Is it true that the news coverage in Japan of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine differs from the news in other countries? No, that's not true: Coverage of the war has been relatively consistent with what's being shown in other news outlets.
The claim appeared in a post on TikTok (archived here) on June 14, 2023. The speaker in the video opens with (translated into English by Lead Stories staff):
If you know how to speak English, you can read the news abroad ... Japan is the only country where the news is actively encouraging us to support Ukraine! Foreign news outlets say that Ukraine lost the war. Why is Japan sending fighter jets to a country that already lost the war?
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Tue Jun 27 02:15:53 2023 UTC)
Most of the news in Japan is reported, not investigated. As such, most news outlets have the same neutral tone that states facts and opts out of detailed news coverage. Despite Japan's low rank in the World Press Freedom Index, major news outlets covering the war align with the stories told in foreign news sites. Here is an example of the NHK covering the Bakhmut counteroffensive on June 19, 2023:
(Source: NHK News screenshot taken on Wed June 28 02:00:36 2023 UTC)
The headline reads (translated by Lead Stories staff):
Ukrainian Army's counter offensive; Fierce fighting in the East and South; Many casualties
Here is a Reuters article that also covers the Bakhmut counteroffense:
(Source: Reuters screenshot taken on Wed June 28 02:00:36 2023 UTC)
Despite the slight difference in reporting dates, it's evident that both the NHK and Reuters - a foreign news outlet - have a consistent tone and sentiment when discussing the Ukraine war. Both articles mention the heavy casualties inflicted on both sides of the war, and both articles also cover the Ukrainian Army's counteroffensive efforts in the war with a neutral lens. A portion of the NHK article states that Ukraine is making "gradual progress despite difficult times," and the Reuters article makes the same statement by saying "though small, the advances are the biggest by the Ukrainian military since November."
