BOLOGNA, ITALY- A UN human rights expert on Monday expressed concern over the Japanese government's possible pressure on media organizations.

"I am especially concerned by the direct and indirect pressure that (government) officials can exert over the media," David Kaye, UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, said in his speech at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Kaye, who visited Japan in April last year to investigate the situation surrounding freedom of expression, pointed to the problem of the nation's Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry having regulatory authority over broadcasters.

Noting that global standards promote broadcasting media regulations by independent organizations, he said, "I encourage the government (of Japan) to move in that direction."

In response, Junichi Ihara, ambassador to the Permanent Mission of Japan to the International Organizations in Geneva, said that government officials have not put pressure on journalists illegally or wrongfully.

He said that a broadcasting operation suspension order has never been issued in Japan under the country's broadcasting business law. The law has never led the government to pressure broadcasters, Ihara added.

In his report released last month, Kaye called on the Japanese government to revise the country's state secrecy law in order to avoid any chilling effects on the work of journalists.

On this, Ihara told the council meeting that "strict conditions" are set for the designation of state secrets. Information-gathering activities by journalists "are not punishable" under the law, he added.

Under the law, which went into force in December 2014, pieces of information that could substantially affect Japan's security if leaked are designated as special state secrets for protection. Public servants and others who leak designated information would face prison terms of up to 10 years.

The May report by Kaye also called on the Japanese government to refrain from interfering in the interpretation of historical events in school materials.

Ihara countered by saying that the school textbook authorization mechanism "does not allow any intervention by the government" because the process is "based on the results of professional and academic research and deliberation." (Jiji Press)