The , name short for , is a daily national newspaper in Japan published by the Sankei Shimbun Co., Ltd, ranking amongst the top five most circulated newspapers in Japan. Together with its English-language paper ''Japan Forward'', the ''Sankei Shimbun'' has been described as having a conservative, nationalist, right-wing to far-right political stance. It has previously published materials downplaying or denying

Japanese war crimes During its imperial era, Empire of Japan, Japan committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity across various Asian-Pacific nations, notably during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Second Sino-Japanese and Pacific Wars. These incidents ...

Corporate profile

The ''Sankei Shimbun'' is part of the

Fujisankei Communications Group , abbreviated FCG, is Japan's largest media conglomerate. Its chair is Hisashi Hieda. The group engages in a wide range of businesses, from Mass media in Japan, media and entertainment, including Television in Japan, television, Japanese newspape ...

and is 40% owned by

Fuji Media Holdings JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and-operated by , itself a su ...

. The company is also the owner of

Osaka Broadcasting Corporation is an AM radio station of National Radio Network (NRN) in Osaka, Japan. It is a company of the Donuts group, which owns 34% of the shares in the company with the Sankei Shimbun, part of the Fujisankei Communications Group owning 15.9% of the b ...

(OBC, Radio Osaka).

History

The ''Sankei Shimbun'' was created by the merger of two older newspapers: ''Jiji News'' and ''Nihon Kogyō Shimbun''. ''Jiji News'' was founded in 1882 by author, translator, and journalist

Fukuzawa Yukichi was a Japanese educator, philosopher, writer, entrepreneur and samurai who founded Keio Gijuku, the newspaper ', and the Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases. Fukuzawa was an early advocate for reform in Japan. His ideas about the or ...

, who also founded

Keio University , abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally established as a school for Rangaku, Western studies in 1858 in Edo. It was granted university status in 1920, becomi ...

. ''Nihon Kogyō Shimbun'', founded in 1933 by Hisakichi Maeda, specialized in business and was published by the ''Minami-

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 ...

Shimbun'' (the ''South Osaka Evening newspaper''). In 1941, the ''Osaka Shimbun'' (renamed from ''Minami-Osaka Shimbun'') merged with ''Osaka Jiji Shimpō'' (''Jiji-Shimpō Osaka edition''). The following year, ''Nihon Kogyō Shimbun'' merged with other business newspapers in Western Japan, and changed its name to the ''Sangyō Keizai Shimbun'' (or the ''Sankei''). In 1955, the ''Sankei'' merged with ''Jiji Shimpō.'' In 1959, the ''Sankei'' and ''Jiji Shimpō'' were placed under the ''Sankei Shimbun'' masthead. In 1958, the ''Sankei'' was acquired by Shigeo Mizuno and Nobutaka Shikanai. After financial difficulties, it changed direction from being liberal to being conservative (

Tenkō is a Japanese term referring to the coerced ideological conversions of Japanese socialists and communists who, between 1925 and 1945, were induced to renounce leftist ideologies and enthusiastically embrace the Emperor-centric, capitalist, and ...

). Both Mizuno and Shikanai would go on to found

Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

a year later. The ''Sankei Shimbun'' started two

online newspapers An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical. Going online created more opportunities for newspa ...

in 1996: ''Sankei Web'', in website style, and ''E-NEWS'', in

personal digital assistant A personal digital assistant (PDA) is a multi-purpose mobile device which functions as a personal information manager. Following a boom in the 1990s and 2000s, PDAs were mostly displaced by the widespread adoption of more highly capable smar ...

style. In 2001, the ''Sankei Shimbun'' started a new electronic newspaper delivery edition, ''NEWSVUE''. In 2002, the ''Sankei Shimbun'' merged with ''Osaka Shimbun''. Both editions were placed under the ''Sankei Shimbun'' masthead. In 2005, the ''Sankei Shimbun'' added video to its digital edition, suitable for

smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...

, and renamed it as ''Sankei NetView''. In 2007, the ''Sankei Shimbun'' started a new online newspaper, , in collaboration with

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

. In 2014 the ''Sankei Shimbun'' rebranded its online news as ''Sankei News''. In 2017, ''Sankei Shimbun'' launched the English language online website ''Japan Forward''.

Ownership

* , a national newspaper. * , an industry & business & economy newspaper that renamed ''Nihon Kogyo Shimbun'' (''Japan Industry Newspaper'') in March 2004, which ended publication in July 2021. * , a Japanese daily sports newspaper since 1955. * , a Japanese daily evening

tabloid newspaper A tabloid is a newspaper format characterized by its compact size, smaller than a broadsheet. The term originates from the 19th century, when the London-based pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, Burroughs Wellcome & Co. used the term to de ...

since 1969. suspended publication on 2025. * , a

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

newspaper since 1971. * , a

Kansai 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 metropoli ...

regional evening newspaper that suspended publication in 2002. * , a targeted at young people newspaper founded in 2006.

Political stance

The ''Sankei Shimbun'' is a nationalist and conservative newspaper. Some book and media outlets have called the ''Sankei Shimbun'' a

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

newspaper; The ''Sankei Shimbun'' has previously published books denying the atrocities committed by the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

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 ...

Controversies

In August 2014,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

filed suit against the ''Sankei'' for insults against president

Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 until Impeachment of Park Geun-hye, she was removed from office in 2017. Park was the first and to date only woman ...

, published in one of the newspaper's articles, and demanded

Tatsuya Kato is a Japanese anime composer and arranger. He is known for his works on many anime series, including ''Future Diary'', '' Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'', ''Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya'', '' Love Live! Sunshine!!'' and '' Free!''. He is curr ...

, head of the Seoul Bureau, present himself for questioning. The article in question covered several rumors about Park during the sinking of MV ''Sewol'', referring to Korean news reports in the conservative newspaper ''

The Chosun Ilbo ''The Chosun Ilbo'' (, ), also known as ''The Chosun Daily,'' is a Korean-language newspaper of record for South Korea and among the oldest active newspapers in the country. With a daily circulation of more than 1,800,000, ''The'' ''Chosun Ilbo ...

''; however, only the ''Sankei'' was charged with defamation, considered an anti-Korean newspaper in Korea. The Japanese media assumed the suit was a warning to the ''Sankei''. Kato, who was eventually acquitted of defamation charges in December 2015, was under prosecution without detention for a year and two months. The South Korean court said press freedoms were taken into consideration in arriving at Kato's acquittal. In December 2014, the newspaper apologized after running an advert for

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

books by conspiracy theorist Richard Koshimizu. On February 11, 2015, regular columnist

Ayako Sono was a Japanese writer. Sono was considered to be a conservative and was also considered to be an advisor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who had had drawn controversy for advocating for a system similar to South Africa's apartheid for Japan's imm ...

wrote an opinion piece opining that though she considered it necessary for Japan to accept more immigrants to bolster its decreasing workforce, it would also be necessary for Japan to take steps to ensure the separation of immigrants in regards to living conditions, citing South African

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

as an example of how to achieve this goal. In July 2015, ''Sankei Shimbun'' published the history book ''History Wars: Japan – False Indictment of the Century'', which questioned the veracity of claims of

during World War II. In September 2015, several hundred academics and journalists were sent copies of ''History Wars'' and ''Getting Over it! Why Korea Needs to Stop Bashing Japan''. The book mailings were part of a project by right-wing groups such as the ''

Nippon Kaigi is Japan's largest ultraconservative and ultranationalist far-right non-governmental organisation and lobbying group. It was established in 1997 and has approximately 38,000 to 40,000 members as of 2020. The group has significant influence i ...

'' to improve international perceptions of Japan. A covering letter from politician Inoguchi Kuniko read in part: "In East Asia, the regional history of the 20th century has been incorrectly distorted by some individuals due to their current domestic political ambitions, I believe it is important for you, as a highly esteemed member of the academic and policy circles, to look into the books which I am enclosing with this letter."

Sankei Award, Sankei Prize

* – An international art prize founded in 1989 awarded by the

Imperial family of Japan The is the reigning dynasty of Japan, consisting of those members of the extended family of the reigning emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present constitution of Japan, the emperor is "the symbol of the State ...

on behalf of the Japan Art Association in the fields of painting, sculpture, architecture, music, theatre and film. * – An award founded in 1952. * – An award recognizing founded in 2002. * – The oldest children's literature award in Japan. * – Major traditional culture award for the arts of (comedic Japanese verbal entertainment), (Japanese dance),

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert dance, concert or theatrical dance which includes dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th ...

, classical music and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, awarded since 1964. * – A major

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

(

Japanese calligraphy , also called , is a form of calligraphy, or artistic writing, of the Japanese language. Japanese writing system, Written Japanese was originally based on Man'yōgana, Chinese characters only, but the advent of the hiragana and katakana Japane ...

) award founded in 1984.

Philanthropy

* – a medical fund set up in Japan for impoverished children with

heart defects A congenital heart defect (CHD), also known as a congenital heart anomaly, congenital cardiovascular malformation, and congenital heart disease, is a defect in the structure of the heart or great vessels that is present at birth. A congenital he ...

. * – a nonprofit organization for societal welfare.

Offices

* Tokyo Head Office (registered headquarters): Tokyo Sankei Building, 1-7-2, Otemachi,

Chiyoda, Tokyo , known as Chiyoda City in English,
." ''City of Chiyoda''. Retrieved on December 28, 2008. is a S ...

* Osaka Head Office: Namba Sankei Building, 2-1-57, Minatomachi, Naniwa-ku, Osaka ** Umeda Office: Breeze Tower, 2-4-9,

Umeda is a major commercial, business, shopping and entertainment district in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, where the city's main northern railway termini ( Ōsaka Station, Umeda Station) are located. The district's name means "plum field". History Umeda ...

, Kita-ku, Osaka * Western Office (Fukuoka): Sunlight Building, 5-23-8, Watanabe-dori, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka

Sankei Group affiliate companies

– is a major Japanese television station, also known as or CX. It is the

flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyal ...

of the

Fuji News Network Fuji News Network (FNN) is a Japanese commercial television network run by Fuji Television Network, Inc. (Fuji TV), part of the Fujisankei Communications Group. The network's responsibility includes the syndication of national television news ...

(FNN) and the

Fuji Network System Fuji Network System (FNS; , 'Fuji Network') is a Japanese television network operated by Fuji Television Network, Inc. (Fuji TV), part of the Fujisankei Communications Group , abbreviated FCG, is Japan's largest media conglomerate. Its chair ...

. *

Kansai Telecasting Corporation JODX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is the Kansai region key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and Fuji Network System (FNS), owned-and-operated by the . Its studios and headquarters are located in Osaka and the broadcaster is an affil ...

– is an AM radio station of National Radio Network (NRN) in Osaka, Japan, also known as . * FM 802 – is an FM radio station in

, Japan. *

FM COCOLO , stylized as FM COCOLO, is a multilingual FM radio station owned and operated by FM 802 Co., Ltd. The station broadcasts on the 76.5 MHz FM broadcasting in Japan, FM to the Kansai area which includes Osaka Prefecture, Osaka, Kyoto Prefecture, ...

– is a multilingual

FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting that uses frequency modulation (FM) of the radio broadcast carrier wave. Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to transmit high fidelity, high-f ...

station owned and operated by FM 802 Co., Ltd * Iwate Menkoi Television – Iwate area *

Sendai Television Sendai Television Inc. (株式会社仙台放送, OX), callsign JOOX-DTV (channel 8) is a Japanese television station based in Sendai that serves as the affiliate of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and Fuji Network System (FNS) for the Miyagi Prefe ...

– Miyagi area * Fukushima Television Broadcasting – Fukushima area * Niigata Sogo Television – Niigata area * Nagano Broadcasting Systems – Nagano area television station *

TV Shizuoka JOQH-DTV (channel 8), also known as , is a television station headquartered in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The station, which began broadcasting on December 24, 1968, is an affiliate of Fuji News Network and Fuji Network System. History On Febru ...

– Shizuoka area television station *

Okayama Broadcasting is a TV station broadcast in Okayama and Kagawa Prefectures. The abbreviation, OHK stands for Okayama Hoso K. K., the corporate name in romaji. It is a network affiliate of Fuji News Network (FNN) and Fuji Network System Fuji Network Syste ...

–

Okayama is the prefectural capital, capital Cities of Japan, city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The Okayama metropolitan area, centered around the city, has the largest urban employment zone in the Chugoku region of western J ...

area television station * Ehime Broadcasting –

Ehime is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,334,841 and a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Tokushima Prefecture to th ...

area television station *

Shinhiroshima Telecasting JORM-DTV (channel 8), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as an affiliate of the dual Fuji News Network (FNN) and Fuji Network System (FNS) in Hiroshima Prefecture, owned-and operated by Based in Hiroshima, the station ha ...

–

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

area television station * Kochi Sun Sun Broadcasting –

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

area television station *

Tokyo Tower , also known as the Japan Radio Tower (, ) is a Radio masts and towers, communications and observation tower in the district of Shiba-koen in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, completed in 1958. At , it was the List of tallest structures in Japan, tallest ...

– was the tower's founder and owner. * FM Osaka – The owner is Hisakichi Maeda's family. *

Japan Airlines Japan Airlines (JAL) is the flag carrier airline of Japan. JAL is headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport, Narita and Haneda Airport, Haneda airports, as well as secondary hubs in Osaka's Kansai ...

– Descendants of Sankei Shimbun Aviation Department

Notable corporate alumni

Yoshirō Mori is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party from 2000 to 2001. He was unpopular in opinion polls during his time in office, and is known for making controversial statements, bot ...

, the president of

Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games The (TOCOG) was the organisation responsible for overseeing the planning and development of the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. History The Organising Committee was launched on 24 January 2014, and is composed of members of the Japa ...

, the 85th and 86th

Prime Minister of Japan The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...

Fukushiro Nukaga is a Japanese politician who is serving as the Speaker of the House of Representatives (Japan), Speaker of the House of Representatives since October 2023. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Liberal Democratic Party, he has been a ...

, former

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

* Eriko Yamatani, politician, former chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, former Minister for the Abduction Issue *

Tsuneo Kitamura Tsuneo is a masculine Japanese name, Japanese given name. Written forms Tsuneo can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *常雄, "usual, masculine" *常男, "usual, man" *常夫, "usual, husband" ...

, politician serving in the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers (Japan), House of Peers. If the t ...

* Kenta Matsunami, politician serving in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

* Hiroshi Nakatsuka, Japanese politician, former mayor of Hirakara * Shoko Yamaguchi,

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 2013 *

Ryōtarō Shiba , also known as , was a Japanese author. He is best known for his novels about historical events in Japan and on the Northeast Asian sub-continent, as well as his historical and cultural essays pertaining to Japan and its relationship to the r ...

, author *

Sakunosuke Oda was a Japanese writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing ...

, author * Ikko Tanaka,

graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

worked at

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

Expo '70 The or Expo '70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, between 15 March and 13 September 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as . It was the first world's fair ...

Expo '85 Expo '85, officially called the , was a world's fair held in Tsukuba Science City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Ibaraki, Japan between Sunday, March 17 and Monday, September 16, 1985. The main venue was located in town of Yatabe, and the sub venue was in ...

, and

Expo '90 or The International Garden and Greenery Exposition, organized as a part of the International Expositions Convention, was the first large-scale international gardening exposition in Asia and focused on the theme of the "Harmonious Coexistence of ...

* Masami Abe, first reported the abduction of Japanese nationals by the North Korean regime in 1979, for which he was awarded the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association Award * Tsutomu Saitō, chief operating officer at ''Sankei'', who scooped the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

in 1990 * Katsuhiro Kuroda, columnist at ''Sankei'', in Seoul Branch (South Korea) * Yoshihisa Komori, columnist at ''Sankei'', in Washington, D.C. Branch (United States) *

, columnist at ''Sankei'', former chief of Seoul branch * Ayari Aoyama, writer at ''Sankei'', who was a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

swimmer at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Monta Mino , born , was a Japanese television presenter. Mino was recognized by the ''Guinness World Records'' as being the TV host with the most hours of live TV appearances in a week (22 hours, 15 seconds), as of April 2008. This breaks his earlier 200 ...

, radio and television announcer * Masato Kimura, freelance journalist, former chief of London Branch (United Kingdom)

Notes

References

External links

* *
Japan Forward
' {{Authority control Fujisankei Communications Group 1882 establishments in Japan 1933 establishments in Japan Anti-communist organizations in Japan Anti-Korean sentiment in Japan Companies based in Osaka Prefecture Companies based in Tokyo Conservative media in Japan Daily newspapers published in Japan Far-right politics in Japan Japanese nationalist organizations Mass media companies based in Tokyo Nationalist newspapers North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens Newspapers established in 1882 Newspapers established in 1933 Reactionary Right-wing newspapers World War II-related historical negationism Historical negationism in Japan