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The mass media in Japan include numerous
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
and
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
networks as well as
newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
s and
magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
s in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. For the most part, television networks were established based on capital investments by existing radio networks.
Variety shows Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a compèr ...
, serial dramas, and news constitute a large percentage of Japanese evening shows. Western movies are also shown, many with a
subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compressi ...
for English. There are all-English television channels on cable and satellite (with Japanese subtitles).


TV networks

There are 6 nationwide television networks, as follows: *
NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...
is a
public service broadcaster Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
. The company is financed through "viewer fees," similar to the
licence fee A television licence or broadcast receiving licence is a payment required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts, or the possession of a television set where some broadcasts are funded in full or in part by the licence f ...
system used in the UK to fund the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. NHK deliberately maintains neutral reporting as a public broadcast station, even refusing to mention commodity brand names. NHK has 2 terrestrial TV channels, unlike the other TV networks (in the Tokyo region—channel 1 ( NHK General TV) and channel 3 ( NHK Educational TV)). *
Nippon Television Network System Nippon Television Network System (; NNS) is a Japanese television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides prog ...
(NNS)/
Nippon News Network Nippon News Network (NNN) is a Japanese commercial television network owned by Nippon Television, which itself is controlled by the ''Yomiuri Shimbun'' newspaper. The network's responsibility includes the syndication of national television news ...
(NNN) headed by
Nippon Television JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...
(NTV). In the Tokyo region, channel 4. Affiliated with the ''
Yomiuri Shimbun The (lit. ''Reading-selling Newspaper'' or ''Selling by Reading Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are t ...
'' newspaper. * The
Tokyo Broadcasting System formerly is a Japanese media and licensed broadcasting holding company. It is the parent company of the television network and radio network . It has a 28-affiliate television network called JNN (Japan News Network), as well as a 34-affili ...
holding company owns the
Tokyo Broadcasting System formerly is a Japanese media and licensed broadcasting holding company. It is the parent company of the television network and radio network . It has a 28-affiliate television network called JNN (Japan News Network), as well as a 34-affili ...
(TBS) station (which is broadcast nationally) and the
Japan News Network The , or JNN, is a Japanese commercial television network run by TBS Television. The network's responsibility includes the syndication of national television news bulletins to its regional affiliates, and news exchange between the stations. Its ...
(JNN) which supplies news programming to TBS and other affiliates. In the Tokyo region, channel 6. Affiliated with the ''
Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...
'' newspaper. Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Co., Ltd., a quasi-key station in Nagoya, is related to the ''Chunichi Shimbun'' newspaper. *
Fuji Network System Fuji Network System (known in Japan as simply , FNS) is a Japanese television network operated by Fuji Television Network, Inc., part of the Fujisankei Communications Group. FNS distributes entertainment and other non-news television programmes t ...
(FNS) and the
Fuji News Network Fuji News Network (FNN) is a Japanese commercial television network run by Fuji Television Network, Inc., part of the Fujisankei Communications Group. The network's responsibility includes the syndication of national television news bulletins to ...
(FNN) share the flagship station
Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially b ...
. In the Tokyo region, channel 8. Part of the
Fujisankei Communications Group , abbreviated FCG, is a keiretsu in Japan. In 1991, it was the fourth-largest media company in the world and the largest one in Japan. In the same year, the company's yearly revenue was $5 billion. Many of its affiliates are owned by Fuji Med ...
, a
keiretsu A is a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings. In the legal sense, it is a type of informal business group that are loosely organized alliances within the social world of Japan's business community. The ''ke ...
.
Tokai TV Tōkai ( 東海, literally ''East Sea'') in Japanese may refer to: * Tōkai region, a subregion of Chūbu * Tōkai, Ibaraki, a village, also known as "Tokaimura" (Tokai-village) * Tōkai, Aichi, a city * Tōkai University, a private university in T ...
, a quasi-key station in Nagoya, is related to the ''Chunichi Shimbun'' newspaper. * TV Asahi Network/ All-Nippon News Network (ANN) headed by
TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...
. Affiliated with the ''
Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...
'' newspaper,which owns Nearly 25% of the station. In the Tokyo region, channel 5. *
TV Tokyo Network TX Network (TXN) is a commercial television network in Japan owned by Nikkei, Inc. The "TX" is taken from the callsign of its flagship station, TV Tokyo. It is also known as TV Tokyo Network. History Tokyo Channel 12 almost went into bankr ...
(TXN) headed by
TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certifie ...
. Owned by Nikkei, Inc. In the Tokyo region, channel 7. In addition, there is the
Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations The Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations (JAITS) is a group of Japan's reception fee-free commercial terrestrial television stations which are not members of the major national television networks. The association was establish ...
(JAITS), which consists of independent stations in the three major metropolitan areas (excluding Ibaraki, Aichi, and Osaka), and includes TV stations affiliated with the ''
Chunichi Shimbun The is a Japanese daily "broadsheet" newspaper published in mostly Aichi Prefecture and neighboring regions by Based in Nagoya, one of Japanese three major metropolitan areas, it boasts the third circulation after the group newspaper Total Yo ...
'' newspaper such as
Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV, branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city. It competes with Nippon TV, TV Asahi, NH ...
and
TV Kanagawa (tvk for short) is an independent television station in Japan serving Kanagawa Prefecture and parts of the Greater Tokyo Area with favorable reception. The station was founded on April 20, 1971 and began broadcasting on April 1, 1972. Its call si ...
. There is.


Radio networks


AM radio

#
NHK Radio 1 is Japan's oldest radio station operated by the public broadcaster, NHK. Its programming output, which consists of news, current affairs, and information programming is broadly similar to the BBC's Radio 4. NHK Radio 1 is available mainly on AM ...
,
NHK Radio 2 is a Japanese radio station operated by the public broadcaster, NHK. Its programming output consists of education programming where NHK Radio 2 is regarded as the radio version of NHK Educational TV and is broadly similar to South Korea's EBS ...
#
Japan Radio Network or JRN is a commercial radio network in Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, w ...
(JRN)—Flagship Station:
TBS radio is a radio station in Tokyo, Japan, the flagship radio station of the Japan Radio Network (JRN). The company was founded by Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS, presently named Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings, Inc.) on March 21, 2000. TBS Radi ...
(TBSラジオ) # National Radio Network (NRN)—Flagship Stations:
Nippon Cultural Broadcasting is a Japanese radio station in Tokyo which broadcasts to the Kanto area. It is one of the two flagship radio stations of National Radio Network (NRN) (the other station is ) and is a member of the Fujisankei Communications Group. History The ...
(文化放送) and
Nippon Broadcasting System , or JOLF, is a Japanese radio station in Yurakucho, Chiyoda ward, Tokyo, next to the Tokyo Imperial Palace. Founded in 1954, it is together with Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, the flagship station of the National Radio Network. Nippon Bro ...
(ニッポン放送) #
Radio Nikkei is Japan's nationwide free-to-air shortwave commercial radio station. It started broadcast on August 27, 1954. Radio Nikkei 2 started broadcast on September 2, 1963. Radio Nikkei's headquarters are located at Kotohira Tower, 2-8 Toranomon 1-ch ...
is an independent shortwave station broadcasts nationwide with two services.


FM radio

#
NHK-FM is the official music and news FM radio station of the NHK (the Japan Broadcasting Corporation). See also * NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japa ...
#
Japan FM Network is a commercial radio network in Japan. It was founded in 1981. TOKYO FM is the main station of the network. Japan FM Network stations Special station Originally in JFN, but now independent FM Fuji was a member from 1988 to 199 ...
(JFN)— Tokyo FM Broadcasting Co.,ltd. #
Japan FM League The (JFL) is a commercial radio network in Japan. It is owned by J-Wave and established in October 1993. JFL's main ideal is to respect the operation of each of its affiliates, letting each affiliate flourish under its own terms. The network i ...
—
J-Wave J-Wave is a commercial radio station based in Tokyo, Japan, broadcasting on 81.3 FM from the Tokyo Skytree to the Tokyo area. J-Wave airs mostly music, covering a wide range of formats. The station is considered the most popular among FM broad ...
Inc. #
MegaNet The or is Japan's only network of multi-lingual commercial radio stations. The network was established in December 1999. Currently all such stations are members of the network. The flagship station is InterFM in Tokyo. They all broadcast in ...
—FM Interwave (
InterFM InterFM (JODW-FM 89.7 MHz Tokyo, 76.5 MHz Yokohama) is a Japanese commercial radio station on the FM band, transmitting in the Greater Tokyo area (including Narita International Airport), and owned and operated by . Since September 202 ...
)


See also

*
Lists of radio stations in Asia This is a list of radio stations in Asia. Afghanistan *Radio Afghanistan (Government Radio Station) * AIR Afghanistan * Arman FM - 98.1 FM * Ariana FM (93.5 FM Kabul) *Radio Jawanan (Youth FM 97.5 FM) * Kabul Rock FM 108.0 Kabul * Radio Kill ...


Social media

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
,
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
,
Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
, and Line, are the leading used media platforms in the Japanese industry. Line is an app used for instant communication on electronic devices. Statistics show that Facebook use in Japan is at 47.75%, Twitter use is at 19.33%,
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
use is at 13.9%,
Pinterest Pinterest is an American image sharing and social media service designed to enable saving and discovery of information (specifically "ideas") on the internet using images, and on a smaller scale, animated GIFs and videos, in the form of pinboard ...
use is at 10.69%, Instagram use is at 4.93%, and
Tumblr Tumblr (stylized as tumblr; pronounced "tumbler") is an American microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a sho ...
use is at 2.29%. In Japan, as of 2017, nearly 100% of residents are online, smartphone use is reaching 80%, and some form of social media is being used by over half of the population.


Magazines


Weekly magazines

# '' Aera'' (アエラ) – Centre-left # ''Friday'' (フライデー) – photo magazine # ''Josei Jishin'' (女性自身) – for women # ''Nikkei Business'' (日経ビジネス) – economic # Shūkan Asahi (週刊朝日). Liberal. # Shūkan Economist (週刊エコノミスト). Economic # Shūkan Kinyoubi (週刊金曜日). Far-left. # Shūkan Bunshun (週刊文春). Conservative # Shūkan Diamond (週刊ダイヤモンド). Economic # ''
Shūkan Gendai is a general-interest weekly magazine published in Tokyo, Japan. History and profile ''Shūkan Gendai'' was started in 1959. The magazine has its headquarters in Tokyo. It is published by Kodansha, the largest publishing house in Japan, which c ...
'' (週刊現代)　Liberal. # Shūkan Josei (週刊女性). For women # Shūkan Post (週刊ポスト). Conservative # Shūkan Shinchou (週刊新潮). Conservative # Shūkan Toyo Keizai (週刊東洋経済). Economic # Spa! (スパ!). Conservative # Sunday Mainichi (サンデー毎日).　Liberal


Monthly magazines

# '' Bungei Shunjuu'' (文藝春秋). Conservative. # ''Chuuou Kouron'' (中央公論). Affiliated with the
Yomiuri Shimbun The (lit. ''Reading-selling Newspaper'' or ''Selling by Reading Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are t ...
. Conservative. # ''Seiron'' (正論). Published by the
Sankei Shimbun The (short for ) is a daily newspaper in Japan published by the It has the seventh-highest circulation for regional newspapers in Japan. Among Japanese newspapers, the circulation is second only to ''Yomiuri Shimbun'', Seikyo Shimbun, ''Asah ...
Company. Conservative. # '' Sekai'' (世界). Progressive.


Manga magazines


Newspapers


Major papers

#
Yomiuri Shimbun The (lit. ''Reading-selling Newspaper'' or ''Selling by Reading Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are t ...
(読売新聞). Conservative. First ranked in daily circulation at around 7 million per day. The Yomiuri exchanged a special contract with
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
. Affiliated with
Nippon Television JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...
.
Nikkatsu is a Japanese entertainment company known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio, founded in 1912 during the silent film era. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally ...
Film is a grandchild company. #
Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...
(朝日新聞). Liberal,
Third way The Third Way is a centrist political position that attempts to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of centre-right economic policies with centre-left social policies. The Third Way was born from a ...
. Second ranked in daily circulation at around 5 million copies per day. Although Asahi does not support any political party politically, Asahi is former symbol of Japanese left-leaning discourse. They are pacifists and pursue Japanese war crimes. So, Asahi has suffered defamation and terrorism by Japanese radical nationalists and historical revisionists. that group companies include Toei (de facto),
Asahi Broadcasting Company Asahi (朝日, 旭, or あさひ) means "morning sun" in Japanese and may refer to: Cities * Asahi, Chiba (旭市; ''Asahi-shi'') Wards * Asahi-ku, Osaka (旭区; ''Asahi-ku'') * Asahi-ku, Yokohama (旭; ''Asahi-ku'') Towns * Asahi, Aichi (旭 ...
,
TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...
, and Asahi Net. #
Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...
(毎日新聞). Centre-left,
Keynesian Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output an ...
. Fifth ranked in daily circulation—around 2 million per day. Although the capital tie-up with
Mainichi Broadcasting System , or MBS, is a radio and television broadcasting company headquartered in Osaka, Japan, affiliated with Japan Radio Network (JRN), National Radio Network (NRN), Japan News Network (JNN) and TBS Network, serving in the Kansai region. It i ...
/
Tokyo Broadcasting System formerly is a Japanese media and licensed broadcasting holding company. It is the parent company of the television network and radio network . It has a 28-affiliate television network called JNN (Japan News Network), as well as a 34-affili ...
has been dissolved, it is still a friendship company that exchanges employees and cooperates with the press. In 2020, the circulation was overtaken by the Chunichi Shimbun alone (
Tōkai Tōkai ( 東海, literally ''East Sea'') in Japanese may refer to: * Tōkai region, a subregion of Chūbu * Tōkai, Ibaraki, a village, also known as "Tokaimura" (Tokai-village) * Tōkai, Aichi, a city * Tōkai University, a private university in T ...
version), which does not include the Tokyo Shimbun. Deep relationship with
Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...
and Shochiku Film. # Nikkei Shimbun (日本経済新聞). Conservative, Economic liberal with more centre-right. Fourth ranked in daily circulation at around 2 million copies per day. Economic paper in the style of
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
. Affiliated with
TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certifie ...
.


Regional papers

There is the
Sankei Shimbun The (short for ) is a daily newspaper in Japan published by the It has the seventh-highest circulation for regional newspapers in Japan. Among Japanese newspapers, the circulation is second only to ''Yomiuri Shimbun'', Seikyo Shimbun, ''Asah ...
(産経新聞), which is a medium-sized newspaper published in
Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...
and
Kanto Kantō (Japanese) Kanto is a simplified spelling of , a Japanese word, only omitting the diacritics. In Japan Kantō may refer to: *Kantō Plain *Kantō region *Kantō-kai, organized crime group *Kanto (Pokémon), a geographical region in the ' ...
. They were nationwide newspaper until 2020, and considered major paper once.This newspaper publishes
Sankei Sports is a Japanese-language daily sports newspaper published by Sankei Shimbun. In 2014, it had a circulation of 1,270,000. The newspaper is known by its nickname . Relating sports teams * Kanto area - Tokyo Yakult Swallows (Nippon Professional Bas ...
and the tabloid Yukan Fuji. It belongs to the
Fujisankei Communications Group , abbreviated FCG, is a keiretsu in Japan. In 1991, it was the fourth-largest media company in the world and the largest one in Japan. In the same year, the company's yearly revenue was $5 billion. Many of its affiliates are owned by Fuji Med ...
, a
media conglomerate A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, theme parks, or the Internet. According to the ...
. They are known as radical right newspaper. Their opinions and columns always blame Korea and China.
Chunichi Shimbun The is a Japanese daily "broadsheet" newspaper published in mostly Aichi Prefecture and neighboring regions by Based in Nagoya, one of Japanese three major metropolitan areas, it boasts the third circulation after the group newspaper Total Yo ...
/
Tokyo Shimbun ''The Tokyo Shimbun'' (東京新聞, ''Tōkyō Shinbun'', literally ''Tokyo Newspaper'') 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 Met ...
(中日新聞/東京新聞). They are largest regional paper. Third ranked in daily circulation at around 2 million copies per day.In the Kanto region, it will be published under the title of the
Tokyo Shimbun ''The Tokyo Shimbun'' (東京新聞, ''Tōkyō Shinbun'', literally ''Tokyo Newspaper'') 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 Met ...
(東京新聞). Although it is not a nationwide newspaper, it is published in most of the Chubu and
Kanto Kantō (Japanese) Kanto is a simplified spelling of , a Japanese word, only omitting the diacritics. In Japan Kantō may refer to: *Kantō Plain *Kantō region *Kantō-kai, organized crime group *Kanto (Pokémon), a geographical region in the ' ...
regions, and is a leading newspaper based in
Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...
. Center-left to left-wing, It is also the most liberal and progressive major news media in Japan. Other nationally known regional papers include Nishinippon Shimbun (西日本新聞) in
Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...
,
Hokkaido Shimbun The , which is often abbreviated as , is a Japanese language daily newspaper published mainly in Hokkaidō, Japan by . As of June 2022, its morning edition has a circulation of 8,40,000. It was first published in Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポ ...
(北海道新聞) in
Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...
,
Chugoku Shimbun The is a Japanese local daily newspaper based in Hiroshima. It serves the Chūgoku region of Japan with a market share in Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Shimane, Okayama and Tottori Prefectures. The newspaper publishes morning and evening editions. Th ...
(中国新聞) in Chugoku.


Specialty papers

Among niche newspapers are publications like the widely circulated Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun (The Business and Technology Daily News), the Buddhist organization
Sōka Gakkai is a Japanese Buddhist religious movement based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese priest Nichiren as taught by its first three presidents Tsunesaburō Makiguchi, Jōsei Toda, and Daisaku Ikeda. It is the largest of the Japanes ...
's daily
Seikyo Shimbun (English: "the newspaper of sacred teachings") is a Japanese newspaper. In 1997, it claimed a 5,5 million circulation, but the number is controversial and impossible to verify..It is owned by the Japanese Buddhist religious movement Soka Gakka ...
(), and
Shimbun Akahata is the daily organ of the Japanese Communist Party in the form of a national newspaper. It was founded in 1928 and currently has both daily and weekly editions.
, the daily organ of the
Japanese Communist Party The is a left-wing to far-left political party in Japan. With approximately 270,000 members belonging to 18,000 branches, it is one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. The party advocates the establishment of a democr ...
. Other niches include papers devoted entirely to predicting the results of horse races. One of the best-known papers in the genre is Keiba Book (). Shūkan Go () is a weekly newspaper that covers the results of professional Go tournaments and contains hints on Go strategy. As in other countries, surveys tend to show that the number of newspaper subscribers is declining, a trend which is expected to continue.


Claims of media bias

Claims of media bias in Japanese newspapers and the mainstream media in general are often seen on blogs and right-leaning Internet forums, where the "mass media" (''masu-komi'' in Japanese) are often referred to as "mass garbage" (''masu-gomi''). Signs with this epithet were carried by demonstrators in Tokyo on 24 October 2010, at what was reportedly the first demonstration in Japan to be organized on Twitter. Among the general public, the credibility of the press suffered after the
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant The is a disabled nuclear power plant located on a site in the towns of Ōkuma and Futaba in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The plant suffered major damage from the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011. The ...
crisis, when reporters failed to press government and industry sources for more information, and official reports turned out to be inaccurate or simply wrong.
Kazuo Hizumi Kazuo (カズオ, かずお) is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible spellings It has several written forms, and the meaning depends on the characters used (usually kanji, but sometimes hiragana). Common forms include: * 一雄: first son, ...
, a journalist turned lawyer, details structural problems in his book, 「マスコミはなぜマスゴミと呼ばれるのか？」, ''"Masukomi wa naze masugomi to yobareru no ka?"'', (''"Why is mass media called mass garbage?"''), which argues that a complex network of institutions, such as elite bureaucrats, judiciary, education system, law enforcement, and large corporations, all of whom stand to gain from maintaining the status quo, shapes the mass media and communication in a way that controls Japanese politics and discourages critical thinking.


Key stations: television and radio

In Japan, there are five broadcasting stations which take the lead in the network of
commercial broadcasting Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship. It was the United States′ first model of radio (an ...
. The five stations are
Nippon Television JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...
,
Tokyo Broadcasting System formerly is a Japanese media and licensed broadcasting holding company. It is the parent company of the television network and radio network . It has a 28-affiliate television network called JNN (Japan News Network), as well as a 34-affili ...
,
Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially b ...
,
TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...
, and
TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certifie ...
. Their head offices are in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, and they are called zaikyō kī kyoku (, Key stations in Tokyo) or kī kyoku (, Key stations). The key stations make
news show News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either video production, produced local programming, ...
s and entertainment programs, and wholesale them to local broadcasting stations through the networks. Although local broadcasting stations also manufacture programs, the usage of the key stations is very large, and 55.7% of the TV program total sales in the 2002 fiscal year (April 2002 to March 2003) were sold by the key stations. Furthermore, the networks are strongly connected with newspaper publishing companies, and they influence the media very strongly. For this reason, they are often criticized. In addition, there is CS broadcasting and
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
distribution by the subsidiaries of the key stations. The definition of key station has changed a little in recent years.


Outline

In Japan, every broadcasting company (except
NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...
and
Radio Nikkei is Japan's nationwide free-to-air shortwave commercial radio station. It started broadcast on August 27, 1954. Radio Nikkei 2 started broadcast on September 2, 1963. Radio Nikkei's headquarters are located at Kotohira Tower, 2-8 Toranomon 1-ch ...
) which performs
terrestrial television Terrestrial television or over-the-air television (OTA) is a type of television broadcasting in which the signal transmission occurs via radio waves from the terrestrial (Earth-based) transmitter of a TV station to a TV receiver having an ant ...
broadcasts has an appointed broadcast region. In Article 2 of the Japanese Broadcasting Law ( 放送法), the
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications The is a cabinet-level ministry in the Government of Japan. Its English name was Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) prior to 2004. It is housed in the 2nd Building of the Central Common Government Of ...
defines the fixed zone where the broadcast of the same program for every classification of broadcast is simultaneously receivable. So, the broadcasting company constructs a network with other regions, and with this network establishes the exchange of
news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...
or programs. The broadcasting companies which send out many programs to these networks are called key stations. Presently the broadcasting stations located in Tokyo send out the programs for the whole country. However, although
Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV, branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city. It competes with Nippon TV, TV Asahi, NH ...
is in the Tokyo region, it is only a
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
UHF independent station. Broadcasting stations in
Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...
and other areas are older than those in Tokyo. However, in order to meet the large costs of making programs key stations were established in Tokyo to sell programs nationwide. Some local stations have a higher profit ratio since they can merely buy programs from the networks.


Sub-key stations

Since the broadcasting stations which assign the head offices in
Kansai region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolita ...
(especially in
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
) have a program supply frame at
prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
etc. and sent out many programs subsequently to kī kyoku, they are called jun kī kyoku (,sub-key stations).


List of key stations


Advertising agencies

#
Dentsu Dentsu Inc. ( ja, 株式会社電通 ''Kabushiki-gaisha Dentsū'' or 電通 ''Dentsū'' for short) is a Japanese international advertising and public relations joint stock company headquartered in Tokyo. Dentsu is currently the largest adverti ...
(電通). The largest advertising agency in Japan, and the fourth-largest worldwide. Dentsu has an enormous presence in television and other media, and has strong ties to the legislative branch of government. It is the informal communication department of the
Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) The , frequently abbreviated to LDP or , is a conservativeThe Liberal Democratic Party is widely described as conservative: * * * * * List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan. The LDP has been in power almost continuously s ...
, and has its roots in the
South Manchuria Railway The South Manchuria Railway ( ja, 南満州鉄道, translit=Minamimanshū Tetsudō; ), officially , Mantetsu ( ja, 満鉄, translit=Mantetsu) or Mantie () for short, was a large of the Empire of Japan whose primary function was the operatio ...
Co Ltd Research Department. #
Hakuhodo is a Japanese advertising and public relations company. It is headquartered at Akasaka Biz Tower in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. History Hakuhodo is one of the oldest advertising agencies in Japan and was founded by Hironao Seki at Nihonbashi-Hon ...
(博報堂). The second-largest Japanese advertising agency. Advertisement agencies under its umbrella include
Daiko are a broad range of Traditional Japanese musical instruments, Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese language, Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various J ...
(大広) and Yomiko Advertising (読売広告社, Yomiuri Kōkokusha). Also known as
Showgate , until October 1, 2015 , is a Japanese production company and distributor of films and series. Works *''CB Chara Go Nagai World'' (1990) *'' Burn Up'' (1991) *'' Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (1992) **''GinRei Specials'' (1994 ...
, the film production division. #
CyberAgent is a Japanese digital advertising company, which was founded in 1998 by Susumu Fujita and headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. It is owned by Susumu Fujita with 20.50% interest; Fujita is representative director, while Yusuke Hidaka is executive vice ...
(サイバーエージェント, Saibā Ējento) The third-largest Japanese advertising agency, that is mainly Internet advertising. # Asatsu-DK (アサツー ディ・ケイ). The fourth-largest Japanese advertising agency. a subsidiary of
Bain Capital Bain Capital is an American private investment firm based in Boston. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, and real estate. Bain Capital invests across a range of industry se ...
, LP.


Wire services

#
Jiji Press is a news agency in Japan. History Jiji was formed in November 1945 following the breakup of Domei Tsushin, the government-controlled news service responsible for disseminating information prior to and during World War II. Jiji inherited Dom ...
(時事通信). #
Kyodo News is a nonprofit cooperative news agency based in Minato, Tokyo. It was established in November 1945 and it distributes news to almost all newspapers, and radio and television networks in Japan. The newspapers using its news have about 50 millio ...
(共同通信). # JX PRESS (JX通信). #
Radio Press Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
(ラヂオプレス)


See also

*
Anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
*
Cinema of Japan The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2021, it was the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. In 2011 Japan produced 411 feature films that e ...
*
Manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
*
Media mix Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...
*
Tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...
*
Video games in Japan Video games are a major industry in Japan. Japanese game development is often identified with the golden age of video games, including Nintendo under Shigeru Miyamoto and Hiroshi Yamauchi, Sega during the same time period, Sony Computer ...


References


Further reading

* Kondo, Motohiro (近藤 大博 ''Kondō Motohiro'') (
Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...
, Graduate School of Social and Cultural Studies (大学院総合社会情報研究科)).
The Development of Monthly Magazines in Japan
" (総合雑誌の誕生とその発展) (." (総合雑誌の誕生とその発展) () Japanese Society for Global Social and Cultural Studies (日本国際情報学会).


External links


Unofficial Guide to Japanese mass-media


discussion paper by David McNeill in th
''electronic journal of contemporary Japanese studies''
27 March 2001.

discussion paper by Barbara Gatzen in th
''electronic journal of contemporary Japanese studies''
17 April 2001.

by NHK

{{DEFAULTSORT:Media Of Japan
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...