg (Professor, Freie Universitat Berlin)

- Kaori Hayashi, 2016, “A journalism of care”, In Rethinking Journalism Again. Societal Role and Public Relevance in a Digital Age. Edited by Chris Peters and Marcel Broersma, Routledge, 2016, 146-160.
- JAWW NGO Report for Beijing +20, J Women and the Media, JAWW (Japan Women’s Watch), 41-45. https://jaww.info/ngoreport2014B+20.pdf
- The IWMF Global Report on the Status of Women in the News Media, 2011. https://www.iwmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IWMF-Global-Report-Summary.pdf