| Newspaper Name: |
朝日新聞 |
| Newspaper name in English: |
The Morning News |
| Owner: |
The Asahi Shimbun Company |
| Country / Region: |
Japan (Osaka) |
| Language: |
Japanese |
| Format type: |
Newspaper |
| Category: |
General |
| Political alignment: |
Left |
| Frequency: |
Daily |
| Publication Years (print version): |
1879 — now (144 years) |
| Circulation: |
7,960,000 (2015) |
| Website: |
asahi.com [read with translation] |
|
The second most popular daily national newspaper in Japan today, published by «The Asahi Shimbun Company» since January 25, 1879, is a joint business of the Murayamo and Ueno families of Japan. Initially, it was a small 4-page newspaper that was distributed in Osaka with a circulation of 3 thousand copies with financial support from the government and the Mitsui family. With the support of the Murayamo and Ueno families, the newspaper went national in 1888. To do this, it absorbed several other small-circulation newspapers: «Jiyū no Tomoshibi», «Tomoshibi Shimbun», «Mesamashi Shimbun», and opened a representative office in Tokyo, where a special version of the «Tokyo Asahi Shimbun» newspaper was published. Financially, they were separate companies, and it wasn't until 1908 that they merged to form «Asahi Shimbun Gōshi Kaisha», with their editorial offices still separate.
Since the 1930s, the newspaper has supported the military government led by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe and criticized capitalism. On April 9, 1937, the newspaper sponsored the ambitious Kamikaze aviation project, in which the Mitsubishi Ki-15 Karigane was supposed to make a direct flight from Japan to London (it took 51 hours and 17 minutes). It was the first Japanese aircraft to fly to Europe.
On September 1, 1940, a landmark event for the newspaper took place, the «Osaka Asahi Shimbun» and «Tokyo Asahi Shimbun» completely merged and were now published as one newspaper with the name «Asahi Shimbun». Literally translated into English, this name means «Dawn News» or «Morning News». In 1946, the editorial board adapted and began to use the syllabic alphabet of Kahn for printing. In 1949, the newspaper began to regularly publish manga comics «Sazae-san» by Machiko Hasegawa, the main character of which was Sazae Isono. From 1954 to 1971, the editorial board published an annual newsletter in English, «This is Japan». Since 1929, the newspaper has annually awarded the prize «朝日賞» (Asahi Shō) to cultural and artistic workers (writers, poets, artists) and scientists.
Until 1975, it maintained its leadership as the most widely circulated newspaper in Japan. In 1975, it was surpassed by «
読売新聞» and since that time it has taken only the second place.
