Japanese newspapers
Encyclopedia
Japanese newspapers similar to their worldwide counterparts, run the gamut from general news-oriented papers to special interest newspapers devoted to economics
, sports, literature
, industry
, and trade
. Newspapers are circulated either nationally, by region (such as Kantō or Kansai
), by prefecture
, or by city. Some newspapers publish as often as two times a day (morning and evening editions) while others publish weekly, monthly, quarterly, or even yearly. The five leading national daily newspapers in Japan
are the Asahi Shimbun
, Mainichi Shimbun
, the Yomiuri Shimbun
, Sankei Shimbun
, and the Nikkei Shimbun
. The first two are generally considered liberal/left leaning while the latter three are considered conservative/right leaning.
Japanese newspapers began in the 17th century as yomiuri (読売、literally "to read and sell") or kawaraban (瓦版, literally "tile-block printing
" referring to the use of clay
printing blocks), which were printed handbills sold in major cities to commemorate major social gatherings or events.
The first modern newspaper was the Nagasaki Shipping List and Advertiser, which was published bi-weekly by the Englishman A. W. Hansard. In November of the same year, Hansard moved the paper to Yokohama and renamed it as the Japan Herald. In 1862, the Tokugawa shogunate began publishing the Kampan batabiya shimbun, a translated edition of a widely-distributed Dutch
government newspaper. These two papers were published for foreigners, and contained only foreign news. The first Japanese daily newspaper that covered foreign and domestic news was the Yokohama
mainichi shimbun (横浜市毎日新聞), first published in 1871.
Newspapers at this time can be divided into two types, Ōshimbun (大新聞, "large newspapers") and koshimbun (小新聞, "small newspapers"). People commonly referred to Ōshimbun as "political forums" because these papers were inextricably tied to the Popular Rights Movement (自由民権運動, "Jiyū minken undō") and its demands for establishing a Diet
. After the government's official announcement of the formation of the Diet, these newspapers, such as the Yokohama mainichi shimbun and the Chūgai shimbun, became organs of the political parties. The early readers of these newspapers mostly came from the ranks of the former samurai
class.
Koshimbun, on the other hand, were more plebeian, popular newspapers that contained local news, human interest stories, and light fiction. Examples of koshimbun were the Tokyo
nichinichi shimbun, the predecessor of the present day Mainichi shimbun, which began in 1872; the Yomiuri shimbun, which began in 1874; and the Asahi shimbun, which began in 1879. In the 1880s, government pressure led to a gradual weeding out of Ōshimbun, and the koshimbun started becoming more similar to the modern, "impartial" newspapers.
Throughout their history, Japanese newspapers have had a central role in issues of free speech and freedom of the press
. In the period of "Taishō
Democracy
" in the 1910s to the 1920s, the government worked to suppress newspapers such as the Asahi shimbun for their critical stance against government bureaucracy that favored protecting citizens' rights and constitutional democracy. In the period of growing militarism
to the outbreak of total war
in the 1930s to the 1940s, newspapers faced intense government censorship
and control. After Japan's defeat, strict censorship of the press continued as the American occupiers used government control in order to inculcate democratic and anti-communist values. In 1951, the American occupiers finally returned freedom of the press to Japan, which is the situation today.
These historical newspapers are available in three major forms, as CD-ROM
s, as microfilm, and as shukusatsuban (縮刷版, literally, "reduced-sized print editions"). Shukusatsuban is a technology popularized by Asahi shimbun in the 1930s as a way to compress and archive newspapers by reducing the size of the print to fit multiple pages of a daily newspaper onto one page. Shukusatsuban are geared towards libraries and archives, and are usually organized and released by month.
These resources are available at many leading research universities throughout the world (usually universities with reputable Japanese studies programs). One will need to check each individual library's collection for information about the availability of these sources. WorldCat
http://firstsearch.oclc.org/ is a good starting point.
, The Prewar Showa Era I and The Prewar Showa Era II, were completed eight years after the project was first conceived. Postwar Recovery, the first part of a postwar Showa Era
series that includes newspaper stories and images until 1960, is forthcoming. Issues of Yomiuri shimbun printed since 1998 are also available as an online resource through Lexis-Nexis Academic.
, which notably includes advertisements in its index. Researchers using other university libraries would probably have to first use the CD-ROM index, and then look into the microfilm or shukusatsuban versions. Microfilm versions are available from 1888; shukusatsuban versions are available from 1931. Issues of the Asahi shimbun printed since August 1984 are available through Lexis-Nexis Academic.
are available for the years 1984–2005, and shukusatsuban are available from 1950–1983. Issues of the Mainichi shimbun printed since March 27, 1998 are available through Factiva
.
source: WAN "World Press Trends" (2006) http://www.pressnet.or.jp/data/01cirsekai.htm
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, sports, literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
, and trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
. Newspapers are circulated either nationally, by region (such as Kantō or Kansai
Kansai
The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, and Shiga. Depending on who makes the distinction, Fukui, Tokushima and even Tottori Prefecture are also included...
), by prefecture
Prefecture
A prefecture is an administrative jurisdiction or subdivision in any of various countries and within some international church structures, and in antiquity a Roman district governed by an appointed prefect.-Antiquity:...
, or by city. Some newspapers publish as often as two times a day (morning and evening editions) while others publish weekly, monthly, quarterly, or even yearly. The five leading national daily newspapers in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
are the Asahi Shimbun
Asahi Shimbun
The is the second most circulated out of the five national newspapers in Japan. Its circulation, which was 7.96 million for its morning edition and 3.1 million for its evening edition as of June 2010, was second behind that of Yomiuri Shimbun...
, Mainichi Shimbun
Mainichi Shimbun
The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by .-History:The history of the Mainichi Shimbun begins with founding of two papers during the Meiji period. The Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun was founded first, in 1872. The Mainichi claims that it is the oldest existing Japanese daily newspaper...
, the Yomiuri Shimbun
Yomiuri Shimbun
The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five national newspapers in Japan; the other four are the Asahi Shimbun, the Mainichi Shimbun, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, and the Sankei Shimbun...
, Sankei Shimbun
Sankei Shimbun
is a daily newspaper in Japan published by the . It has the sixth highest circulation for a newspaper in Japan, and is considered as one of the five "national" newspapers...
, and the Nikkei Shimbun
Nihon Keizai Shimbun
is one of the largest media corporations in Japan. Nikkei specializes in publishing financial, business and industry news. Its main news publications include:* Nihon Keizai Shimbun , a leading economic newspaper....
. The first two are generally considered liberal/left leaning while the latter three are considered conservative/right leaning.
Brief history
Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
" referring to the use of clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
printing blocks), which were printed handbills sold in major cities to commemorate major social gatherings or events.
The first modern newspaper was the Nagasaki Shipping List and Advertiser, which was published bi-weekly by the Englishman A. W. Hansard. In November of the same year, Hansard moved the paper to Yokohama and renamed it as the Japan Herald. In 1862, the Tokugawa shogunate began publishing the Kampan batabiya shimbun, a translated edition of a widely-distributed Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
government newspaper. These two papers were published for foreigners, and contained only foreign news. The first Japanese daily newspaper that covered foreign and domestic news was the Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
mainichi shimbun (横浜市毎日新聞), first published in 1871.
Newspapers at this time can be divided into two types, Ōshimbun (大新聞, "large newspapers") and koshimbun (小新聞, "small newspapers"). People commonly referred to Ōshimbun as "political forums" because these papers were inextricably tied to the Popular Rights Movement (自由民権運動, "Jiyū minken undō") and its demands for establishing a Diet
Diet of Japan
The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...
. After the government's official announcement of the formation of the Diet, these newspapers, such as the Yokohama mainichi shimbun and the Chūgai shimbun, became organs of the political parties. The early readers of these newspapers mostly came from the ranks of the former samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
class.
Koshimbun, on the other hand, were more plebeian, popular newspapers that contained local news, human interest stories, and light fiction. Examples of koshimbun were the Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
nichinichi shimbun, the predecessor of the present day Mainichi shimbun, which began in 1872; the Yomiuri shimbun, which began in 1874; and the Asahi shimbun, which began in 1879. In the 1880s, government pressure led to a gradual weeding out of Ōshimbun, and the koshimbun started becoming more similar to the modern, "impartial" newspapers.
Throughout their history, Japanese newspapers have had a central role in issues of free speech and freedom of the press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
. In the period of "Taishō
Taisho
Taisho may refer to:* Taishō period , a period in the history of Japan* Emperor Taishō of Japan , reigned 1912–1926. His given name was Yoshihito.* Taishō-ku, Osaka, a ward in the city of Osaka, Japan...
Democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
" in the 1910s to the 1920s, the government worked to suppress newspapers such as the Asahi shimbun for their critical stance against government bureaucracy that favored protecting citizens' rights and constitutional democracy. In the period of growing militarism
Militarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
to the outbreak of total war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
in the 1930s to the 1940s, newspapers faced intense government censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
and control. After Japan's defeat, strict censorship of the press continued as the American occupiers used government control in order to inculcate democratic and anti-communist values. In 1951, the American occupiers finally returned freedom of the press to Japan, which is the situation today.
Reproductions of Japanese newspapers
Listed below is an overview of reproductions of the three major Japanese daily newspapers, the Yomiuri shimbun, the Asahi shimbun, and the Mainichi shimbun.These historical newspapers are available in three major forms, as CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
s, as microfilm, and as shukusatsuban (縮刷版, literally, "reduced-sized print editions"). Shukusatsuban is a technology popularized by Asahi shimbun in the 1930s as a way to compress and archive newspapers by reducing the size of the print to fit multiple pages of a daily newspaper onto one page. Shukusatsuban are geared towards libraries and archives, and are usually organized and released by month.
These resources are available at many leading research universities throughout the world (usually universities with reputable Japanese studies programs). One will need to check each individual library's collection for information about the availability of these sources. WorldCat
WorldCat
WorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...
http://firstsearch.oclc.org/ is a good starting point.
Yomiuri shimbun
In 1999, the Yomiuri shimbun released a CD-ROM titled The Yomiuri shimbun in the Meiji Era, which provides a searchable index of news articles and images from the period. Subsequent CD-ROMs, The Taisho EraTaisho period
The , or Taishō era, is a period in the history of Japan dating from July 30, 1912 to December 25, 1926, coinciding with the reign of the Taishō Emperor. The health of the new emperor was weak, which prompted the shift in political power from the old oligarchic group of elder statesmen to the Diet...
, The Prewar Showa Era I and The Prewar Showa Era II, were completed eight years after the project was first conceived. Postwar Recovery, the first part of a postwar Showa Era
Showa period
The , or Shōwa era, is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of the Shōwa Emperor, Hirohito, from December 25, 1926 through January 7, 1989.The Shōwa period was longer than the reign of any previous Japanese emperor...
series that includes newspaper stories and images until 1960, is forthcoming. Issues of Yomiuri shimbun printed since 1998 are also available as an online resource through Lexis-Nexis Academic.
Asahi shimbun
The Asahi shimbun has a CD-ROM database consisting of an index of headlines and sub-headlines from the years 1945–1999. A much more expensive full-text searchable database is available only at the Harvard-Yenching Library at Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, which notably includes advertisements in its index. Researchers using other university libraries would probably have to first use the CD-ROM index, and then look into the microfilm or shukusatsuban versions. Microfilm versions are available from 1888; shukusatsuban versions are available from 1931. Issues of the Asahi shimbun printed since August 1984 are available through Lexis-Nexis Academic.
Mainichi shimbun
Microfilm versions of the Mainichi shimbunMainichi Shimbun
The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by .-History:The history of the Mainichi Shimbun begins with founding of two papers during the Meiji period. The Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun was founded first, in 1872. The Mainichi claims that it is the oldest existing Japanese daily newspaper...
are available for the years 1984–2005, and shukusatsuban are available from 1950–1983. Issues of the Mainichi shimbun printed since March 27, 1998 are available through Factiva
Factiva
Factiva is a business information and research tool owned by Dow Jones & Company. Factiva aggregates content from both licensed and free sources, and provides organizations with search, alerting, dissemination, and other information management capabilities...
.
Stance & circulation, only morning (2007)
-
- YomiuriYomiuri ShimbunThe is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five national newspapers in Japan; the other four are the Asahi Shimbun, the Mainichi Shimbun, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, and the Sankei Shimbun...
: conservative (high quality paper) 10,042,075 - AsahiAsahi ShimbunThe is the second most circulated out of the five national newspapers in Japan. Its circulation, which was 7.96 million for its morning edition and 3.1 million for its evening edition as of June 2010, was second behind that of Yomiuri Shimbun...
: Left (high quality paper) 8,093,885 - Seikyo : Buddhism 5,500,000
- MainichiMainichi ShimbunThe is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by .-History:The history of the Mainichi Shimbun begins with founding of two papers during the Meiji period. The Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun was founded first, in 1872. The Mainichi claims that it is the oldest existing Japanese daily newspaper...
: Liberal/left (high quality paper) 3,974,559 - Chunichi ShimbunChunichi ShimbunThe is a Japanese daily "broadsheet" newspaper published in mostly Aichi Prefecture and neighboring regions by . It is the owner of the Chunichi Dragons baseball team, and is also known as the main organizer of a famous international gymnastics event, the Chunichi Cup...
/Tokyo ShimbunTokyo ShimbunThe Tokyo Shimbun is a Japanese newspaper published by The Chunichi Shimbun Company. The group publishes newspapers under the brand name of The Tokyo Shimbun in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area and under The Chunichi Shimbun in the Nagoya Metropolitan Area. The group’s combined daily morning...
: Left (high quality paper) 3,475,049 - Nihon KeizaiNihon Keizai Shimbunis one of the largest media corporations in Japan. Nikkei specializes in publishing financial, business and industry news. Its main news publications include:* Nihon Keizai Shimbun , a leading economic newspaper....
: Economy (high quality paper) 3,034,481 - Tokyo SportsTokyo Sportsis a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1958.- See also :*Tokyo Sports Film Award*Yellow journalism*Supermarket tabloid*Junk food news- External links :* http://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp Official Website...
: (Sports) 2,228,000 - Sankei : Right (high quality paper) 2,191,587
- Nikkan Sports 1,970,000
- Nikkan Gendai : Left (Tabloid) 1,681,500
- Akahata (Red Flag) : Communist Party bulletin 1,680,000
- Yukan Fuji : Right (Tabloid) 1,559,000
- Houchi Shimbun : (Sports) 1,428,000
- Sankei Sports 1,367,734
- Hokkaido Shimbun : Left (high quality paper) 1,209,231
- Daily Sports 963,000
- Chunichi Sports/Tokyo Chunichi Sports 942,034
- Nishinippon Shimbun : Left (high quality paper) 852,943
- Chugoku Shimbun : Left (high quality paper) 719,194
- Shizuoka Shimbun : Left (high quality paper) 717,000
- Kobe Shimbun : Left (high quality paper) 562,011
- Kyoto Shimbun : Left (high quality paper) 506,841
- Kahoku Shimpo : Liberal (high quality paper) 504,953
- Yomiuri
The number of copies published per 1,000 people
- 1 IcelandIcelandIceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
795.7 - 2 JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
634.5 - 3 NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
626.3 - 4 SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
583.4 - 5 FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
518.4 - 6 South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
449.8 - 7 DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
442.9
source: WAN "World Press Trends" (2006) http://www.pressnet.or.jp/data/01cirsekai.htm
External links
- Japan Newspapers and News Media Guide at ABYZ News Links
- Japan Newspapers at onlinenewspapers.com
- Japan news aggregator at NihongoUp