, often shortened to simply ''Asahi Geinō'' or , is a

shūkanshi is a Japanese term for any weekly magazine, including politically provocative weekly tabloid newspapers. As noted by Watanabe and Gamble in the Japan Media Review and in their book ''A Public Betrayed'', the genre is "often described as bizarre ...

founded by Hirotomo Takei and published by

Tokuma Shoten is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company’s product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, ...

in Japan. It was first published under the title in January 1946, though the title and size were changed to the current one in October 1956. The longest-running manga in the world by a single author, ''

Sennin Buraku is a manga series by Kō Kojima which ran in the adult magazine ''Weekly Asahi Geinō'', published by Tokuma Shoten in Japan. It is the longest running comic with only one artist, being published weekly since October 1956, and the longest- ...

'' by

Kō Kojima was a Japanese manga artist. He was best known for penning ''Sennin Buraku'' (running since 1956 in ''Weekly Asahi Geinō''), the longest running comic by a single artist. He attended the private in Koishikawa (now part of Bunkyō, Tokyo), aft ...

, was published in the first issue with the new title, and ran from 1956 to 2014. The magazine tends to focus on sensationalized stories,

celebrity gossip A gossip magazine, also referred to as a tabloid magazine, is a magazine that features scandalous stories about the personal lives of celebrities and other well-known individuals. In North America, this genre of magazine flourished in the 1950s ...

, stories about

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the ter ...

, articles with risque or

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, ...

content or topics, and

scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

s. About 90% of the readership are married, male

salarymen In Japan, a is a salaried worker. In Japanese popular culture, this is embodied by a white-collar worker who shows overriding loyalty and commitment to the corporation where he works. Salarymen are expected to work long hours, to put in addi ...

. ''Asahi Geinō'' frequently has articles related to

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

, and participates in campaigns to stem the

AIDS epidemic The global epidemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 2021, HIV/AI ...

. Translations of and commentaries on articles from ''Asahi Geinō'' were common in the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to t ...

newspaper ''

Mainichi Daily News 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 ''The Mainichi'' (prev ...

s now-discontinued column ''WaiWai''. Other articles in ''Asahi Geinō'' have covered include an apparent rise in 20-something

virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

s, the possibility of

breast milk Breast milk (sometimes spelled as breastmilk) or mother's milk is milk produced by mammary glands located in the breast of a human female. Breast milk is the primary source of nutrition for newborns, containing fat, protein, carbohydrates (lac ...

being a cure for

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...

, and accusations of

groping In a sexual context, groping is the act of intentionally touching another person in a sexual manner without their consent. The term generally has a negative connotation in many societies, and the activity may be considered sexual assault or ot ...

while on a train (and advice on how to avoid being falsely accused). ''Weekly Asahi Geinō'' is not related to the similarly titled ''

Weekly Asahi Weekly, The Weekly, or variations, may refer to: News media * ''Weekly'' (news magazine), an English-language national news magazine published in Mauritius *Weekly newspaper, any newspaper published on a weekly schedule *Alternative newspaper, als ...

'' (which is owned by the also-unrelated ''

Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition an ...

'').

Criticism

The ''Asahi Geino'' has been criticized for attacking Japan's

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduct ...

while at the same time publishing

nude Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

photographs and sex-related articles and stories.

References

External links

Weekly Asahi Geinō
(official site) {{DEFAULTSORT:Asahi Geino 1946 establishments in Japan Celebrity magazines Magazines established in 1946 Magazines published in Tokyo Men's magazines published in Japan Weekly magazines published in Japan Tokuma Shoten magazines