Pentagon Papers

In modern times, the critical function of journalism was most brilliantly demonstrated by the release of secret documents from the Vietnam War in the United States, the Watergate Scandal, and the exposure of the land speculation of Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka. The first incident, known as the Pentagon Papers Scandal, began when The New York Times began publishing a huge report on the overall course of the Vietnam War, which the Department of Defense had commissioned an investigative agency to prepare. While the government was suing the court to stop the articles from being published, newspapers such as The Washington Post also obtained the report and simultaneously examined the entry into the war without a declaration of war. The newspaper's release of the documents was deemed legitimate in light of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech, and the articles in each newspaper eventually led to the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam, which resulted in the end of the war.

*Some of the terminology used in reference to the Pentagon Papers is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…　現代においてジャーナリズムの批判機能がもっともみごとに発揮されたのは，アメリカのベトナム戦争秘密文書公開とウォーターゲート事件であり，また日本の田中角栄首相の土地ころがし暴露であった。国防総省文書Pentagon Papers事件と呼ばれる第1の事件は，ベトナム戦争の経過の全容について国防総省が調査機関につくらせた膨大な報告書を《ニューヨーク･タイムズ》が紙面に掲載しはじめ，政府が裁判所に記事掲載差止めを提訴しているあいだに《ワシントン･ポスト》などの新聞もこの報告書を入手して，この宣戦布告なき参戦をいっせいに点検したことにはじまる事件である。言論の自由をさだめた憲法修正第1条に照らして新聞の文書公開は正当と判決され，各紙の記事がやがてアメリカ軍のベトナム撤兵つまり戦争終結を実現させた。…

※「Pentagon Papers」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報