Tomoyo Nonaka, former anchor, NHK and TV-Tokyo, and Visiting Professor of Communications at Chukyo Women's University, said Japanese society as a whole was experiencing drastic changes and turbulence in terms of social, cultural and economic perspectives. During the past one or two years, aided in particular by the ever-expanding digital technological advances, those great changes had served as a catalyst towards further democratization and liberalization of the world.

The Japanese language as a tool of communication was extremely complex. The application of the language's many variations required the complete understanding of social mores, the status of human relationships, the positions of titles within society and even the issue of gender. She said another area of constraint arose from the traditional Japanese value in which individual interests were subordinated to those of groups.

Journalists in Japan gave priority to being a member of an elite group of comrades or sharing in common objectives. As a result, sectorial press clubs appeared to function with an unthinkable degree of dogmatism, authority and conformity, often with pre-agreed formats for press reports and news items. Her representing Japan today was, however, symbolic of the evolving progress in the freedom of the press in her country. "In this turbulent era, we journalists are supposed to discuss not only the contents of freedom of the press, but also how to spread it to all the people of the world."

Sam Younger, former Managing Director of BBC World Service and currently Director-General of the British Red Cross, said there was an ongoing debate on whether citizenship and national interest should be placed before journalistic interests. During his career, he had developed a respect for those journalists who were relentless in their search for the truth, ignoring the interests of nations or their own interests. Nevertheless, there was also a point to saying that journalists did have a responsibility to national and other interests. The reporting of many media organizations had brought the profession into disrepute.

There was a danger that journalism standards would go so low that Governments would be able to set restrictions on the media, with the support of the people who did not think highly of the press, he said. The decline in standards or poor behaviour by journalists made it easy for those who would restrict press freedom to do so. He added that the real heroes in journalism was not the Western press, but those who risked their lives in situations of repression in relentless pursuit of truth.

Cameron Duodu, columnist, The Johannesburg Mail and Guardian, said that in 1960 in Ghana, journalists thought they were living in turbulent times.

Many countries became independent and massacres ensued. The United Nations was involved then, as now, in trying to bring stability to the region. Many UN personnel had died working for peace in Africa, including Ghanaians. There was no monument to those who died trying to make peace in the Congo and other places. Journalists should ask themselves how often they used their press freedom to pursue the truth, especially in regard to the oppression undertaken against Yugoslavia. Actions there had been undertaken without the agreement of the Security Council. Freedom of the press was not an abstract concept that should be pigeon-holed.

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