Japan is one of the world’s most literate societies. Its national newspapers are the most read newspapers in the world, and the country also has a very vibrant local newspaper sector. This book assesses the vital role local newspapers play in the development of local communities, as well as examining their development, industry structure and production conventions. The author employs the key term, ‘revitalization journalism’, to explore in detail the many techniques and conventions that local newspapers employ to engage with, and make an impact in, their specific host regions. The book concludes by comparing Japanese local newspapers to the current state of newspapers worldwide, and assessing how Japanese local newspapers are likely to develop in future.

In Japan, the kisha-clubs are the focal point between the authorities and the media - they are not the counterpart of the leisurely, informal nature of western press clubs of which the free access to information is of the essence.

Japan is one of the most media-saturated societies in the world. The circulations of its "big five" national newspapers dwarf those of any major American newspaper. Its public service broadcasting agency, NHK, is second only to the BBC in size. And it has a full range of commercial television stations, high-brow and low-brow magazines, and a large anti-mainstream media and mini-media. Japanese elites rate the mass media as the most influential group in Japanese society. But what role do they play in political life? Whose interests do the media serve? Are the media mainly servants of the state, or are they watchdogs on behalf of the public? And what effects do the media have on the political beliefs and behavior of ordinary Japanese people? These questions are the focus of this collection of essays by leading political scientists, sociologists, social psychologists, and journalists. Japan's unique kisha (press) club system, its powerful media business organizations, the uses of the media by Japan's wily bureaucrats, and the role of the media in everything from political scandals to shaping public opinion, are among the many subjects of this insightful and provocative book.

2019 26th fifth This book summarizes a carefully selected set of basic data to give readers an overview of the information media environment in Japan. Commentaries are provided for data in the following eight fields: Print, Broadcasting, Telecommunications, Films and Videos, Pop Culture, Games, Online Services and Advertising, including 70 charts and graphs. This is the digest version in English of “A Research for the Information and Media Society of Japan” edited by Dentsu Media Innovation Lab . * The original Japanese edition, which offers a wide range of data sets and in-depth commentaries for key industries, has served as a very good reference book for all those interested in grasping the landscapes of information and media industries in Japan. Published every year, the latest 2019 edition marks the 26th publication. The English edition is reorganized from the Japanese and has been released for the fifth time as an e-book, with the first release being in 2014. * Dentsu Media Innovation Lab is the think-tank department of Japan’s largest advertising agency, Dentsu Inc. Media Innovation Lab conducts original and proprietary studies on a variety of fields related to media, publishes key findings and insights, and offers advisory and consulting services to the clients involved in the information and media industries.

This book summarizes a carefully selected set of basic data to give readers an overview of the information media environment in Japan. Commentaries are provided for data in the following eight fields: Print, Broadcasting, Telecommunications, Films and Videos, Pop Culture, Games, Online Services and Advertising, including 70 charts and graphs. This is the digest version in English of “A Research for the Information and Media Society of Japan” edited by Dentsu Media Innovation Lab .* The original Japanese edition, which offers a wide range of data sets and in-depth commentaries for key industries, has served as a very good reference book for all those interested in grasping the landscapes of information and media industries in Japan. Published every year, the latest 2018 edition marks the 25th publication. The English edition is reorganized from the Japanese and has been released for the fourth time as an e-book, with the first release being in 2014. * Dentsu Media Innovation Lab is the think-tank department of Japan’s largest advertising agency, Dentsu Inc. Media Innovation Lab conducts original and proprietary studies on a variety of fields related to media, publishes key findings and insights, and offers advisory and consulting services to the clients involved in the information and media industries.

This reader introduces Japanese journalism and print media in Japan, focusing on Japanese newspapers and the journalism that produces it. The chapters present research that has either focused on journalistic practice and product as research topic or has used journalism and newspapers as an information source in social science research. In this sense, the contents both describe and evaluate Japanese journalism and its newspapers, while also highlighting the contribution such research has made to the field of Japanese Studies. At a broader level, the contents offer exploratory viewpoints, outline methodological approaches, and present empirical case studies, highlighting not only how journalistic practice and the news it produces constitute a meaningful research area, but also how use of journalism and the newspaper as source can contribute to research across a range of diverse themes.

This collection of writings from Lafcaido Hern paints a rare and fascinating picture of pre-modern Japan Over a century after his death, author, translator, and educator Lafcaido Hearn remains one of the best-known Westerners ever to make Japan his home. Almost more Japanese than the Japanese--"to think with their thoughts" was his aim--his prolific writings on things Japanese were instrumental in introducing Japanese culture to the West. In this masterful anthology, Donald Richie shows that Hearn was first and foremost a reliable and enthusiastic observer, who faithfully recorded a detailed account of the people, customs, and culture of late nineteen-century Japan. Opening and closing with excerpts from Hearn's final books, Richie's astute selection from among "over 4,000 printed pages" not including correspondence and other writing, also reveals Hearn's later, more sober and reflective attitudes to the things that he observed and wrote about. Part One, "The Land," chronicles Hearn's early years when he wrote primarily about the appearance of his adopted home. Part Two, "The People," records the author's later years when he came to terms with the Japanese themselves. In this anthology, Richie, more gifted in capturing the essence of a person on the page than any other foreign writer living in Japan, has picked out the best of Hearn's evocations. Select writings include: The Chief City of the Province of the Gods Three Popular Ballads In the Cave of the Children's Ghosts Bits of Life and Death A Street Singer Kimiko On A Bridge