A/HRC/41/35/Add.2 Special Rapporteur since the visit. Table 1 contains a summary of the status of implementation of the recommendations. 8. Article 4 of the Broadcast Act remains in force, with the regulation of broadcast media in line with the Act continuing to fall within the ambit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The tensions created by this regulatory framework, with its lack of institutional independence, have reportedly been accentuated by public pushback from government officials against the work of critical journalists, including through communications to a newspaper editorial board and a kisha club 1 concerning questions posed by a journalist at government press conferences. To perform its role as a public watchdog, the press must be free to pursue its own lines of reporting and investigation. The State must refrain in all cases from stigmatizing journalists, regardless of whether the content of their work may be perceived as critical or sensitive. To create a positive environment for journalistic work, authorities at the highest level should publicly express support for the work of independent, investigative journalists. 9. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the information received regarding steps taken by civil society and journalist unions to foster solidarity among those within the profession. He encourages such efforts, in particular in the light of additional information received relating to reported decisions taken at the editorial level of a prominent Japanese newspaper, which appear to have restricted the scope for its reporters to work on sensitive topics. 10. Editorial pressure on journalists working on controversial issues, including historical crimes committed by Japan and the use of “comfort women” in particular, has compounded the continuing resistance of the authorities to civil society’s advocacy efforts in connection with historical crimes. The Special Rapporteur reiterates his recommendation that the Government accept a visit of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence as a step towards building a positive framework for dealing with the issue. 11. Authorities have continued to place pressure and undue restrictions on peaceful protesters in Okinawa. Specific concerns in this regard were raised in an official communication to the State from several special procedure mandate holders on 28 February 2017, concerning the arrest and charging of Hiroji Yamashiro in connection with his involvement in peaceful protests against the expansion of military bases in Okinawa. 2 Released on bail in March 2017, Mr. Yamashiro has since been convicted and sentenced to two years of imprisonment with hard labour, suspended for three years. His appeal to the Fukuoka High Court was recently rejected. In opinion No. 55/2018 (A/HRC/WGAD/2018/55), the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared Mr. Yamashiro’s detention to be arbitrary and directly connected to his exercise of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The Special Rapporteur expresses serious concern that Mr. Yamashiro’s suspended sentence not only restricts him in any further exercise of his rights, but risks proving a broader deterrent against the exercise of the right of freedom of assembly. The freedoms of assembly and expression are closely linked and often mutually reinforcing. The State must strengthen its commitment to fulfilling its human rights obligations in these areas. 12. The Government does not appear to have taken steps to address concerns raised regarding the Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets. The Special Rapporteur reiterates the need to amend the Act and translate informal assurances that it will not be used to target journalists into legally binding safeguards. 13. Cumulatively, continued pressure on freedom of expression restricts access to information and narrows the latitude for developing and sharing diverse political opinions. The rights to freedom of opinion and expression have a direct, multifaceted impact on the development of democracy, equality and societies in their entirety. The limitation or 1 2 Associations of print and broadcast journalists (see A/HRC/55/22/Add.1, para. 34). See communication JPN 1/2017, available at https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/Tmsearch/TMDocuments. 3