GNV has conducted analyses on many themes such as conflict, poverty, and politics, examining which issues are covered by Japanese media and which are not. Among these, this time we focus on reporting about refugees and displaced persons. In recent years, due to conflicts and natural disasters, the number of refugees and displaced people forced from their homes has been increasing worldwide.

How, then, are people displaced from their homes covered in Japanese media? A past GNV study revealed that Japanese media coverage on refugees is heavily skewed toward certain people and regions, with refugees in Europe attracting most of the attention. What about internally displaced persons who are forced to flee within their own country without crossing borders? Here, we compare internal displacement and media coverage that occurred during the one year of 2023 and analyze, with a focus on television coverage, whether reporting reflects reality.

TBS Headquarters Building (Photo: Dick Thomas Johnson / Flickr［CC BY 2.0］)

What are internally displaced persons?

Every year around the world, many refugees and displaced persons are created by conflicts and natural disasters. Before looking at the current situation, let’s first review the definitions of refugees and displaced persons.

According to the definition of the Refugee Convention governing the legal status of refugees, “a ‘refugee’ is someone who has fled to another country and requires international protection because they fear persecution in their home country for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership of a particular social group.” However, the “refugee” described in this protocol does not encompass everyone who is actually displaced. For example, people displaced by conflict do not strictly fit the definition of the Refugee Convention. In addition, there are very many “internally displaced persons” who do not cross borders but are forced to flee their homes and seek protection within their own country; however, they are not included in the above definition, and except in specific cases (※1), may not receive international protection.

However, the number of these “internally displaced persons” has been increasing in recent years. According to a study by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) based in Switzerland and established by the Norwegian Refugee Council, about 20.5 million instances of internal displacement were recorded in 2023 alone (※2). The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) also reports that as of 2023, internally displaced persons made up 57% of all displaced people worldwide.

Internally displaced people around the world in 2023

Let’s look more closely at the reality of internal displacement in 2023. First, how does internal displacement occur? There are two major causes, one of which is natural disasters. Displacement due to natural disasters such as earthquakes, droughts, and floods accounted for about 56% of all internal displacements in 2023. The other is displacement caused by armed conflict, accounting for 44% of the total. Unlike disasters, in conflict-related displacement, conflicts often last a long time, making it difficult for those who fled once to return home, or forcing them to flee multiple times to different locations as the conflict spreads. This type of displacement has shown a sharp upward trend since 2022. Here, we take a closer look at internal displacement caused by armed conflict.

During the 2023 calendar year, in which countries/regions did internal displacement due to conflict occur? According to IDMC data, the countries with the largest numbers, in descending order, were Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Palestine, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Burkina Faso, Somalia, Colombia, and Nigeria. Looking beyond these 10 countries, many conflict-related internal displacements occurred on the African continent: of all internal displacements worldwide, 13.46 million (65%) occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa, 4.05 million (19%) in the Middle East and North Africa, and 1.46 million (7%) in East Asia. Below, we briefly introduce the background of the conflicts in the top 5 countries with especially large numbers of internal displacements.

Sudan

In April 2023, intense armed clashes broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), forcing many people to flee within and beyond the country. After a military coup, Sudan transitioned to a joint civilian–military governance structure in 2019, but another coup occurred in 2021. Although SAF and RSF then operated in coordination, when SAF moved to formally integrate RSF into the national army, RSF resisted, leading to large-scale clashes in the capital Khartoum in April 2023 developing into major fighting. These clashes, compounded by extreme-weather droughts and floods, produced large numbers of displaced people. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), by April 2024 more than 7 million people had been forced to flee within and beyond the country. IDMC data confirm that in 2023 alone there were 6.03 million internal displacements, indicating a severe humanitarian crisis.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, relations with neighboring Rwanda deteriorated after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and Rwanda and other neighboring countries launched two military invasions in 1996 and 1998. As a result, between 1998 and 2008 alone, as many as 5.4 million people are said to have died, causing massive damage. Although a peace agreement was signed in 2003, conflicts have continued thereafter, especially in the eastern regions. The conflict escalated in 2022, and in October 2023 fierce fighting resumed between the Congolese army and armed groups; over the past two years the humanitarian crisis has expanded. These factors have produced many displaced people, and by June 2023, a cumulative total of more than 6 million people were still being forced to flee within and beyond the country. IDMC data confirm that in the single year of 2023 alone there were more than 3.77 million internal displacements.

Military training in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Photo: MONUSCO Photos / Flickr［CC BY-SA 2.0］)

Palestine

For many years, Israel has occupied Palestine and/or controlled its borders, and conflict has persisted. In October 2023, Hamas and others controlling the Gaza Strip carried out attacks on Israel, and in retaliation Israel has been carrying out large-scale incursions into the Gaza Strip for months since. Fighting continues, and as of June 2024, there were said to be 36,439 deaths and 82,627 wounded. IDMC data confirm that in 2023 alone there were more than 3.43 million internal displacements in Palestine.

Myanmar

Myanmar was long ruled by a military regime, and numerous anti-government armed groups exist as a reaction against the oppression of ethnic minorities in peripheral regions. Although democratization progressed after 2011, a coup in 2021 restored military rule, and many displaced people fled as a result. The conflict between the military and anti-government forces intensified accordingly, and in 2023 the cumulative number of displaced persons within and outside the country is said to have exceeded 2 million. Focusing on internal displacement, IDMC data indicate that in 2023 alone there were more than 1.29 million internal displacements.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia has experienced much instability, especially during the Cold War era, including conflict between an authoritarian regime and rebel forces, and wars with Eritrea, which became independent. In particular, in the Tigray conflict that erupted in 2020, large-scale clashes broke out between the Ethiopian government and armed forces governing the Tigray region, reportedly producing more than 2.6 million internally displaced persons. Conflicts also occurred in the country’s Amhara and Oromia regions, and combined with the Tigray conflict, many people across the country were forced from their homes. According to IDMC data, during 2023 there were more than 790,000 internal displacements.

UNICEF support activities in Ethiopia (Photo: UNICEF Ethiopia / Flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0])

As seen above, conflict and violence have produced large numbers of internally displaced persons, and the scale of refugees and internal displacements can be said to be one indicator of the magnitude and impact of a given conflict.

International coverage on TBS News in 2023

So far we have looked at the realities of internal displacement and the conflicts behind it around the world. During the single year of 2023 alone, did Japanese media convey the reality that hundreds of thousands to millions of internal displacements were occurring? Our survey focused on the news distribution site TBS NEWS DIG, operated by TBS. This site mainly redistributes news aired on JNN-affiliated TV stations nationwide and allows users to view a wide range of news from across Japan and around the world—from politics and economics to entertainment and sports—in both video and text. The survey period covered the one year from January 1 to December 31, 2023. The target articles were those displayed by entering the names of the top 10 countries with the most internal displacements that year into the website’s search function, limited to those related to conflict and displaced people (※3). For aggregation, we counted the number of distributed news items and did not consider other indicators such as airtime.

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The results are as follows. Among the top 10 countries, in order of the number of articles: Ukraine 1,455, Palestine 558, Sudan 99, Myanmar 53, Burkina Faso and Colombia 1 each, and the other countries had 0. Below, we look at the conflicts in the countries that were reported, as well as those with little coverage.

First, the overwhelming volume concerned the conflicts in the two countries of Ukraine and Palestine. Past GNV research has also noted that Japanese media concentrate on the Russia–Ukraine and Israel–Palestine conflicts, and this tendency was conspicuous in commercial TV news as well.

In particular, many of these reports addressed these conflicts in relation to the United States and European countries. Of the 558 reports on Palestine, 56 featured the United States as a related country, and many focused on the U.S. government’s response, such as “Over 100 killed in a refugee camp in northern Gaza; U.S. Defense Secretary Austin visits Israel to discuss scaling down military operations” (December 19, 2023) and “President Biden: ‘We expect more hostages to be released’; Hamas releases 24 hostages” (November 25, 2023). Reports on Ukraine likewise frequently delved into U.S. and European military support, such as “Exclusive interview with U.S. Ambassador to NATO: ‘We have obligations to support two countries, and the capacity to do so’—continued support for Ukraine and Israel” (December 21, 2023).

Regarding these two countries, there were also articles focusing on links to Japan and on displaced people in Japan. For example, on the Palestine conflict, there were interviews with Japanese people on the ground, such as “Israeli forces storm Gaza hospital, say ‘there was a headquarters’; MSF’s Shirane, who had worked at the hospital until just before the conflict: ‘It feels like a completely different place’ [N Sta commentary]” (November 16, 2023), and a few reports interviewing displaced people living in Japan, such as “‘Thank you for worrying about us’: why many in Gaza feel close to ‘Japan’, and the distressing reality for children—‘a 3-year-old hit by an airstrike’” (November 23, 2023). Such Japan-related articles numbered 46 out of the 558 on Palestine.

Coverage of Sudan was next most frequent. While there were articles on the conflict situation, such as “Sudanese army and paramilitary agree to extend the ceasefire by 7 days, from the 4th to the 11th, the Government of South Sudan announces” (May 3, 2023), more than half—51 out of 99 Sudan-related reports—were Japan-related. Of those 51, 29 concerned the evacuation of Japanese nationals from Sudan, with many focused on transporting Japanese from the conflict zone, such as “45 Japanese evacuees arrive in Djibouti; no major health issues” (April 25, 2023), and on the Japanese government’s response, such as “[Breaking] Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno: SDF units to be dispatched to Sudan for evacuation of Japanese nationals” (April 24, 2023). Such coverage was concentrated immediately after the outbreak of the conflict: more than 94 of the 99 articles (over 90%) were in the first month. Despite the conflict continuing thereafter, only 5 reports were aired over the rest of the year once the evacuation of Japanese nationals had ended.

Myanmar was covered in 53 articles, 9 of which related to Japan. For example, “Two years since the Myanmar military coup: the ongoing devastation, villages and homes burned… Voices from Toyama longing for the homeland” (March 2, 2023) focused on refugees living in Japan, but many others reported on the realities and damage of the conflict.

TBS NEWS DIG website

Next, let’s look at the regions with little coverage. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, conflict has persisted for years, and despite having the second-highest number of internal displacements in the world in 2023, there were no news items on the conflict throughout the year. Regarding Ethiopia, despite internal displacements on a scale comparable to those in the Ukraine conflict during 2023, the opposite of Ukraine held: there was no coverage at all.

Regarding Burkina Faso, there was only 1 article on its conflict with neighboring Niger, and for Colombia there was only 1 article on the country’s conflict; for the other countries there were no reports at all over the year.

These are reports on conflicts in general, but how much was reported specifically about internally displaced persons? Among the articles extracted for this study, the number that referred to displaced people or internally displaced persons was 88 for Ukraine, 13 for Palestine, and 13 for Myanmar. In all cases, the proportions were not high, suggesting that compared with coverage of the state of the fighting or support by various countries, internally displaced persons did not receive much attention.

Why does the volume of coverage differ?

As noted, despite displacement occurring due to conflicts around the world, there is an extreme skew in the volume of coverage. Why does this difference arise? Drawing on past GNV research, we consider some factors.

First, for the countries with high coverage—especially Ukraine and Palestine—why is coverage so intense? The first factor is their connection to Japan. Media generally have a tendency to focus on countries, regions, and events that are closely connected to their own country. The risk of escalation to nuclear war and the major impact on the global economy in the Russia–Ukraine conflict were among the reasons Japanese media coverage intensified.

The second reason is that these are conflicts that attract the attention of the United States and European countries, which have close ties with Japan. Past GNV studies have shown that Japanese media tend to follow the coverage of the U.S. government and U.S. media. Major outlets, especially TV networks, have limited numbers of overseas bureaus, so they often have to cite foreign media reports. As a result, their reporting tends to be influenced by how Western media view the world.

The third factor is the Japanese media’s prioritization of high-income countries. Past GNV research has shown that Japanese reporting tends to focus more on high-income countries and less on low-income countries. The same tendency was evident here: despite front lines not changing drastically during 2023, coverage of Ukraine was overwhelmingly abundant. The paucity of coverage on Africa is also striking: despite the Democratic Republic of the Congo having the world’s second-most internal displacements in 2023, it was not reported even once.

The fourth factor concerns the relationship to the actors who are the focus of reporting. Past GNV research has pointed out a tendency in Japanese media to focus on the actions of those in power. In this study as well, the conflicts in Ukraine–Russia and Palestine–Israel, in which American political elites are deeply involved, were heavily reported, reflecting the same tendency. It has also been suggested that the degree of empathy readers/viewers feel toward the events and people reported is one factor in determining the volume of coverage. In this respect, the victims’ culture and skin color may share similarities with the majority in Western societies, making it easier for these issues to be covered in Western media, which in turn could lead to more coverage in Japanese media.

Conclusion

As above, we analyzed the actual state of international reporting on the theme of conflict and refugees on TBS television. There was a large gap between the severity of actual conflicts and displacement and the volume/content of reporting, and the results prominently revealed the biases in international coverage that GNV has pointed out to date. Resolving internal displacement and the conflicts behind it requires understanding and support from the world as a whole, but with international coverage like this, the overall picture is not conveyed, and the necessary understanding, diplomacy, and assistance will not be forthcoming.

※1 UNHCR provides assistance to millions of internally displaced persons, but it does not reach all of them.

※2 IDMC’s report counts the number of times displacement was observed during the period and aggregates that as data. Therefore, if the same person moves multiple times, the number of movements is counted, which differs from the number of individual displaced persons.

※3 Articles meeting the following requirements were counted as relevant: ① Appears in the results when searching for the “country name” using the search function on the TBS NEWSDIG website; ② Among those from ①, includes the keywords “conflict” and “displaced people” in the article, or otherwise refers to them within the article.

Writer/Graphics: Takumi Kuriyama

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