Citizen Journalism in Japan: Constructing Citizenship in the Online Public Sphere

Mainstream media exhibited ideologically divided responses: a liberal outlet initially supported citizen journalism but shifted its stance after the government withdrew a bill. In contrast, a conservative outlet maintained an establishment-oriented discourse throughout. This illustrates how institutional structures absorb external influences without change.

Japanese linguistic features also shaped interpretations of political events.</p><p dir="ltr">This study makes three main contributions. First, it enhances understanding of how citizen journalism operates in established democracies through the lens of path dependence theory. Second, it develops methods for analyzing citizen journalism in which language influences political meaning, benefiting both methodological and theoretical applications.

Third, it advocates for de-Westernization by demonstrating that citizen journalism in institutionalized democracies can exert limited yet meaningful influence without restructuring existing institutional frameworks.</p>