There is very little information in Russia about the current state of the Japanese press. The study covers the process of joining a newspaper company and introduces directly to the newspaper itself, as well as highlights the principles of the functioning of the editorial office using the example of one of the largest national newspapers in Japan - Sankei. It is very difficult in this country to enter a large newspaper company. If a few years ago journalism had exclusively masculine traits, now in newspaper companies about thirty percent are women. In total, Sankei Shimbun employs 2,363 people: 2,094 of them are men, and only 269 are women who hold the positions of editors or proofreaders. Japanese "Sankei" every spring replenishes its staff with twenty new employees. From April to May, over a thousand Japanese and Japanese women take exams to apply for work. A future journalist must show that he is comprehensively developed, is interested in international relations, and knows society well. Having successfully passed all the stages, several Japanese become employees of the company, that is, "kaisha-no hito", now they are part of the newspaper collective. When a journalist just comes to a company, he is not experienced and dependent, he is called "sinmai". The literal translation from Japanese is "new rice". Therefore, the rubric editors follow the recruits, help them and give them advice. It should be noted that first, newcomers always end up in the "society" department, and only then, when the sprouts get stronger, they can move on to other departments that are more interesting to them. The heads of the thematic departments recruit their own staff, and, of course, the wishes of the journalists are taken into account. In Japan, there is such a concept as a life-long employment system, in which employees stay in the same firm from the moment they first enter the labor market until they retire (in Japan, the retirement age is 60 years for both men and women). From the very first days, journalists feel the stability of their position in life. In addition, the employee also feels material benefits - his wages are constantly growing. In Japan, as you know, a senior or veteran of a firm gets more than a junior or newcomer. For example, an aspiring journalist has a salary of $ 2,000, while a newspaper editor-in-chief earns over $ 10,000. This approach is rooted in the tradition of Japanese society to respect elders.
Editor-in-chief (henshu: xia) Masao Nayuki is at the head office in Tokyo, he reads and approves each issue. He has five deputies (henshu: cho), who are responsible for the content of the issues, that is, they act as shift editors. Every day they take turns selecting journalistic materials and editing them. The newspaper has several thematic headings: politics (seiji), society (shakai), culture (bunka), sports (spo: tsu), economics (keizai) and foreign news (kokusai). Each section has its own joshi editor. A significant part of Japanese national newspapers are published in the form of a "set" - a set of morning and evening issues. In Japan, these two issues are closely related, and the evening is like a continuation of the morning. This is very beneficial for newspaper companies, since the subscription distribution system (in Japan, over 90% of all newspapers are distributed not by retail, but in accordance with a monthly subscription system through special distribution points) guarantees them a stable circulation of the evening edition.
Japanese newspapers and magazines for Europeans start at the end. These are all the features of Japanese writing. Since ancient times, they have written from top to bottom and from right to left. Currently, many books and textbooks are published in the "European style", and periodicals still cherish Japanese traditions. In this regard, newspaper columns can hardly be called columns; they are rather wide lines. Most of the Japanese newspapers are charts, charts and tables, they are on almost every page. It is believed that it is easier for the Japanese to assimilate information visually. In addition, the numbers add more credibility to the information. There is another reason: young people are not very fond of reading newspaper texts, and in order to convey at least some of the information to them, journalistic materials take on a graphical form - due to this, the greatest information content is achieved.
The study showed the path that a journalistic text goes from writing it by an author to publishing it on a newspaper page. It turned out that the text is read by several editors, each of them is a kind of filter. It turns out that every article in the newspaper is the work of a huge team. It is also unusual that some positions, which in other countries are divided into as many as three specialties, merge into one in Japan. And the newspaper itself is very different from the publications that we are used to seeing in Russian newsstands. For example, a few stripes in a newspaper are colored, and most are black and white. The organization of the work of the editorial office is arranged in such a way that each journalist has his own topic, his own specialization. Everyone occupies their own niche in the editorial office, and performs their functions. The editorial office of a newspaper is an integral organism that functions on the basis of the principles of freedom of the press, decency, tolerance and impartiality.
Modern Japan is a state with more than 127 million people, where a centuries-old culture merges with world global processes. The Japanese media market is one of the richest and most developed. The circulation of Japanese national daily newspapers is the highest in the world, and it is not without reason that Japan has earned the fame of one of the most reading countries.
Currently, 107 daily newspapers are published in the country, including 4 national ones: Yomiuri (Reporter), Asahi (Rising Sun), Mainichi (Daily), Nikkei. ("Japanese economic newspaper"). The three largest of them - "Asahi", "Yomiuri" and "Mai-niti" - account for almost half of the total circulation of all newspapers. It is important to note that Asahi and Yomiuri are the oldest newspapers in the Asian region. Each national newspaper has 20-40 pages in the morning and 20 pages in the evening. Issues with removable strips are published several times a month.
Japanese national newspapers are very high quality mass publications. Each of them has an electronic version, presented on sites on the Internet. Today Asahi, a newspaper with a pronounced liberal orientation, is read by intellectuals and people adhering to modern life principles and views. In Japan, there is even a definition of "Asahi man". These are mainly young people, among whom the newspaper enjoys a reputation as one of the most objective. The global computer network Internet, which has received widespread use and distribution throughout the world today, has affected almost all spheres of public activity, including journalism and the economy of Japan. The history of the introduction of multimedia in Japan began in 1989, when a press conference on multimedia was held, organized and conducted by the advertising agency "Dentsu" in conjunction with representatives of the computer industry. Since then, multimedia production in this country has become one of the main industries of the 20th century. In 1994, advertising appeared on the Internet. In November 1994, there were 12,000 corporate web pages on the Web, of which 2,000 were registered by Japanese companies.
In connection with the growing popularity of the Internet, many Japanese newspapers have developed their own interactive services, which are, on the one hand, electronic versions of traditional newspapers, and on the other, are independent carriers of information. Entering the 21st century, Japan heralded the beginning of a revolution in the field of information technology. On the initiative of Yoshiro Mori, who headed the Cabinet of Ministers of Japan, in July 2000, the IT Strategy Council (ITSC) was created, which included ministers, officials, specialists in various fields, as well as representatives of leading Japanese companies. The Prime Minister invited Sony Corporation President Nobuyuki to head the Council. Ideas, which stated that the Internet will help the Japanese economy enter a new era of ultra-fast development and economic expansion. The main keys to the rapid development of the Internet economy in Japan were to be massive investments in the infrastructure of high-speed Internet access and the adoption of laws to accelerate the development of e-commerce in the country. At its first meeting, the Council announced the adoption of a joint public-private five-year plan, according to which the government will commission a communications infrastructure to provide 30 million Japanese people with high-speed Internet access. In addition, 5 million residents of the country will be able to use high-speed Internet. One of the directions of state policy in the field of information society development was the formation in Japan of the so-called electronic government (e-government). The meaning of the e-governmen project is the more active use of information technologies for the organization and planning of state and regional policies. The Ministry of Public Administration, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications also have electronic communication with the government. The website www.e-gov.go.jp contains information on the activities of Japanese ministries and departments. Citizens of a country can also use the Internet to communicate with government agencies and in order to obtain the necessary administrative information. According to the outlined strategy, the Japanese are planning to make the Internet more accessible and, first of all, for home access. At the same time, it is important to increase the literacy of the population in using the Internet. Mobile phones with Internet access have revolutionized the nature of communication. Now there is an opportunity to get in touch from almost any place at any time, the possibilities and boundaries of information dissemination and access to information have expanded. The development of mobile telephony has given rise to several related businesses, one of which is the sale of mobile content, which is steadily gaining momentum in Russia today. Mobile banking, mobile marketing, mobile media, mobile casinos, mobile libraries are actively developing in this market.
Unlike internet sites for personal computer users, whose main revenue comes from advertising, the business model of a mobile site relies on subscription revenue. The subscription fee is collected by the telecommunication company-provider together with the payment for communication services, which is very convenient for the readers. Is mobile access technology widely popular in Japan? i-mode. Is the i-mode service used by both new analytical publications and the country's leading publications? through the Nikkei newspaper. The advancement and proliferation of new technologies has given rise to online business publications such as Jero. The leader in the production of mobile content in Japan today is the Asahi media concern, which, in particular, owns the largest mobile news site Asahi-Nikkan Sports based on Nikkan Sports, a sports newspaper owned by the named publishing group. Asahi has launched several sites for mobile phones. Their main concept is "News +". For example, the News website (a joint project of the Asahi media concern and the Japanese economic newspaper Nikkei) provides news and news quizzes. Another mobile site is called “Chiezo,” and visitors are encouraged to search through current Asahi newspaper articles as well as archives. The hottest news, information about accidents and disasters, about changes in the movement of transport (trains or planes), as well as about extraordinary events such as earthquakes, typhoons and snowfalls, are offered to the Japanese by the mobile site Asahi Lifeline News.
According to Shunji Itai, Deputy Director of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun Multimedia Editing Department, Japan is witnessing a movement of social evolution towards the creation of the so-called mobile information society. As for the question of whether newspapers will offer their information via mobile phones or not, S. Itai believes that this is no longer relevant. Today, another question is much more relevant: will newspapers be able to offer high-quality and useful content of such information? For example, the Japanese economic newspaper Nikkei created a service for publishing stock quotes and other financial information. With the proliferation of new technologies, the Japanese continue to be the most reading nation in the world. In Japan, you can often see many people reading something on their mobile phones on the subway or buses. This is how they turn “downtime” into “productive time” by gaining new information. Moreover, the bulk of the "readers" from mobile phones is represented by young people aged 20 to 30 years. Traditional newspapers on paper are still popular, first of all, among those who are 30 and over. In Tokyo and other cities in the country, "computer cafes" and "computer teahouses" are open, where the Japanese spend their free time, lunch break or evening after work. Here you can find the most interesting materials of Japanese newspapers and magazines via the Internet, find out the sales schedule in the nearest department stores, sports news, leaf through catalogs with the latest fashion collections, visit museums around the world, send a business message or get news from the stock exchange.
There are also specialized "electronic cafes" that provide their clients with specific information from the world of theater, music, photography. With solid government support, the Japanese information society is developing at a really fast pace.
Japan- a state located on islands in the Pacific Ocean to the east of North and South Korea, the Russian Federation and the Sea of Okhotsk. The area is 377,944 km². The population is over 127 million. Greater Tokyo, which consists of the country's capital and prefectures, is home to over 30 million.
The country has a very developed economy and ranks third in terms of GDP in the world. Japan has an extremely high standard of living. The average life expectancy is about 82 years.
According to the Constitution, the country is prohibited from creating an army and participating in wars. However, there are so-called self-defense forces in the country. Due to territorial disputes (Kuril Islands) between Japan and there is no peace treaty.
Japan is a technological and progressive country. This is where a lot of really interesting discoveries and breakthrough technologies are being developed. Many in the world are interested in the latest news from Japan. It was not always possible to find them quickly and efficiently. Quite a lot of uninteresting and uninformative articles are published. The appearance of our site made it possible to find news in Japan as quickly as possible. In this case, we suggest using a single source of information.
We compile and publish Japan breaking news today in real time. The news feed is updated at a tremendous speed and you can always find useful and interesting materials. Our site is available not only on a personal PC, but also on mobile devices. All news comes with interesting photos and videos. The quality of the material is at a high level. You can visit our site at any convenient time of the day.
Everything that is written in the newspapers is absolutely true, with the exception of those rare incidents that you happened to observe personally.
Erwin Knowle
Japanese printed newspapers look very different from the usual Western format, and the history of their development is quite interesting and unusual for a European. As is the case with many other countries, newspapers became the first media in Japan and pushed society to create new media for disseminating information. What way did the Japanese press go over several centuries of its development?
Edo period. Kawaraban
The history of newspapers began before our era. Then there was only their kind of print media, which disseminated social information and significantly differed from the modern concept of newspapers. The world's first newspaper is considered "Acta diurna populi romani" or "Daily affairs of the Roman people", which appeared in ancient Rome during the reign of Caesar (59 BC). She narrated about the events that took place in the city, and was a scrolls rewritten by hand. Such "leaflets" were hung out in the squares and could be delivered to politicians or noble townspeople.
The first paper newspaper appeared in China during the Tang Dynasty (713-734) and was called "Dibao", which translates as "News from the capital." It contained information about the most important events, and also set out the decrees of the emperor. The newspaper was first written by hand and then printed using a wooden board.
In Japan, during the Edo period (1603-1868), the so-called "kawaraban" ("tile leaflets"), one-page leaflets, spread. These newspaper prototypes were made using the principle of engraving, but the print quality was poor: the printing plates were made of clay, rather than wood, to speed up the process of preparing the newspaper. Kawaraban appeared in 1617 in the city of Osaka - it was with the help of leaflets that the townspeople could quickly learn about major political events and natural disasters. Contemporaries called them "yomiuri" (literally translated "read aloud for sale"), because hawkers read enticing excerpts from published news to attract buyers.
Kawaraban. Commodore Perry arrives in Japan
End of Edo - Beginning of the Meiji Period
The print press in the modern sense appeared in Japan in the 19th century, when foreigners who temporarily lived on the islands began to publish small English-language publications containing news from the life of Japanese society and from abroad.
In 1862, the first Japanese-language newspaper, Kanban Batabiya Shimbun, was published, a brochure that translated a Dutch magazine published in Java, Indonesia into Japanese. The translation, by the way, was carried out under the Japanese government - the shogunate. The newspaper itself was a book with sheets of Japanese paper, on which the text was printed in typographic type, and outwardly was quite different from the modern press.
In 1868-1869. There was a really serious need for print media: because of the Boshin war, disorder was happening in the country and people wanted to keep abreast of the course of the conflict, so newspaper companies appeared in every region of the country.
After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the new government was disturbed by the flood of public criticism of its actions - many anti-government newspapers appeared. As a counterbalance to these publications, the country's leadership began to publish its own newspaper called Dayokan Nissi (Council of the State Journal). The move fueled a new wave of outrage, and anti-government newspapers began to publish even more criticism of the country's leadership. As a result, a reaction followed: on April 28, 1868, the authorities issued a law "On the Press", which prohibited the publication of all anti-government newspapers for 10 months, and in February 1869, the government adopted a decree "On Printing and Publishing Newspapers," according to which the right published were only those newspapers that were checked and received permission to do so.
Nishiki-e Shimbun
With the onset of the Meiji era (1868-1912), the Nishiki-e Shimbun form appeared - a one-page flyer containing a news article, it became a popular urban souvenir. Initially, the newspaper was aimed at the layer of the educated intelligentsia and did not have furigana(i.e. the reading of hieroglyphs was not signed) and images, which made it inaccessible to the general population due to its complexity. This newspaper was already more like the modern and familiar print press and was more informative than its predecessors. The speed of delivering information, by the way, was minimal for newspapers and, depending on the material, the delay in informing could be from a couple of days to several months.
Most of these newspapers were published from 1874 to 1881, after which the format of the newspaper underwent some changes: woodcut illustrations of ukiyo-e were added to Nishiki-e, and the language of the articles became simpler. The content has also changed: gossip has become the main component of the content, which prompted the general public to start reading newspapers. In addition, the news text now had furigana, and it could be easily read even by people who hardly knew the hieroglyphs - this was another reason for the imminent popularity of the new style of newspapers. The first newspaper of the updated format - "Tokyo Threads-Threads Shimbun" - was published in 1874 and enjoyed great popularity due to its colorfulness and ease of perception.
No. 111 "Tokyo threads-threads shimbun". Two sumo fighters extinguish a fire
Taking Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun as an example, many publishers in different cities launched their publications, resulting in about 40 newspapers (for example, Yu: bin Ho: chi Shimbun, published by Yoshitoshi Tsukioka and others). Nishiki-e, like its original appearance, was popular not only as a newspaper, but also as a Tokyo souvenir. The new style of print newspapers became the starting point for accurate media, and its development led to the emergence of weekly photojournalism (shashin shu: kanshi) and television broadcasting.
Cosimbun and O: Shimbun
Some time after the appearance of the Nishiki-e Shimbun, newspapers began to be published in a slightly different style, which were called "kosimbun": similar in simplicity and content, but the illustration that accompanied the article was monochrome (ie, monochrome). The production of such pictures did not take much time, unlike the colorful color images of nishiki-e, therefore, the speed of delivery of information was many times faster with such newspapers. For this reason, a gradual suppression of the style with colorful engraving began, and after about 10 years, the nishiki-e form practically went out of circulation.
The change in format forced the employees to change their status: during the transition from one style to another, there were many cases when the nishiki-e artist became the kosimbun illustrator, and the author of literary prose became a journalist, author of articles. Publishers of Japanese prints became responsible for selling newspapers. It is worth noting that the first journalists of the first Japanese newspapers were ronin - former samurai who lost their political power and social status. They mainly served as the chief editor of the newspaper. Regular journalists were from the lower social class and received 30 yen a month for their work and 20 yen for travel expenses, while the editor received 500 yen.
Along with the kosimbun, "o: shimbun" appeared - newspapers mainly of a political orientation and a format larger than the kosimbun. Examples of about: shimbun are the newspapers Yokohama, Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun, Yu: bin Ho: chi Shimbun. A: Shimbun were printed for the intelligentsia and cost twice as much as kosimbun, such as Yomiuri and Kanayomi Shimbun, which were positioned more as publications for the common people and contained entertaining articles with illustrations.
In the future, the development paths of the two formats continued to diverge. With the emergence of political parties about: Simbun began to adhere to certain political directions; however, the parties themselves also published their own newspapers, such as the Dziyu party. In general, the format of o: shimbun remained practically unchanged, and this subsequently led to the need to merge entertainment and informational content.
During this time, the kosimbun expanded and allocated space in the newspaper for articles for a wide audience, trying to cover as many topics and areas that were of interest to readers and society as a whole. The first attempt to combine serious and entertaining content under one cover was made in 1886: "Yoo: bin Ho: chi Shimbun", in addition to political articles, began to publish an entertainment section, talk about incidents, and go on a gossip. In the same period, experiments with layout began: "Yomiuri" and "Mainichi" already published a newspaper since 1879, where articles were arranged in columns - a similar organization of articles further spread among other printed publications. A: The Shimbun, which still maintained the same style and direction of publication, fell into decay, and as a result, A: The Shimbun and Kosimbun merged, ceasing to exist separately.
20:43 - REGNUM According to Japanese media reports, in early October in the capital of Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar, a meeting of high-ranking representatives of the intelligence communities of Japan and the DPRK was held to prepare the Japanese-North Korean summit. Talks about the desire of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to hold talks with DPRK leader Kim Jong-un began after the successful start of inter-Korean high-level contacts and the meeting of US President Donald Trump with Kim in Singapore. Apparently, not wanting to stay away from the process of normalization in Northeast Asia and to be on the sidelines in it, Abe seeks to demonstrate his personal participation in the process of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. At the same time, he must fulfill his obligation to obtain from Pyongyang the return or at least a clear explanation of the fate of the Japanese kidnapped by the North Korean special services in the 70s and 80s of the last century.
The Japanese government insists that 17 Japanese citizens of both sexes were kidnapped and secretly taken to the DPRK by the North Korean secret services against their will. Five of them in 2002, during a trip to Pyongyang to meet with Kim Jong Il, then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, were allowed to return to their homeland for a while. The fate of the others was not known until the North Korean authorities announced that they were all dead. However, an examination of the remains sent at the request of relatives in Japan showed that they belonged to other deceased.
Quote from a / f "Megumi"
According to the available information, at the request of the Prime Minister of Japan, Donald Trump, in a conversation with Kim Jong-un, raised the topic of the abducted, to which he received a promise to once again consider all the circumstances of the case. It is also known that the North Korean side unofficially informed the Japanese that among these 17 people was Minoru Tanaka, who actually entered the DPRK. However, according to the Japanese English-language newspaper Japan Taimy, the Japanese government does not disclose information about Tanaka's entry into the DPRK, as well as about the meeting of intelligence representatives of the two countries that took place in Mongolia.
However, Japan's leading news agency Kyodo said Japan was represented in confidential negotiations by Shigeru Kitamura, who heads the intelligence and research service of the Japanese cabinet. He is characterized as a confidant of Abe, a person who directly reports to the Prime Minister the results of the collection and analysis of information obtained on domestic and international issues.
The North Korean side was represented in Ulaanbaatar by a high-ranking official from the leadership of the United Front, headed by Kim Yong Chol, who is also the deputy chairman of the Korean Workers' Party and Kim Jong-un's confidant. According to The Japan Times, the preparation of the meeting of the leaders of the two countries was entrusted not to the Foreign Ministry of Japan and the DPRK, but to intelligence agencies, by analogy with how the CIA ensured the organization and holding of Trump's meeting with Kim in June this year in Singapore.
Twitter: @realDonaldTrump
In connection with Kim's talks in China, his meetings with the South Korean president, an agreement was reached on the visit of the North Korean leader to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Abe remains the only participant in the previous six-party talks on the Korean problem who has never had any contacts with the North Korean leadership.
For successful negotiations with Kim Jong-un, the Japanese prime minister is going to discuss North Korean issues with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during his official visit to Beijing on October 25. Abe also said that he had a "constructive" conversation with Trump on this topic last month in New York.
Tokyo
Contemporary Japanese media
Literature
1. Kamionko V.F. Masukomi. Traditions and modernity of Japanese mass communication. - Khabarovsk, 1991.
2. Kamionko V.F. Robots and samurai. Radio and television in modern Japan. - M., 1989.
3. Katasonova E.L. Japanese corporations. Culture, charity, business. - M., 1992.
4. Lazarev A.M., Polyakova N.A., Smirnov B.V. Japan's press, radio and television. - M., 1974.
5. Firsov B.M. Mass media of Japan in the context of the dissemination of culture and information // Japan: culture and society in the era of scientific and technological revolution. - M., 1985.
The main questions that are covered in the lecture:
Japanese Printing: National and Local Editions;
The structure of Japanese broadcasting and television.
A) Seal of Japan
Historically, two types of newspapers have developed in Japan: national newspapers and local newspapers, which in turn are divided into regional and prefectural publications.
National newspapers
National publications include Asahi, Yomiurn, Mainichi, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, and Sankei. The main editorial offices of these newspapers are located in Tokyo, but they are printed not only in the capital, but also in other cities, such as Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo.
Asahi Shimbun (Rising Sun) is one of the oldest in the country. Its first issue was published in Osaka on January 25, 1879. At that time, Japanese newspapers, depending on their circulation, were divided into two categories: large and small. The large newspapers specialized in covering and commenting on political issues, while the smaller newspapers usually printed stories and daily chronicles. Initially, Asahi belonged to the second category, but soon acquired the characteristic features of newspapers of both categories, which allowed it to expand its readership.
The Asahi offices in Tokyo, Osaka, Kitakyushu and Nagoya are considered headquarters. Currently, the Asahi newspaper concern covers all of Japan. The newspaper has numerous bureaus and representative offices abroad.
"Yomiuri Shimbun". A little less than 130 years ago in Tokyo, a small leaflet with reports on the most interesting events of the day and essays on social and everyday topics began to be published in print. The leaflet was printed using clay clichés and distributed on the streets of the city as follows: the seller loudly read the headlines and individual interesting paragraphs and sold the newspaper to those who were able to interest. Such people began to be called "yomiuri" - "reads and sells." The newspaper received the same name. Its publication was initiated by members of the Tokyo Literary Society. The Yomiuri became the nationwide newspaper during the Second World War. Using personal connections in militarist circles and the police department, the owner of the newspaper Matsutaro Seriki was able to defend his newspaper under the military regime. At present, Yomiuri is one of the most influential newspapers with a circulation of 3 million.
"Mainichi Shimbun" ("Daily Newspaper"), together with "Asahi" and "Yomiuri" in the big three newspaper world in Japan and is one of the oldest in the country. In 1876, Osaka Nippo began to appear in Osaka (since 1888, Osaka Mainichi). In 1889, Osamu Watanabe, the owner of Osaka Mai-nichi, reorganized the newspaper into a joint stock company that produced the Mainichi Shimbun. The company had close ties with the ruling elite of Japan. The shareholders of Mainichi were businessmen from Tokyo and Osaka, in contrast to Asahi, whose shareholders were overwhelmingly employed by the newspaper.
Nihon Keizai Shimbun (abbreviated as "Nnkken" - "Japanese Economic Newspaper") is another representative of the largest national Japanese newspapers. For the first time "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" was published on December 2, 1876 in Tokyo under the name "Chugai Bukka Shimpo" ("Bulletin of internal and external prices of goods"). The newspaper was founded by a private person. This trade information bulletin was published once a week and was in great demand, as it was the only specialized economic newspaper in Japan at that time. From July 1885, the newspaper began to appear daily. In 1912 it was transformed into a joint stock company. Since 1946, it has already been published under the name Nihon Keizai Shimbun. In terms of circulation, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun is inferior to three of the country's leading newspaper companies. Its circulation is approximately 1 million copies. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun is popular among readers with a high social status and high educational level. It is issued by all Japanese government agencies and most large private entrepreneurs.
The Sankei Shimbun (Industrial Economic Newspaper) is the second most important economic newspaper in Japan. It is published daily in Tokyo and Osaka by the Sankei Shimbunsha Company. The newspaper began to appear in Osaka in 1933 under the name Nihon Koge Shimbun (Japanese Industrial Newspaper). In 1950, the newspaper's publishing center moved from Osaka to Tokyo. Today, many major cities in Japan have newspaper offices.
Local publications
Local publications, as already noted, are subdivided into regional and prefectural.
Regional newspapers fill the gap between national and prefectural publications. They spread their influence over several prefectures. Before World War II, Japan had a system of "one prefecture - one newspaper", which was abolished after the end of hostilities. However, some of the combined companies remained. Using a rather powerful production base, they sought to extend their influence to neighboring prefectures, and, on occasion, to absorb or subordinate the publishing house to their influence in another region of the country. This is how three regional newspapers appeared. One of them, the Hokkaido Shimbun, was founded on November 1, 1942 by the owners of II local newspapers published in Hokkaido. The other, Chunichi Shimbun, came into existence on September 1, 1942, through the merger of Shi Aichi Shimbunsha and Nagoya Shimbunsha. And finally, the Nishi Nippon Shimbun came into being after the merger of the editorial offices and printing houses of several newspapers on the island of Kyushu on April 17, 1943.
In the prefectures, newspapers were published on the initiative of local municipal authorities with financial support from the region's commercial and industrial circles. Local newspapers in the middle of the 20th century did not cooperate with national ones at all. They received all international information not from the capital, but from the American news agencies United Press International (UPI) and Associated Press (AP). The influence of these agencies on the information business in Japan was so great that they virtually monopolized all information coming to the Japanese province. It got to the point that due to the competition of news agencies among themselves, the local press in Japan was divided into UPI-kei and AP-kei, i.e. newspapers of the UPI clan and the AP clan. Very often newspapers belonging to different clans were published in the same prefectures. This was the case, for example, in Fukuoka, where Kyushu Nippo (AP-kei) and Fukuoka Nichinichi (UPI-kei) were published.
It should also be noted that all of Japan at that time was divided into the spheres of influence of newspapers. In eastern Japan, Hokkaido and southern Sakhalin, Tokyo Group newspapers dominated. The Osaka press extended its influence to western Japan, Kyushu, Shikoku, Korea, and Taiwan. If When comparing the content of newspapers published in Ura Nippon ("Back Japan" - West Coast prefectures) and Omete Nippon ("Front Japan" - East Coast prefectures), some differences are noticeable. The economy of the prefectures of the Pacific coast is much more developed than the economy of the prefectures facing the Sea of Japan. Therefore, the Omote Nippon newspapers, more than the West Coast newspapers, paid attention to environmental problems, and the press organs of Ura Nippon, in turn, devoted a lot of space on their pages to articles about the need for further development of these areas.
Today, the majority of local newspapers are published at the prefectural level, although, as a rule, the editorial offices of these newspapers have a fairly developed correspondent network in neighboring prefectures, and some also throughout the country. Local newspapers publish news (and, very importantly, advertisements) related to their prefectures much more completely and more quickly than national or regional publications do. It is because of this that the local press competes with national publications.
Examples of local newspapers are Akita Sakigake Shimpo, the first newspaper in Akita City, published in February 1874; Chugoku Shimbun - started in Hiroshima in 1892.
Sometimes newspapers based in Tokyo and Osaka, such as "Hochi", "Osaka Shimbun", are singled out into a separate group. These newspapers are sometimes called central, because they are published in large, capital cities. Their page layout and content is similar to the layout and content of national and regional newspapers.
In addition to general-purpose newspapers, there are specialized publications (sports newspapers, agricultural newspapers, newspapers for fishermen, for workers in the metallurgical industry, etc., including newspapers of large industrial companies and concerns that are published in fairly large circulation).
In Japanese newspaper statistics, the concept of "joint morning-evening edition" (setto) very often appears. The need for such issues is explained by the fact that they are designed for the periphery - small towns and villages. The usual morning edition of newspapers falls into the hands of readers in these places only at noon, and the evening edition - late at night. In this regard, peripheral readers usually subscribe to a joint morning-evening issue, which is published in the printing house at about 2 pm and after 2-3 hours reaches the most remote corners. This joint issue contains news from both the morning and evening newspapers.
B) Broadcasting and television in Japan
Broadcasting
The Japanese broadcasting system includes the public Japanese broadcasting corporation (Nihon Hoso Kekai - Nibon Hoso yokai, or NHK for short) and commercial companies.Public hanging - "NHK".
For the first time in Japan, the Tokyo Broadcasting Station Corporation began broadcasting on March 22, 1925. This corporation was a government-backed public organization and was financially dependent solely on paying listeners for the use of radios. In the same year, similar stations appeared in Osaka (June) and Nagoya (July). All three stations operated independently of each other. In October 1925, the Nagoya station carried out the first field reportage in the history of Japanese radio broadcasting from the scene: reporting on a military parade.
In August 1926, the Ministry of Communications merged the three stations, and the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation NHK was born. In 1928, her radio stations went into operation in Sapporo, Kumamoto, Sendai and Hiroshima. This laid the foundation for the first common Japanese radio network, NHK, in April 1931, a second radio network was created, and in March 1969, a frequency modulation (FM) radio network. The content of the programs of the three radio networks is different from each other. If the first broadcasts mainly general-purpose programs, the second - educational programs, then the radio network on frequency modulation (FM) - mainly music. In June 1935. the Corporation's international broadcasting service, Radio Japan, began broadcasting to Canada, the United States and Hawaii.
Initially, the activities of the new electronic media were strictly controlled by the Japanese government. With the outbreak of the Pacific War in December 1941, government control over the content of the corporation's programs increased dramatically. For this purpose, a government-owned Society for Radio Programs was created. The content of the programs was mainly reduced to aggressive militaristic propaganda, criticism of the Anglo-American way of life and calls for the intensification of production in industry and agriculture.
In August 1948, a five-year plan for the development of the radio network was adopted. The number of radio listeners began to grow. In 1948 alone, it increased by 7.6 million people1.
In June 1950, the Japanese parliament passed the "Broadcasting Law", which rebuilt the entire radio transmission system that existed until that time. This law, which is still in force, clearly defined the structure of NHK. The Board of Directors became the supreme administrative body of NHK, endowed with full power. Its composition was determined: to this day, the Board of Directors consists of 12 members, appointed by the Prime Minister with the consent of both houses of parliament. All of Japan is territorially divided into eight regions. Eight members of the Board of Directors represent the interests of each region. The four members of the Council are elected from people of authority in matters of culture, education, science and economics. The Board of Directors meets approximately once a month. In between, the corporation is led by the president of NHK. The President is appointed by the Board of Directors for a three-year term.
NHK has a local radio program board at each of the eight regional radio stations, and Tokyo also has a Central Radio Program Board, which is composed of experienced and highly qualified staff. Meeting once a month, these councils work out proposals for the President of NHK on the content of radio programs for the next period of time. The councils also participate in the preparation of the annual broadcasting plans.
Commercial broadcasting.
Already during the development and preliminary discussion of the new draft law on broadcasting, the Ministry of Communications received applications for the creation of private broadcasting companies. Soon, on September 1, 1951, two commercial radio stations in Nagoya and Osaka went on the air with their programs. By April 1952, in addition to NHK, ten private companies were operating in the country, and the Private Commercial Broadcasting Association was established2.Thus, September 1951 is a kind of milestone at which Japan's radio broadcasting was divided into public broadcasting, carried out by NHK, and commercial.
Commercial radio companies in May 1965 merged into two general Japanese networks. One of them, the Japan Radio Network (Japan RadioWork - JRN), was formed by 30 companies united around the Tokyo Hoso company (Tokyo Broadcasting System - TBS). The other is the National Radio Network (National Radioetwork - EPRN). was formed from 31 companies grouped around Buika Hoso (Nippon Calcheral Broadcasting - NBC) and Nippon Hoso.
TV
The first successful experimental television broadcast in Japan took place in May 1939 in Tokyo. The image was transmitted from the Japan Broadcasting Corporation's technical research laboratory to its headquarters. World War II interrupted this work. Immediately after its completion, attempts were made to introduce television into the life of Japan. On October 15, 1945, the Telecommunications Institute received permission to conduct a test broadcast. But at that time it was not possible to achieve success. It was only in November 1949 that the NHK technical research laboratory again returned to attempts to conduct an experimental television transmission.
Public Service Broadcasting - NHK.
February 1, 1953 was the birthday of Japanese television. From that day on, NHK's regular broadcasts began.
In September 1960, NHK began broadcasting in color, and in April 1968, Tokyo's last television station, Tokyo 12 Tianneru (Tokyo Channel 12), included color in its program.
The television network is of particular importance to NHK, as it is financially dependent only on TV viewers' fees for watching NHK programs (radio fees have been canceled). Under the Broadcasting Law, the corporation contracts and collects fees from television owners throughout the country. Only NHK charges such a fee. Viewing the programs of commercial TV companies is free, as their income is based on advertising fees, and NHK is prohibited from advertising by the Broadcasting Law.
Broadcasting NHK consists of two main programs - general and educational television broadcasting. The report on the activities of the corporation for 2002 gives an idea of the content and proportional relationship of programs. General television broadcasting (totally 168 hours a week): news - 40.5%, culture - 24.7%, entertainment programs - 23.7%, education - 11.1%. Educational TV broadcasting (total 165 hours S3 minutes per week): education - 81.1%, culture - 16.3%, news - 2.6%. Along with this, NHK broadcasts three digital television channels.
Commercial television companies.
In August 1953, the first commercial studio, Nihon Terebi Hoso (Nippon Television - NTW), began its work, the main shareholder of which is the newspaper Yomiuri. In the following years, other commercial companies, such as Nihon Terebi, TBS, and in 1959, Terebi Asahi and Fuji Terebi, began television broadcasts one after another. In 1960, there were already 43 private commercial companies with 61 television stations broadcasting regularly3.
Japan does not have such extensive commercial television and radio networks as, for example, the United States. While NHK has a network of television stations that covers the entire country, commercial companies have only a few local studios with a very small radius of operation. Up to a dozen TV stations operate in Tokyo, and in each prefecture there are one or two stations. Since the beginning of the commercial television entrepreneurship period, Tokyo's Nippoi Television (NTV) and Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) have competed to attract more local television stations into their network. Then Nihon Education Television (NET, or NI-Ti) and Fuji Tzrebi joined the race.
A characteristic feature of private commercial television and radio broadcasting in Japan is its division into zones, that is, the association of companies in television and radio broadcasting zones headed by leading centers while maintaining the financial independence of individual participants. Leading TV and radio centers, as a rule, provide zone participants with broadcast programs (at the current tariff), achieving synchronous broadcasting of broadcasts within the range of stations and repeaters.
By the mid-1980s, four main television zones and the same number of radio broadcasting zones were operating in Japan, which united the predominant number of private companies. Only a few of them have retained their relative independence. Leadership in the television zones belonged to Nwhon Terebi (NNN zone), Tokyo Hoso (JNN), Fuji Terebi (EfNN), who headed the associations 25 and more companies. Toko Hoso headed the J-A-N radio zone; "Nippoi Hoso" - "En-A-En" zone; the leading center of the VHF broadcasting zone is "Tokyo EF-Em Hoso". A significant number of companies are members of two or more zones.
Commercial satellite companies include Sky Perfect TV with over 2 million subscribers. Today it broadcasts on 170 channels and since October 1, 2000 is the only satellite company broadcasting in Japan (before that there was Direct TV).
The presented material mainly characterizes the general structure of the Japanese mass media system. However, in a country with stable long-standing traditions, the media undoubtedly have specific national characteristics that differ from the media in other states. In particular, the researchers point to the content uniformity of national publications. "Asahi", "Mainichi", "Yomiuri" practically do not differ from each other in their profile and political orientation4.The reason for this is the desire of each of the publications to satisfy the interests of all categories of readers. It is these newspapers of high-quality information that are the most circulated in Japan, in contrast to other countries where the mass press is in the lead in the circulation ranking. The high level of education of the Japanese determines their level of inquiries and to some extent affects the fact that national newspapers in that country have a large number of subscribers (6-8 million). At the same time, the uniformity of a number of Japanese publications has led to the fact that fewer newspapers with a large circulation are published in Japan in proportion to other countries, for example, neighboring China.
Lazarev A.M., Polyakova N.A., Smirnov B.V. Japan's press, radio and television. - M., 1974.S. 84.
Kamionko V.F. Masukomi. Traditions and modernity of Japanese mass communication. - Khabarovsk, 1991.S. 17.
Kamionko V.F. Robots and samurai. Radio and television of modern Japan. - M., 1989.S. 74.
See: O.M. Silantyeva Features of the Japanese mass media in the context of national traditions // www.obcom.ru/vjk/statyi/japan-smi.htm
