The ''Nichi Bei Times'' (日米タイムズ ''Nichi Bei Taimuzu'') was a

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

newspaper headquartered in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. As of 2009 it was the oldest Japanese American newspaper in

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

. Historically the ''Nichi Bei Times'' was a daily bilingual English-Japanese newspaper, while from 2006 to 2009 it was published four times weekly, with Japanese editions on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and English editions on Thursdays. The paper was disestablished effective September 30, 2009.Drennan, Justine Koo.
Nichi Bei Times Decides to Close; Nonprofit Hopes to Continue Legacy
" New America Media at ''AsianWeek''. August 20, 2009. Retrieved on September 8, 2012. Despite the closure of the printed newspaper Nichi Bei Foundation continues to publish news digitally on it
website

History

In 1899 , a newspaper seller, established the ''Nichi Bei Shimbun'' (日米新聞 ''Nichi Bei Shinbun''). The Nichi Bei Foundation said that Kyutaro Abiko was "known to historians as the most influential Japanese immigrant to America," and that the newspaper was "the most influential Japanese American newspaper in the country prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

."About the Nichi Bei Foundation
" Nichi Bei Foundation. Retrieved on September 8, 2012. The daily circulation peaked at 25,000 during the 1920s, and although it had dropped to 9,400 by 1941 the ''Nichi Bei'' remained more or less even with its competitors. After Abiko's death in 1936, his wife Yonako took over the business, and in 1939 the ''Nichi Bei'' building and equipment were destroyed in a fire. The company acquired a new location in 1940 but ceased operations less than two years later, when the newspaper was forced to close and the staff sent to

internment camps in April 1942. After World War II several employees of the ''Nichi Bei Shimbun'' founded the ''Nichi Bei Times'', with William Yasuo Abiko, the son of Kyutaro and Yonako, heading the new business. The first issue was published on May 18, 1946. The ''Nichi Bei Times'' asked for donations to rebuild post-war Japan. Justine Koo Drennan of New America Media said "Since then, the paper has consistently covered hate crimes and other news important to Japanese Americans that the mainstream media has neglected." In 1998 Kenji G. Taguma, who by 2009 was the ''Nichi Bei Times'' vice president and editor of the English version, wrote a story that contributed to the gain of redress for families of miners and railroad workers who had been fired from their jobs after the Japanese military had attacked

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

in 1941; the U.S. federal government had not included them in a 1988 redress act.

Decline and closure

In 2006, in order to revive the newspaper's circulation, Taguma reduced subscription prices and rearranged the publishing days. The paper was published in Japanese on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and an English weekly version was published on Thursdays. From 2006 newspaper revenues continued to fall. In August 2009 the newspaper had a circulation base of 8,000 readers, primarily in Northern California. Around that period the newspaper's lease of its facility was soon to expire. In August 2009 the board of directors of the newspaper voted to close the newspaper, effective September 30, 2009. Ken Abiko, the chairperson of the board and the grandson of Kyutaro Abiko, said that a reduction in advertisements and paper circulation were the primary factors behind the paper's close.

Nonprofit founded

Around the period of the close of the paper, several employees of the ''Nichi Bei Times'' and some community members made plans to establish a nonprofit reincarnation of the newspaper, the Nichi Bei Foundation. Kenji G. Taguma drew up plans for it. Taguma said that he created the plans because, as paraphrased by Justine Koo Drennan of New America Media, "he believes the paper is an essential voice for Japanese Americans." Taguma said "Today, I see the paper as the glue that holds the community together." , the newspaper is published weekly.

References

External links

*
Nichi Bei Times
' (Archive)
Nichi Bei Foundation

Nichi Bei Foundation
(Archive) {{Authority control Newspapers published in San Francisco Japanese-American press Publications disestablished in 1946 1946 establishments in California Publications disestablished in 2009 2009 disestablishments in California Japanese-American culture in San Francisco Japanese-language newspapers published in the United States Defunct newspapers published in California Bilingual newspapers Non-English-language newspapers published in California Daily newspapers published in the San Francisco Bay Area

History

Decline and closure

Nonprofit founded

See also

References

External links