is a Japanese conservative weekly news magazine based in Tokyo, Japan. It is considered one of the most influential weekly magazines in the country and is the first Japanese weekly magazine founded by a publishing company which does not own a major newspaper.

History and profile

''Shūkan Shinchō'' was first published on 19 February 1956. The cover of the first issue featured an illustration by Japanese artist Rokuro Taniuchi. The magazine is part of

Shinchosha is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in , Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinchosha is one of the sponsors of the Japan Fantasy Novel Award. Books * Haruki Murakami: '' Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World'' (1985), '' Ute ...

, which also founded it, and is published on a weekly basis. Its headquarters is in Tokyo. ''Shūkan Shinchō'' is a general-news magazine, but it targets men. It claims that " tsaverage reader is 41.4 years old, 34.2% are white collar, and 60.9% own their own homes" and that "the majority f its readersare upper class, wealthy and intellectually inclined". As of 2017 Mark Schreiber, a contributing writer of ''

The 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 ...

'', argued that the readers of the magazine are mostly older and retired Japanese men. The major competitor of the magazine is ''

Shūkan Bunshun is a Japanese weekly tabloid ( shūkanshi) based in Tokyo, Japan, known for its investigative journalism and frequent clashes with the Japanese government. This has led to it being considered one of the most influential weekly magazines in the ...

''.

Content and political stance

''Shūkan Shinchō'' has a nationalistic and conservative political stance. ''Shūkan Shinchō'' and its rival ''

'' are the only major "non-establishment" weekly news-magazines that do not feature

pornography Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...

. This makes them the magazines of choice for men who want to read so-called alternative news (sources other than the major newspapers and broadcasters) but who don't want to look at, or be seen looking at, pornography. As a result, these two '' shūkanshi'' (weekly magazines) are seen as more socially acceptable to read than their rivals. The layouts of these two magazines are also of a better quality than that of their direct competitors. However, these two publications have been described as "especially egregious offenders of

journalistic ethics Journalistic ethics and standards comprise principles of ethics and good practice applicable to journalists. This subset of media ethics is known as journalism's professional "code of ethics" and the "canons of journalism". The basic codes and ...

". ''Shūkan Shinchō'' is also described as a tabloid magazine by ''

Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English-language news website called , and publishes a bilin ...

'', a leading Japanese daily. ''Shūkan Shinchō'' was found guilty of

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

in a Tokyo court for publishing an unsubstantiated allegation of murder by a

Soka Gakkai is a Japanese new religions, Japanese new religion led by Minoru Harada since December 2023 based on the teachings of the 13th-century Buddhist priest Nichiren. It claims the largest membership among Nichiren Buddhism, Nichiren Buddhist group ...

member. The magazine was criticized in 2001 for sensationalistic stories regarding a disputed

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

settlement site in Japan. It has also been rebuked for publishing the names and photographs of minors who have been accused of criminal acts, even before their trials began.

Circulation

From October 2014 to September 2015 ''Shūkan Shinchō'' was the ninth-best selling magazine in Japan with a circulation of 537,596 copies.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shukan Shincho 1956 establishments in Japan Conservative magazines Conservative media in Japan Magazines established in 1956 Magazines published in Tokyo Men's magazines published in Japan News magazines published in Asia Shinchosha magazines Weekly magazines published in Japan