The Japan Times
| Type | Daily |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Nifco |
| Publisher | Toshiaki Ogasawara |
| President | Takeharu Tsutsumi |
| Managing editors | Takashi Kitazume |
| Staff writers | Approx. 260 |
| Founded | 1897 |
| Language | English |
| ISSN | 0447-5763 |
| OCLC number | 21225620 |
| Official website | www.japantimes.co.jp |
The Japan Times is an English-language newspaper published in Japan. Unlike other English newspapers in Japan, the still published Daily Yomiuri and the now defunct International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, it is not affiliated with a Japanese-language media organization. It is published by The Japan Times, Ltd. (株式会社ジヤパンタイムズ Kabushiki Kaisha Japan Taimuzu), a subsidiary of Nifco, a leading manufacturer of plastic fasteners for the automotive and home design industries, which is headquartered in the Japan Times Nifco Building (ジャパンタイムズ・ニフコビル Japan Taimuzu Nifuko Biru) in Shibaura, Minato, Tokyo.[1][2]
- Motto: "All the News Without Fear or Favor", "The World's Window on Japan"
- Chairperson: Toshiaki Ogasawara (小笠原 敏晶 Ogasawara Toshiaki)
- Capital: ¥476,437,000
- Business: Publishes The Japan Times, The Japan Times Weekly, Shukan ST (a bilingual weekly), books in English and Japanese
Contents |
History [edit]
The Japan Times was launched by Motosada Zumoto in 1897 with the goal of giving Japanese an opportunity to read and discuss news and current events in English in order to help Japan to participate more fully in the international community.[3]
- 1897: Inaugural issue of The Japan Times (March 22)
- 1918: Name changed to The Japan Times and Mail
- 1940: Name changed to The Japan Times and Advertiser
- 1943: Name changed to Nippon Times
- 1951: First Issue of The Student Times (now Shukan ST) weekly
- 1961: The Japan Times Weekly inaugurated
- 1966: Moves from Uchisaiwai-chō, Chiyoda-ku, to new building in Shibaura, Minato-ku
- 1983: Toshiaki Ogasawara becomes the 18th president
- 1987: Opens full-time editorial bureau in Osaka
- 1989: New Japan Times-Nifco Building completed
- 1996: InterFM radio station was inaugurated
- 1997: The Japan Times celebrates its centenary
- 2006: Yukiko Ogasawara becomes the 19th president
- 2007: Price raised from 150 yen to 180 yen (October 1)
- 2012: Yukiko Ogasawara removed as President and replaced by Takeharu Tsutsumi[4]
At first, the paper was independent of government control, but from 1931 onward, the Japanese government was mounting pressure on the paper's editors to submit to its policies. In 1933, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs managed to appoint Hitoshi Ashida, former Ministry official, as chief editor.[5] During World War II, the newspaper served as an outlet for Imperial Japanese government propaganda and editorial opinion. The paper's circulation at that time was about 825,000.[6]
Content [edit]
Print [edit]
The Japan Times, Inc. publishes three periodicals: The Japan Times, an English-language daily broadsheet; The Japan Times Weekly, an English-language weekly in tabloid form;[7] and Shukan ST, a weekly in tabloid format, targeted at Japanese learning English. The daily's content includes:
- News: domestic and world news; domestic and overseas business news.
- Opinion: Editorials, Op-Eds and Letters to the Editor.
- Features: life and style, community, media, technology, food and drink, travel, environment, education, cartoons.
- Entertainment: film, art, music, stage, books, event previews, festival listing.
- Sports: domestic and overseas sports news, including coverage of baseball, soccer, basketball, sumo, figure skating.
Web [edit]
Printed stories from The Japan Times are archived online. While the newspaper contains a reader's forum, their website does not currently offer a section for readers' comments below the articles. The Japan Times has a social media presence on Twitter (2007), Facebook (2007) and Google+ (2011).[8]
Regular contributors [edit]
- Debito Arudou
- Philip Brasor, (Media Mix) media columnist, music writer
- Amy Chavez, (Japan Lite) columnist
- Gregory Clark, commentary writer
- Sir Hugh Cortazzi, commentary writer
- David Cozy, literary critic
- Thomas Dillon
- Brad Glosserman, commentary writer
- Alice Gordenker, (So, What the Heck is That?) columnist
- Giovanni Fazio, film critic
- Wayne Graczyk, baseball writer
- Michael Hoffmann, (Big in Japan) media columnist
- Noriko Hama, business columnist
- Makiko Itoh (Japanese Kitchen), food writer
- Misha Janette, (Stylewise) fashion columnist
- Judit Kawaguchi (Words to Live By)
- Matthew Larking, art critic
- C.B. Liddell, art critic
- David McNeill, feature writer
- Hifumi Okunuki, labor law scholar
- Dreux Richard, immigration reporter, investigator
- Mark Schilling, film critic
- Mark Schreiber, media columnist, book critic
- Kaori Shoji, film critic
- Steve McClure, music critic
- Jean Snow, (On Design) design columnist
- Robbie Swinnerton, (Tokyo Food File), food writer
- Peter Vecsey, sports columnist
Former contributors [edit]
- Monty DiPietro, art critic
- John Gauntner, Nihonshu columnist
- Don Maloney (author)
- Donald Richie, book, film critic
- Edward Seidensticker
- Robert Yellin Ceramic Scene columnist
- Jean Pearce, Community columnist
Employee unions [edit]
Staff at The Japan Times are represented by two unions, one of which is Tozen.[9]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "Map to the Japan Times." (Image) The Japan Times. Retrieved on October 15, 2011. "4-5-4 Shibaura Minato-ku"
- ^ "Map to The Japan Times." (Japanese version, Image) The Japan Times. Retrieved on October 15, 2011. "ジャパンタイムズ・ニフコビル 港区芝浦4-5-4"
- ^ Kamiya, Setsuko, "Japan Times not just wartime mouthpiece", The Japan Times, 13 August 2011, p. 3.
- ^ http://info.japantimes.co.jp/info/corporate_profile.html
- ^ Peter O'Connor, The Japan Times at War Time: Mouth piece or Moderator?
- ^ Kamiya, Setsuko, "Japan Times not just wartime mouthpiece", The Japan Times, 13 August 2011, p. 3.
- ^ "English daily". The Japan Times Online. The Japan Times. Retrieved 16 October 2011."English weekly". The Japan Times Online. The Japan Times. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ "Twitter account"."Facebook account". Retrieved 16 October 2011."Google+ account". Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ "Tozen - The Japan Times". Tozen. August 7, 2010. Retrieved 08-07-2010.
