''An An'' (stylized as ''an an'') is a weekly Japanese women's lifestyle magazine. It is one of the earliest and popular women's magazines 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 ...

. In 2009 it was described by '' Japan Today'' as a mega-popular women's magazine. It is also one of the best-selling women's magazines in the country.

History and profile

The magazine was started as a sister publication of French magazine '' Elle'' and was named as ''Elle Japon''. The first issue of the magazine was published on 20 March 1970. The magazine was renamed as ''an an'' in 1982, which was the name of a panda bear. Its content was also changed to reflect the trends affecting Japanese women and their self-identity. At the end of the 1990s ''an an'' was published biweekly. The magazine has its headquarters in Tokyo and is published on a weekly basis on Tuesdays. The publisher is Magazine House Ltd., a Tokyo based publishing company. The company, which was also the founder of the magazine, was formerly named Heibun Shuppan. The magazine has two versions, a regular one and a cheaper one. Like other young women's magazines in Japan ''an an'' frequently features articles on

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

, cosmetics and relationships. On the other hand, it emphasizes the visual aspect and advertisements rather than text. However, instead of focusing on gossip, ''an an'' and another women's magazine '' Non-no'' provide their readers with self-help materials. In addition, since its inception ''an an'' has been instrumental in changing attitudes of young Japanese women as well as in reinforcing new and subversive identities. In 1984 it began to publish an annual sex special issue. Its April 1989 cover read "Become Beautiful through Sex" (sekkusu de kirei ni naru). In 1976 the male version of ''an an'', '' Popeye'' magazine, was started. In the mid-1990s the target audience of ''an an'' was stated to be women aged between 19 and 27 years old who were mostly unmarried, office workers and university students. ''an an'' celebrated its publication of 2,000 issues with an exhibition at the Tokyo Metro Omotesando station between 11 April and 17 April 2016.

Circulation

The circulation of ''an an'' was between 540,000 copies and 720,000 copies in the period of 1970 and 2009. In the mid 1990s the magazine sold 650,000 copies. In 2006 its circulation was 280,683 copies.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:An An 1970 establishments in Japan Biweekly magazines published in Japan Fashion magazines published in Japan Lifestyle magazines published in Japan Magazines established in 1970 Magazines published in Tokyo Weekly magazines published in Japan Women's fashion magazines Women's magazines published in Japan