I42 SECRETS OF JAPAN
2 News Telephone Fees
According to the Subscription News Telephone Regulations (en
forced in Aug 1908 and revised several times since then), the annual
subscription for one unit of telephone message is 3/5 the ordinary
telephone fee (or ordinary night telephone fee) multiplied by 360
Control of Newspapers and News Services
i Control by the Newspaper Act
The Newspaper Act of 1909 still remains unchanged In it we
jEnd certain clauses which might be considered inappropriate from
the standpoint of freedom of thought and discussion The gist of a
few of these clauses is as follows
a The Minister for Home Affairs may prohibit the sale and dis
tribution of any newspaper which he considers to be contrary to peace
and order or public morals , or, if necessary, he may confiscate it In
that case, the publisher and editor of the paper shall be either im
prisoned for less than 6 months or fined less than ¥200
b If a newspaper publishes any matter which seeks to imperil
the dignity of the Imperial family, to change the existing political
system, or to neglect the Constitution, the publisher and editor of the
paper shall be either imprisoned for less than 2 years or fined less than
¥300, and the Court may prohibit the publication of the paper
c The Minister of War, tie Naval Minister, and the Minister
for Foreign Affairs may by an ordinance prohibit or restrict the publi-
cation of any news concerning military and diplomatic questions
d Newspapers may not publish before a trial the minutes of the
preliminary examination or, when the (public) procurator prohibited
it, the results of any search or investigation, or any case sub judice
e Newspapers are under obligation to publish corrections uncondi-
tionally