Donald Trump 2017 January 20th, as the 45th President of the United States was inaugurated. He is a rare figure who became president from the business world with no political experience. However, what drew even more attention were his many extreme remarks and policies. Statements such as “Ban the entry of Muslims” and “Build a wall with Mexico” sent ripples around the world. The Japanese media, concerned about Japan–U.S. relations in terms of the economy and security, began to cover these issues repeatedly. Meanwhile, is the media capturing the major events occurring around the world? How much has the “Trump phenomenon” affected international reporting? And what is happening in its shadow?

In this article, we focus on these issues.From January to April 2017, by examining the international reports published on the front page of the morning editions of the Mainichi Shimbun, we aim to clarify which events the paper regards as important. First, let us look at the volume of coverage by country.

As shown above, the U.S. share is 38.9%. Considering that in 2015 the Mainichi Shimbun’s U.S.-related coverage for the entire year (including international reporting beyond the front page) accounted for 13% of the total, it is clear that this figure is much higher than usual. Among these, articles with “Trump” in the headline accounted for about 22%. This number makes clear the magnitude of the “Trump phenomenon.” As for the breakdown of U.S. coverage, the topics included the start of the administration (President Trump’s inaugural address and analyses of the new administration), foreign affairs (TPP withdrawal, the U.S. strike on Syrian forces as a countermeasure to the use of chemical weapons, and confrontation with North Korea over nuclear and missile development), Japan–U.S. relations (including the first Japan–U.S. summit meeting with Prime Minister Abe), and domestic policy (a ban on entry from Muslim-majority countries), among others.

North Korea was the next most reported country after the United States, but its coverage amounted to only one-third of U.S. coverage. North Korea also saw a series of sensational events, such as the killing of Kim Jong-nam and nuclear and missile development. Coverage related to the killing of Kim Jong-nam accounted for 11% of all international reporting. In third-place South Korea, the news of President Park’s impeachment was prominent, and the issue of the comfort woman statue was also raised. In fourth-place Britain, content related to EU withdrawal accounted for about half. All reporting related to Syria concerned the suspected use of chemical weapons that surfaced on April 4 and the responses to it. The reporting on Malaysia was exclusively related to the killing of Kim Jong-nam that occurred there. Most coverage about France concerned the presidential election, but the runoff had not yet been held during the period in question.

Up to this point, we focused on the Trump phenomenon and other topics that made the front page. However, in their shadow were also significant events that did not make the front page.

2017 March 11, the world is facing the largest humanitarian crisis since the founding of the United Nations (1945), so announced the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Stephen O’Brien, who announced it. This is primarily because in four countries—Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia, and Nigeria—large-scale famine has broken out, and more than 20 million people are suffering from food shortages. Without swift measures, by the end of the year 1.4 million children could die of hunger, the UN warned. In each case, the presence of armed conflict is considered a major factor driving the famine. In response to this shocking fact, although the Mainichi Shimbun ran a short 317-character article on its international page, it did not put it on the front page. Articles about South Sudan did appear on the front page during the same period, but all of them concerned the dispatch of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces for PKO.

Given the intensity of the Yemen conflict, the paucity of coverage is particularly striking.2011, this conflict reignited and has drawn in many neighboring countries. Saudi Arabia formed a coalition with Middle Eastern countries, received military support from the United States and others, carried out repeated airstrikes, and deployed ground forces. Furthermore, a naval blockade has been implemented around Yemen. These actions are among the main drivers of the famine. Despite the very large scale of this conflict, both militarily and in terms of humanitarian damage, it did not make the front page of the Mainichi Shimbun.

Beyond conflicts, numerous terrorist attacks also occurred around the world.From January to April 2017, 2,782 people fell victim to terrorism. Of these, incidents in which 30 or more people were killed at once occurred in 7 countries, with 17 cases in total. Those countries were Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Turkey, Mali, and Pakistan. None of these incidents made the front page, but some terrorist incidents that occurred in Europe did. Those were the incidents in Russia (10 dead), the United Kingdom (5 dead), and France (1 dead).

The shifting politics of the United States are important for Japan, and it is understandable that they attract attention. However, to understand the world, it is also important to maintain a broad perspective. At the same time, the media will be expected to strike a balance when reporting information from around the world.