There's nothing harder to watch than Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku at their daily press briefings spewing more sophistry to help them evade responsibility.
　　The media plays an important role in the midst of this current age of upheaval. We need editors who have a high level of responsibility and discernment when deciding what to publish. However, the ability of editors recently has dropped precipitously. They don't have the ability or discernment to see through the lies and smokescreens of the Kan administration. The big newspapers and TV stations are easily manipulated by political power. In fact, they are simply being used as the politicians see fit.
　　The major media companies took a pledge more than 10 years ago to abide by the principle of objective reporting. But politically powerful individuals have used this pledge to control information and induce public opinion. The Kan Cabinet's raison d'etre is being popular, and it performs to that end, playing the part of the ultimate populist government. ﾊThe mass media must not let this egotistical ploy work. Leaders in journalism need to use their elevated sense of discernment to see through the lies and obfuscation. The media has to stop being played by this anti-people Kan government.