''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc. It is headquartered in the in
Kioicho,
Chiyoda, Tokyo
, known as Chiyoda City in English,
." ''City of Chiyoda''. Retrieved on December 28, 2008. is a S ...
.
History

''The Japan Times'' was launched by on 22 March 1897, with the goal of giving Japanese people an opportunity to read and discuss news and current events in
English to help Japan participate in the international community.
In 1906, Zumoto was asked by
Japanese Resident-General of Korea Itō Hirobumi
Kazoku, Prince , born , was a Japanese statesman who served as the first prime minister of Japan from 1885 to 1888, and later from 1892 to 1896, in 1898, and from 1900 to 1901. He was a leading member of the ''genrō'', a group of senior state ...
to lead the English-language newspaper ''
The Seoul Press''. Zumoto closely tied the operations of the two newspapers, with subscriptions of ''The Seoul Press'' being sold in Japan by ''The Japan Times'', and vice versa for Korea.
Both papers wrote critically of Korean culture and civilization, and advocated for
Japan's colonial control over the peninsula in order to civilize the Koreans.
The newspaper was independent of government control, but from 1931 onward, the paper's editors experienced mounting pressure from the
Japanese government
The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary state, containing forty- ...
to submit to its policies. In 1933, the
Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs appointed
Hitoshi Ashida
was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan in 1948. He was a prominent figure in the immediate postwar political landscape, but was forced to resign his leadership responsibilities after a corruption scandal (Shōwa Denkō J ...
, former ministry official, as chief editor.
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 ...
, the newspaper served as an outlet for
Imperial Japanese
The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From 1910 to 19 ...
government communication and editorial opinion.
It was successively renamed ''The Japan Times and Mail'' (1918–1940) following its merger with ''The Japan Mail'', ''The Japan Times and Advertiser'' (1940–1943) following its merger with ''The Japan Advertiser'', and ''Nippon Times'' (1943–1956), before reverting to the ''Japan Times'' title in 1956. The temporary change to ''Nippon Times'' occurred during the ban on English language sentiment during World War II-era Japan.
Shintaro Fukushima (
1907
Events
January
* January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000.
February
* February 9 – The "Mud March (suffragists), Mud March", the ...
–
1987
Events January
* January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency.
* January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade.
* January 3 – Afghan leader ...
) became president of ''The Japan Times'' in 1956. He sold some of the company's shares to Toshiaki Ogasawara (小笠原 敏晶 ''Ogasawara Toshiaki''), who was chairman of Nifco, a manufacturer of automotive fasteners. Fukushima renounced management rights in 1983, after which Nifco acquired control of ''The Japan Times'' and brought about staff changes and alterations to the company's traditions established in 1897.
Ogasawara served as the chairman and publisher of ''The Japan Times'' until 2016, when his daughter Yukiko Ogasawara (小笠原 有輝子 ''Ogasawara Yukiko'') succeeded him as chairman of the company. She had previously served as the company's president from 2006 to 2012, when she was replaced by career ''Japan Times'' staffer Takeharu Tsutsumi.
Nifco sold ''The Japan Times'' to
PR firm News2u Holdings, Inc. on 30 June 2017.
Content
''The Japan Times'' publishes ''The Japan Times'', ''The Japan Times On Sunday'',
The Japan Times Alpha' (a bilingual weekly), books in English and Japanese. Staff at ''The Japan Times'' are represented by two unions, one of which is
Tozen
Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union (), or Tozen Union (), is a Japanese labour union. It was founded on April 25, 2010, by Louis Carlet, Tony Dolan, and David Ashton. It is a "godo roso" general amalgamated union, the first ever in Japan with for ...
.
Print
The Japan Times, Ltd. publishes three periodicals: ''The Japan Times'', an English-language daily
broadsheet
A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...
; ''The Japan Times Weekly'', an English-language
weekly in
tabloid form; and ''Shukan ST'', also a weekly in tabloid form, targeted at Japanese readers learning the English language. Since 16 October 2013, ''The Japan Times'' has been printed and sold along with ''
The New York Times International Edition
''The New York Times International Edition'' is an English-language Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper distributed internationally by the New York Times Company. It has been published in two separate periods, one from 1943 to 1967 and one from ...
''.
Web
Printed stories from ''The Japan Times'' are archived online. The newspaper has a readers' forum and, since 2013, the website offers a section for readers' comments below articles. This came about during a redesign and redevelopment of the newspaper, using
Responsive Web Design
Responsive web design (RWD) or responsive design is an approach to web design that aims to make web pages render well on a variety of devices and window or screen sizes from minimum to maximum display size to ensure usability and satisfactio ...
techniques so the site is optimised for all digital devices. ''The Japan Times'' has a social media presence on
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, and
Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
since 2007.
Controversy
After being acquired by News2u, ''The Japan Times'' changed its editorial stance and contributor lineup as part of efforts to reduce criticism of the newspaper as an "anti-Japanese" outlet.
In November 2018, it was announced in an editor's note that subsequent articles would use the term "wartime laborers" rather than "forced labor", and "
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 ...
" would be referred to as "women who worked in wartime brothels, including those who did so against their will, to provide sex to Japanese soldiers", instead of the previously used "women who were forced to provide sex for Japanese troops before and during World War II."
The change drew immediate criticism from readers and employees, with particular concerns expressed over the paper's apparent alignment with the political positions of Prime Minister
Shinzō Abe
Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. He was the longest-serving pri ...
.
In response to these criticisms, ''The Japan Times'' wrote in an article on 7 December 2018, "We must admit that the editorial note undermined the relationships of trust we have built with our readers, reporters and staff. I would like to apologize for the inconvenience", and denied criticism that it was in line with the intentions of the administration.
Contributors
*
Mark Brazil, Wild Watch nature columnist (1982–2015)
[Mark Brazil]
, ''Japan Times
''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo.
History
''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...
''. . Retrieved 25 March 2017
* Monty DiPietro, art critic
* John Gauntner, Nihonshu columnist
*
John Gunning, sumo columnist
*
Don Maloney
Donald Michael Maloney (born September 5, 1958) is a Canadian ice hockey executive and former player, currently serving as President of Hockey Operations of the Calgary Flames. He was formerly the general manager of the New York Islanders and P ...
* Fume Miyatake, Women in Business columnist
* Jean Pearce, community columnist
*
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...
, Italian correspondent
* Dreux Richard, African community, investigative
*
Donald Richie
Donald Richie (April 17, 1924 – February 19, 2013) was an American-born author who wrote about the Japanese people, the culture of Japan, and especially Japanese cinema. Although he considered himself primarily a film historian, Richie also ...
, book, film critic
* Elyse Rogers, Women in Business columnist
*
Mark Schilling, film critic
* Robbie Swinnerton, Tokyo Food File columnist
*
Edward Seidensticker
Edward George Seidensticker (February 11, 1921 – August 26, 2007) was a noted post-World War II American scholar, historian, and preeminent translator of classical and contemporary Japanese literature. His English translation of the epic ''The ...
* Fred Varcoe, sports editor
*
Robert Yellin, Ceramic Scene columnist
See also
* ''
Asahi Shimbun
is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan.
The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the ''Yom ...
''
* ''
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 ...
''
* ''
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 ...
''
* ''
Genki: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese'' Japanese language learning textbooks published by the newspaper
References
Further reading
*
External links
''The Japan Times'' Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Japan Times
1897 establishments in Japan
Newspapers established in 1897
2018 controversies
Daily newspapers published in Japan
English-language newspapers published in Japan
Newspapers published in Japan
Asian news websites
Newspapers published in Tokyo