
is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
and
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
, and is considered a
newspaper of record
A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large newspaper circulation, circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and i ...
for Japan.
The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest
newspapers in Japan along with the ''
Yomiuri Shimbun
The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are ''The Asahi Shimbun'', the ''Chunichi Shimbun'', the ''Ma ...
'', the ''
Mainichi Shimbun'', the ''
Nihon Keizai Shimbun'' and ''
Chunichi Shimbun''. The newspaper's circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and 1.33 million for its evening edition as of July 2021, was second behind that of the ''
Yomiuri Shimbun
The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are ''The Asahi Shimbun'', the ''Chunichi Shimbun'', the ''Ma ...
''. By print circulation, it is the second
largest newspaper in the world behind the ''Yomiuri'', though its digital size trails that of many global newspapers including ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''.
Its publisher, is a
media conglomerate with its registered headquarters in
Osaka
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
. It is a
privately held
A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...
family business
A family business is a commercial organization in which decision-making is influenced by multiple generations of a family, related by Consanguinity , blood, marriage or adoption, who has both the ability to influence the vision of the business a ...
with ownership and control remaining with the founding Murayama and Ueno families. According to the Reuters Institute Digital Report 2018, public trust in the ''Asahi Shimbun'' is the lowest among Japan's major dailies, though confidence is declining in all the major newspapers.
History
Early years

One of Japan's oldest and largest national daily newspapers, the ''Asahi Shimbun'' began publication in
Osaka
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
on 25 January 1879 as a small-print, four-page illustrated paper that sold for one sen (a hundredth of a yen) a copy, and had a circulation of approximately 3,000 copies. The three founding officers of a staff of twenty were Kimura Noboru (company president), (owner), and Tsuda Tei (managing editor). The company's first premises were at Minami-dōri, Edobori in Osaka. On 13 September of the same year, ''Asahi'' printed its first editorial.
In 1881, the ''Asahi'' adopted an all-news format, and enlisted
Ueno Riichi as co-owner. From 1882, ''Asahi'' began to receive financial support from the Government and
Mitsui, and hardened the management base. Then, under the leadership of Ueno, whose brother was one of the Mitsui managers, and Murayama, the ''Asahi'' began its steady ascent to national prominence. On 10 July 1888, the first issue of the ''Tokyo Asahi Shimbun'' was published from the
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
office at Motosukiyachō, Kyōbashi. The first issue was numbered No. 1,076 as it was a continuation of three small papers: ''Jiyū no Tomoshibi'', ''Tomoshibi Shimbun'' and ''Mesamashi Shimbun.
''
On 1 April 1907, the renowned writer
Natsume Sōseki, then 41, resigned his teaching positions at Tokyo Imperial University, now
Tokyo University, to join the ''Tokyo Asahi Shimbun''. This was soon after the publication of his novels ''Wagahai wa Neko de Aru'' (''
I Am a Cat'') and ''
Botchan'', which made him the center of literary attention.
On 1 October 1908, ''Osaka Asahi Shimbun'' and ''Tokyo Asahi Shimbun'' were merged into a single unified corporation, ''Asahi Shimbun Gōshi Kaisha'', with a capitalization of approximately 600,000 yen.
In 1918, because of its critical stance towards
Terauchi Masatake's cabinet during the
Rice Riots, government authorities suppressed an article in the ''Osaka Asahi'', leading to a softening of its liberal views, and the resignation of many of its staff reporters in protest.
Indeed, the newspaper's liberal position led to its vandalization during the
February 26 Incident of 1936, as well as repeated attacks from
ultranationalists throughout this period (and for that matter, throughout its history).
Toward and during the war
From the latter half of the 1930s, ''Asahi'' ardently supported Prime Minister
Fumimaro Konoe's wartime government (called ''Konoe Shin Taisei'', or Konoe's New Political Order) and criticized capitalism harshly under
Taketora Ogata, the Editor in Chief of ''Asahi Shimbun''. Influential editorial writers of ''Asahi'' such as Shintarō Ryū, Hiroo Sassa, and
Hotsumi Ozaki (an informant for the famous spy
Richard Sorge) were the center members of the
Shōwa Kenkyūkai, which was a political
think tank
A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...
for Konoe.
Ogata was one of the leading members of the ''
Genyōsha'' which had been formed in 1881 by
Tōyama Mitsuru. The ''Genyōsha'' was an
ultranationalist group of organized crime figures and those with far right-wing political beliefs.
Kōki Hirota, who was later hanged as a Class A war criminal, was also a leading member of the ''Genyōsha'' and one of Ogata's best friends. Hirota was the chairman of Tōyama's funeral committee, and Ogata was the vice-chairman.
Ryū, who had been a Marxist economist of the Ōhara Institute for Social Research before he entered ''Asahi'', advocated centrally
planned economies
A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, ...
in his ''Nihon Keizai no Saihensei'' (Reorganization of Japanese Economies. 1939). And Sassa, a son of ultranationalistic politician Sassa Tomofusa, joined hands with far-right generals (they were called ''
Kōdōha'' or
Imperial Way Faction) and terrorists who had assassinated
Junnosuke Inoue (ex–Minister of Finance), Baron
Dan Takuma (chairman of the board of directors of the
Mitsui zaibatsu) and Prime Minister
Inukai Tsuyoshi
Inukai Tsuyoshi (, 4 June 1855 – 15 May 1932) was a Japanese statesman who was Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1931 to his assassination in 1932. At the age of 76, Inukai was Japan's second oldest serving prime minister, ...
to support Konoe. In 1944, they attempted assassination of Prime Minister
Hideki Tōjō (one of the leaders of ''
Tōseiha'' or Control Group which conflicted with ''Kōdōha'' in the
Japanese Army).
On 9 April 1937, the ''
Kamikaze'', a
Mitsubishi aircraft sponsored by the Asahi Shimbun company and flown by Masaaki Iinuma, arrived in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, to the astonishment of the
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...
. It was the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly to Europe.
On 1 September 1940, the ''Osaka Asahi Shimbun'' and the ''Tokyo Asahi Shimbun'' unified their names into the ''Asahi Shimbun''.
On 1 January 1943, the publication of the ''Asahi Shimbun'' was stopped by the government after the newspaper published a critical essay contributed by
Seigō Nakano, who was also one of the leading members of the ''
Genyōsha'' and Ogata's best friend.
On 27 December 1943, , a son-in-law of Murayama Ryōhei and the President of ''Asahi'', removed Ogata from the Editor in Chief and relegated him to the Vice President to hold absolute power in ''Asahi''.
On 22 July 1944, Ogata, Vice President of ''Asahi'', became a
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...
and the President of Cabinet Intelligence Agency in
Kuniaki Koiso's cabinet.
On 7 April 1945,
Hiroshi Shimomura, former Vice President of ''Asahi'', became the Minister without Portfolio and the President of Cabinet Intelligence Agency in
Kantarō Suzuki's cabinet.
On 17 August 1945, Ogata became the Minister without Portfolio and the
Chief Cabinet Secretary and the President of Cabinet Intelligence Agency in
Prince Higashikuni's cabinet.
After the war
On 5 November 1945, as a way of assuming responsibility for compromising the newspaper's principles during the war, the ''Asahi Shimbun's'' president and senior executives resigned en masse.
On 21 November 1946, the newspaper adopted the modern
kana usage system (''
shin kanazukai'').
On 30 November 1949, the ''Asahi Shimbun'' started to publish the serialized cartoon strip
Sazae-san by Machiko Hasegawa. This was a landmark cartoon in Japan's postwar era.
Between 1954 and 1971, ''Asahi Shimbun'' published a glossy, large-format annual in English entitled ''This is Japan''.
Between April and May 1989, the paper reported that a coral reef near
Okinawa was defaced by "すさんだ心根の日本人" (a man with a Japanese dissolute mind). It later turned to be a report in which the reporter himself defaced the coral reef. This incident was called
:ja:朝日新聞珊瑚記事捏造事件 (the ''Asahi Shimbun coral article hoax incident'').
, and the president resigned to take responsibility for it.
On 26 June 2007, Yoichi Funabashi was named the third editor-in-chief of ''Asahi Shimbun''.
Shōichi Ueno, the newspaper's co-owner since 1997, died on 29 February 2016.
While Shin-ichi Hakojima was CEO, a partnership with the ''
International Herald Tribune
The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France, for international English-speaking readers. It published under the name ''International Herald Tribune'' starting in 1967, but its ...
'' led to the publication of an English-language newspaper, the ''International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun''. It continued from April 2001 until February 2011.
It replaced ''Asahi's'' previous English-language daily, the ''Asahi Evening News''. In 2010, this partnership was dissolved due to unprofitability and the ''Asahi Shimbun'' now operates the ''Asia & Japan Watch'' online portal for English readers.
The ''Tribune'' (now known as ''
The International New York Times'') cooperates with ''Asahi'' on ''Aera English'', a glossy magazine for English learners.
Political stance
The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is considered left-leaning and has been called "the intellectual flagship of Japan's political left," with a long tradition of reporting on big political scandals more often than its conservative counterparts.
[Gotcha]
- ''The Economist'' - 20 September 2014 The paper is considered a
newspaper of record
A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large newspaper circulation, circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and i ...
in Japan.
The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is critical of right-wing
Japanese nationalism and shows
progressive tendencies in
cultural
Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
and
diplomatic issues, but has a
neoliberal
Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...
tendency economically. The latter contrasts with ''
Mainichi Shimbuns relatively
Keynesian economic viewpoint. However, in general evaluation, the ''Asahi Shimbun'' seems to have a tone representing Japanese
social-liberals (left-liberals).
The ''Asahi'' has called for the upholding of Japan's postwar
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
and particularly
Article 9, which bars the use of war to resolve disputes. The newspaper has also opposed changes in interpretation of the anti-war provision, including one made in 2014 that allowed the
Japan Self-Defense Forces to come to the aid of an ally under attack—the so-called right of collective self-defense.
While the ''Asahi'' retracted articles based on the discredited testimony of
Seiji Yoshida, its editorial position still recognizes the existence of the
comfort women
Comfort women were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The term ''comfort women'' is a translation of the Japanese , a euphemism ...
as Korean and other women from Japan's conquered territories during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
who were coerced into
prostitution
Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...
to serve the Japanese military.
According to the ''Digital News Report'' from the
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) is a UK-based research centre and think tank founded in 2006, which operates Thomson Reuters Journalism Fellowship Programme, also known as the Reuters Fellowship.
History
The institute ...
in 2018, the ''Asahi'' earned the lowest trust among the five largest newspapers in Japan (5.35, compared to 5.68 of ''
Sankei Shimbun''). Further analysis from the institute indicated the low trust against the ''Asahi'' is due to high distrust because of strong criticism from
political right in Japan.
Controversies
Comfort women
In August 2014, the newspaper retracted the discredited testimonies of
Seiji Yoshida about the forcible recruitment of
comfort women
Comfort women were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The term ''comfort women'' is a translation of the Japanese , a euphemism ...
that were cited in several articles published by the ''Asahi'' and other major Japanese newspapers in the 1980s and 1990s. The paper drew ire from conservative media who, along with Abe's government, criticized it for damaging Japan's reputation abroad,
[Asahi Shimbun admits errors in past ‘comfort women’ stories](_blank)
- ''Japan Times''- 5 August 2014 some leveraging on this episode to imply that sexual slavery itself was a fabrication. The ''Asahi'' newspaper reaffirmed in its retracting article that "the fact that women were coerced into being sexual partners for Japanese soldiers cannot be erased" but also confirmed "No official documents were found that directly showed forcible taking away by the military on the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan, where the people living there were made 'subjects' of the Japanese Empire under Japanese colonial rule. Prostitution agents were prevalent due to the poverty and patriarchal family system. For that reason, even if the military was not directly involved, it is said it was possible to gather many women through such methods as work-related scams and human trafficking."
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
Following the March 2011
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
The Fukushima nuclear accident was a major nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan, which began on 11 March 2011. The cause of the accident was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which r ...
, the ''Asahi'' and other newspapers faced growing public criticism for adhering too closely to the government narrative during their reporting of the disaster.
In response, the ''Asahi'' strengthened its investigative reporting unit, called the ''Tokubetsu Hodobu,'' or Special Reports Section, to take a more independent approach to its coverage. The section won many awards, including the
Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association Award in 2012 and again in 2013.
In May 2014, the section published what it hoped would be its biggest scoop yet: a copy of the firsthand account of the disaster given by
Masao Yoshida, who was the manager of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant when the triple meltdown occurred; the testimony, recorded by government investigators, had been kept hidden from public view. In the testimony, Yoshida said that 90% of the plant's employees had left the plant at the height of the crisis despite him having given instructions for them to remain. He also testified that he believed his instructions had simply not reached the employees in the chaos of the disaster. However, controversy erupted over the ''Asahi'' story, and particularly the headline, which stated: “Workers Evacuated, Violating Plant Manager Orders."
The newspaper came under intense criticism for slandering the workers by implying that they had fled the plant due to cowardice, when many in Japan had come to see Yoshida and plant workers as heroes who had prevented a worse disaster at the plant.
Japanese journalist Ryusho Kadota, who have previously interviewed Yoshida and plant workers, was one of the first to criticize the ''Asahi'' for mischaracterizing the evacuation. The ''Asahi'' at first defended its story, demanding that Kadota's publisher apologize and issue a correction. However, in August, the
Yomiuri Shimbun
The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are ''The Asahi Shimbun'', the ''Chunichi Shimbun'', the ''Ma ...
,
Sankei Shimbun,
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 million ...
and
NHK
, also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee.
NHK ope ...
all acquired the same testimony, apparently from the government, and used it not to shed light on the disaster, but to attack the ''Asahi''. In mid-September, facing intense criticism from other media and the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for its Fukushima coverage and also its retractions of the comfort women stories, the ''Asahi'' suddenly announced that the Yoshida story had been mistaken and retracted it. The president of the ''Asahi'', Tadakazu Kimura, a supporter of the investigative section, resigned to take responsibility.
The reporters and editors responsible for the story were punished, and the Special Reports Section reduced in size, with many of its members reassigned elsewhere in the paper. Two of the top reporters later quit to found a
non-profit journalism organization that is one of the first in Japan dedicated to investigative journalism, the Waseda Chronicle, later renamed to
Tokyo Investigative Newsroom Tansa. The Asahi's investigative section was told to avoid coverage of the Fukushima disaster, and has largely faded from view.
Coral article fabrication
In the evening edition of April 20, 1989, an article described how the world's largest Azami
coral
Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...
in a sea area designated as a natural environment conservation area in
Okinawa was damaged, with the initial "KY" scratched on the coral. Along with a color photograph of the scratched coral, the article lamented the decline in Japanese morals. Later, investigations by local divers who had doubts about the article proved that the ''Asahi'' photographer himself made the scratches to forge a newspaper article. Taking responsibility, the president (at that time) Toichiro Hitotsuyanagi was forced to resign. This was also known as the KY case.
Ritsu Ito interview report
On 27 September 1950, a solo interview with a
Japanese Communist Party executive in hiding, Ritsu Ito, was posted. Later it was revealed that this was forged by the ''Asahi'' reporter in charge.
Asahi Shimbun Asia Network
The Asahi Shimbun Asia Network (AAN) is a think tank that aims to promote information exchange in Asia and provide opportunities for scholars, researchers and journalists to share their ideas on pressing themes in Asia. It was established in 1999.
Their work includes annual international symposia and the publication of research reports. In 2003, Gong Ro Myung was chosen as the new president of AAN.
Symposia have included:
* 2008 Human Mobility and Regional Integration in Asia: The Current Situation of Higher Education and Labor Market and Policy Response
Reports include such titles as:
*
*
*
Asahi Prize
Established in 1929, the Asahi Prize is a prize awarded by the newspaper, since 1992 by the Asahi Shimbun Foundation, for achievements in scholarship or the arts that has made a lasting contribution to Japanese culture or society.
Reproductions of past issues
Reproductions of past issues of the ''Asahi Shimbun'' are available in three major forms; as
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...
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
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese studies programs).
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 University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, 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.
Offices
* Osaka Head Office (registered headquarters): Nakanoshima Festival Tower East, 3-18, Nakanoshima Nichome,
Kita-ku, Osaka
* Tokyo Head Office: 3-2, Tsukiji Gochome,
Chūō, Tokyo
** Hokkaidō Office: 1-1, Kita-Nijo-nishi Itchome, Chūō-ku,
Sapporo
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...
* Nagoya Head Office: 3-3, Sakae Itchome, Naka-ku,
Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...
* West Head Office:
Riverwalk Kitakyushu, 1-1, Muromachi Itchome, Kokura Kita-ku,
Kitakyushu
is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fuk ...
** Fukuoka Office: 1-1, Hakata Ekimae Nichome, Hakata-ku,
Fukuoka
is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...
File:Osaka-Asahi-Shimbun-Bldg-01.jpg, Asahi Shimbun Building (2006)
File:Osaka Asahi Shimbun Bldgs 20120429-001.jpg, Asahi Shimbun Building and Osaka Asahi Building (2012)
File:Asahi Shimbun Tokyo Head Office.JPG, Asahi Shimbun Tokyo Head Office
Sports sponsorship

''Asahi Shimbun'' was the official supporter for several
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation ( ...
's competitions, most recently the
2019 AFC Asian Cup. They used to support both of AFC's club competitions; the
AFC Champions League
The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...
and
AFC Cup
The AFC Champions League Two (abbreviated as the ACL Two or ACL2) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC C ...
until 2018 season. They were official sponsors of the
2002 FIFA World Cup.
Group companies
*
Nikkan Sports
is the first-launched Japanese daily sports newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background ...
* ''
Kanagawa Shimbun''
*
International Herald Tribune/The Asahi Shimbun (Herald-Asahi, from the
Japanese Wikipedia)
*
Asahi Shimbun Publications (formerly Asahi Sonorama)
*
TV Asahi Holdings (cross-shareholder; largest single stockholder in the newspaper)
*
Asahi Broadcasting Corporation
is a certified broadcasting holding company headquartered in Osaka, Japan. Until March 31, 2018, it was a unified radio and television broadcaster serving in the Kansai region.
On April 1, 2018, its radio and television broadcasting divisions ...
(cross-shareholder)
*
All-Nippon News Network
*
TV Asahi Channel (pay TV channels via CS)
* Asahi Shimbun Foundation
*
FM OSAKA
See also
*
Media of Japan
*
Asahi characters
*
Rising Sun Flag
* ''
Kuri-chan
is a yonkoma manga series by Susumu Nemoto which ran from October 1, 1951, to March 31, 1965, in the Asahi Shimbun evening edition. Nemoto modeled the main character, Kuri-chan, after his oldest son, born in 1948. The name of the main characte ...
'', a
yonkoma manga which ran in the newspaper from 1951 to 1965
*
Tensei Jingo
References
Further reading
* Merrill, John C. and Harold A. Fisher. ''The world's great dailies: profiles of fifty newspapers'' (1980) pp. 59–67
* ''Asahi Shimbun Shashi'' (Tokyo and Osaka: Asahi Shimbun Sha, 1990–1995. Official history of ''Asahi'')
* "Asahi Shimbun" in ''Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan'' (Tokyo and New York:
Kodansha
is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...
, 1983).
*
External links
*
''Asahi Shimbun'' Asia & Japan Watch
* Wiki collection of bibliographic works on ''Asahi Shimbun''
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asahi Shimbun
1879 establishments in Japan
Asahi Shimbun Company
Centre-left newspapers
Companies based in Osaka
Companies based in Osaka Prefecture
Daily newspapers published in Japan
English-language newspapers published in Japan
Liberal media in Japan
Liberalism in Japan
Mass media companies based in Tokyo
Mass media in Osaka
Modernist architecture in Japan
Newspapers established in 1879
Social liberalism
Tadao Ando buildings