Images of Japan in Hong Kong Print Media: A Study of the Ming Pao in the Last Two Decades (1994-2014)

• In Event: Toward a New Perspective to Understand Japan in Hong Kong

Abstract

There are many ways to look into the changes that have taken place in Hong Kong after the handover in 1997. One way is through the lens of the attitudes towards Japan in Hong Kong public media. By examining Japan’s changing images in Hong Kong print media through a case study of Ming Pao newspaper from 1994 to 2014, this research sheds new light on the transformation of the identities of Hong Kongers before and after 1997.

To understand Japan’s changing images in Hong Kong print media, this study categorizes and then analyses Ming Pao’s news articles about Japan from 1994 to 2014 by employing both a quantitative and qualitative approach. Studying Japan’s changing portrayals in Ming Pao in the last two decades will provide clues to understand the following issues: First, how has Japan been portrayed in the past twenty years? Second, what are the reasons behind the changing attitudes towards Japan among Hong Kongers before and after the handover in 1997? It will also provide different angles to understand the continuity and discontinuity in the social thinking of Hong Kong.

Author

• Jie YAO, The Chinese University of Hong Kong