Feature Article

Political Action through Radio Broadcasting

By Kaori Miyake

The broadcaster slowly reads off the list of names in a soft yet serious voice, while the familiar melody in the background taps into the emotions of his invisible audience. He then reads the letters written by the family members of the intended audience. The words deliver the never-changing message to their long-lost family on foreign soil: "We will rescue you. We are waiting for your return."

Radio Shiokaze (translated Sea-breeze) is a multilingual radio program established in 2005 by the Investigation Commission on Missing Japanese Probably Related to North Korea. Now funded by the Japanese government, it strives to encourage Japanese abductees in North Korea to stay strong and never give up hope until they are rescued. The abduction problem has been one of the most important issues in Japan's relationship with North Korea, but negotiations between the two countries have been stalled for years. This is mostly because the North Korean government has refused to fully admit to having abducted the number of Japanese nationals identified by the Japanese government.

Although it was originally designed to appeal to the abductees only, today Radio Shiokaze directly promotes the democratization and liberation of North Korean people. It is one of many similar government-funded radio programs around the world that seek to incite political change in target countries. Media use for political action is distinct in nature from public diplomacy broadcasting, such as Voice of America or BBC World, because it is not meant to foster a positive two-way communication between countries. The purpose is to deliver unfiltered messages that promote democracy and foster anti-government views to an audience in a foreign country who is presumed to be oppressed and suffering under the current regime. The U.S. government, for example, has a long history of directing radio broadcasts to communist countries in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Cuba and elsewhere - the intent being to incite revolution and a change of government.

Although the public stance of Radio Shiokaze is still that the Japanese abductees are its primary audience, its secondary goal of inciting political action is clear. According to Kazuhiro Araki, the director of the Shiokaze Broadcasting, the radio program has been redesigned under the belief that this human rights crisis cannot be solved unless there is a change in North Korea's totalitarian regime. Since 2006, North Korean refugees in Japan have been taking the microphone and sending messages of freedom and hope to the North Korean residents. Throughout the program, the broadcasters do not mention what organization they belong to, or the fact that this project is funded by the Japanese government. This is a common characteristic of media use for political action - the owner and content source is kept covert.

While developing deeper understandings and relationships is the priority of public diplomacy efforts, a government's use of media for political action often involves messages that are not favorable to the other government. For this reason the North Korean government, who is against the delivery of such messages, attempts to jam Radio Shiokaze broadcasts. The Shiokaze broadcasters take this effort rather positively - its shows their messages are influential – although they are left with no choice but to change the time and frequency of their program on a regular basis. Even though it has been acknowledged that North Korean citizens have no access to information from the outside world, there is a possibility that somebody in North Korea is listening to them.