Mainichi Shimbun

(Redirected fromMantan Web)

TheMainichi Shimbun(Mỗi nhật tân văn,lit.'Daily Newspaper')is one of the majornewspapers in Japan,published byThe Mainichi Newspapers Co.[5][6]

Mainichi Shimbun
Front page ofMainichi Shimbunfrom September 8, 2013
TypeDailynewspaper
FormatBlanket (54.6 cm x 40.65 cm)
Owner(s)The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd.
PublisherMasato Kitamura
FoundedFebruary 21, 1872;152 years ago(1872-02-21)
(as theTokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun)
Political alignmentCentre[1]tocentre-left[2]
Liberalism(Japanese)[3]
LanguageJapanese
HeadquartersChiyoda, Tokyo
Osaka
Nagoya
Kitakyushu
CirculationMorning edition: 1,950,000 (2022)[4]
Evening edition: 622,000 (2022)[4]
Websitewww.mainichi.co.jp

In addition to theMainichi Shimbun,which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates anEnglish-languagenews website calledThe Mainichi[7](previouslyMainichi Daily News,abbreviated MDN), and publishes a bilingual news magazine,Mainichi Weekly.It also publishes paperbacks, books and other magazines, including a weekly news magazine,Sunday Mainichi.

It is one of the four national newspapers in Japan; the other three areThe Asahi Shimbun,theYomiuri Shimbunand theNihon Keizai Shimbun.TheSankei Shimbunand theChunichi Shimbunare not currently in the position of a national newspaper despite a large circulation for both.

History

edit
First issue ofTokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbunpublished on February 21, 1872

The history of theMainichi Shimbunbegan with the founding of two papers during theMeiji period.TheTokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbunwas founded first, in 1872. TheMainichiclaims that it is the oldest existing Japanese daily newspaper[citation needed]with its 136-year history. TheOsakaMainichi Shimbunwas founded four years later, in 1876. The two papers merged in 1911, but the two companies continued to print their newspapers independently until 1943, when both editions were placed under aMainichi Shimbunmasthead.In 1966, theTokyooffice was moved from Yurakucho to Takebashi, and in 1992, theOsakaoffice was moved from Dojima to Nishi-Umeda.

The Mainichi has 3,200 employees working in 364 offices in Japan and 26 bureaus overseas. It is one of Japan's three largest newspapers in terms of circulation and number of employees, and has 79 associated companies,[8]includingTokyo Broadcasting System(TBS),Mainichi Broadcasting System(MBS) and theSports Nippon Newspaper.[9](despite affiliation, the Mainichi does not have majority ownership in TBS nor in MBS)

The Mainichi is the only Japanese newspaper company to have won aPulitzer Prize,for the 1960 photograph "Tokyo Stabbing", which captured the 1960assassination of Inejirō Asanuma,chairman of theJapan Socialist Party.The Japan Newspapers Association, made up of 180 news organizations, has granted the Mainichi its Grand Prix award on 21 occasions, making the Mainichi the most frequent winner of the prize since its inception in 1957.

Partnership with MSN

edit

On 15 January 2004, Mainichi Shimbun andMSN Japanannounced they were to merge their websites. The partnership has been known asMSN-Mainichi Interactive[ja],effective since 1 April 2004.[10]On 18 September 2007, Mainichi announced the launch of their new website, mainichi.jp, which would include "heavy use of social bookmarking, RSS and blog parts" and would "pay attention tobloggers".The new website began operations on 1 October 2007, marking the end of MSN-Mainichi Interactive, being replaced by mainichi.jp. The English-languageMainichi Daily Newsalso moved to the new website.[11]MSN-Japan switched toSankei Shimbun.[12]

Sino-Japanese War coverage controversy

edit
Mukai atSugamo Prisonafter his arrest by theU.S. Army
Noda at Sugamo Prison after his arrest by the U.S. Army

In 1937, theOsaka Mainichi Shimbunand its sister newspaper, theTokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun,covered a contest between twoJapaneseofficers, Toshiaki Mukai(Hướng tỉnh mẫn minh)and Tsuyoshi Noda(Dã điền nghị),in which the two men were described as vying with one another to be the first to kill 100 people with a sword. The competition supposedly took place en route toNanjingprior to the infamousNanjing Massacre,and was covered in four articles from 30 November 1937, to 13 December 1937; the last two being translated in theJapan Advertiser.

Both officers supposedly surpassed their goal during the heat of battle, making it difficult to determine which officer had actually won the contest. Therefore, according to the journalists Asami Kazuo and Suzuki Jiro, writing in theTokyo Nichi-Nichi Shimbunof 13 December, they decided to begin another contest with the goal of 150 kills.[13]TheNichi Nichiheadline of the story of 13 December read"'Incredible Record' [in the Contest to]Behead100 People—Mukai 106 – 105 Noda—Both 2nd Lieutenants Go Into Extra Innings ".

Other soldiers and historians have noted the improbability of the lieutenants' alleged heroics, which entailed killing enemy after enemy in fierce hand-to-hand combat.[14]Noda himself, on returning to his hometown, admitted this during a speech that "I killed only four or five with sword in the real combat... After we captured an enemy trench, we'd tell them, 'Ni Lai Lai.'[note 1]The Chinese soldiers were stupid enough to come out the trench toward us one after another. We'd line them up and cut them down from one end to the other. "[15]

WaiWaicontroversy and cancellation

edit

TheMainichi Daily Newscolumn WaiWai, byAustralianjournalist Ryann Connell, featured often-sensationalist stories, principally translated from and based on articles appearing in Japanese tabloids. The column carried a disclaimer since September 19, 2002: "WaiWai stories are transcriptions of articles that originally appeared in Japanese language publications.[16]TheMainichi Daily Newscannot be held responsible for the content of the original articles, nor does it guarantee their accuracy. Views expressed in the WaiWai column are not necessarily those held by theMainichi Daily Newsor the Mainichi Newspapers Co. "[17]Nevertheless,WaiWaicontent was reported as fact in blogs and reputable foreign media sources.[18]

In April and May 2008, an aggressive anti-WaiWaicampaign appeared on internet forums including2channel.[19]Criticism included "contents are too vulgar" and "the stories could cause Japanese people to be misunderstood abroad."[20][21]Critics had accused the WaiWai column of propagating a racist stereotype of Japanese women as sexual deviants with its sensationalist stories about incest, bestiality and debauchery.[18][21]On June 20, a news site J-CAST reported on this issue.[22]The Mainichi editorial board responded by deleting controversial WaiWai articles and limiting archive access, but the column remained in theSunday Mainichi.[23]Citing continuing criticism,[24]Mainichi's Digital Media Division shut downWaiWaion June 21.[23]Mainichi also announced it would "severely punish the head of the Digital Media Division, which is responsible for overseeing the site, the manager responsible for the column and the editor involved with the stories."[25][26]On June 25, Mainichi apologized to MDN readers.[27]Some advertisers responded to the campaign by pulling ads fromMainichi's Japanese site.[28][29]

On June 28, 2008, Mainichi announced punitive measures.[20]Connell, who remained anonymous in the announcement, was suspended for three months ( "issuing three months' disciplinary leave" ).[30]Other involved personnel were either docked 10%–20% salary or "stripped of their titles" for a period of one or two months.

On July 20, 2008, Mainichi released the results of an in-house investigation. Mainichi announced that it would re-organize the MDN Editorial Department on August 1 with a new chief editor, and re-launch the MDN on September 1 as a more news-oriented site.[31]Mainichi said, "We continued to post articles that contained incorrect information about Japan and indecent sexual content. These articles, many of which were not checked, should not have been dispatched to Japan or the world. We apologize deeply for causing many people trouble and for betraying the public's trust in the Mainichi Shimbun."[31]

Offices

edit
Palaceside Building, the headquarters ofMainichi Shimbunin Tokyo
Newsroom atMainichi Shimbun
  • Tokyo Head Office(Đông kinh bổn xã,Tōkyō Honsha),corporate headquarters
1-1-1, Hitotsubashi,Chiyoda,Tokyo
  • Osaka Head Office(Đại phản bổn xã,Ōsaka Honsha)
3-4-5,Umeda,Kita-ku,Osaka
  • Chubu Head Office(Trung bộ bổn xã,Chūbu Honsha)
Midland Square,4-7-1,Meieki,Nakamura-ku,Nagoya
  • Seibu Head Office(Tây bộ bổn xã,Seibu Honsha)
13-1, Konya-machi,Kokura Kita-ku,Kitakyushu
1314 W. McDermott Dr, Allen (Dallas) Texas USA (Central Region)

Sponsorship

edit

Like other Japanese newspaper companies, Mainichi hosts many cultural events such as art exhibitions and sporting events. Among them, the most famous are theSenbatsu High School baseball tournamentheld every spring atKoshien Stadium,and thenon-professional baseball tournamentsheld every summer in theTokyo Dome(formerly held inKorakuen Stadium) and the end of the fall in theOsaka Dome.

The company sponsors a number of prominent annualroad runningcompetitions in Japan, including theLake Biwa Marathonand theBeppu-Ōita Marathon.

See also

edit

Notes

edit
  1. ^"Ni Lai Lai" (Chinese:Nhĩ lai lai) can be translated as "you, come, come".

References

edit
  1. ^"Relief in Japan After Shinzo Abe's Visit With Trump".The New York Times.February 13, 2017.RetrievedFebruary 20,2020.In an editorial, the centrist Mainichi Shimbun said that Mr. Trump might have taken a strategy of...
  2. ^"Japan's media accuse Carlos Ghosn of 'cowardly act' after flight to Lebanon".The Guardian.January 1, 2020.RetrievedFebruary 20,2020.The centre-left Mainichi Shimbun quoted a senior prosecutor as saying: "This is what we predicted. This has ruined the prosecutors' painstaking work."
  3. ^"Beijing will be watching Suga-Biden talks closely".The Japan Times.April 17, 2021.RetrievedFebruary 20,2023.Only two daily newspapers, the liberal Mainichi Shimbun and the conservative Sankei Shimbun, ran contrasting editorials on April 14 and 15.
  4. ^abABCJapan, average for In March 2022
  5. ^Chu thức hội xã mỗi nhật tân văn xã,Kabushiki-gaisha Mainichi Shimbunsha
  6. ^"Corporate philosophy of the Mainichi Newspapers Co".Mainichi.co.jp.RetrievedAugust 12,2020.
  7. ^"The Mainichi".mainichi.jp.Archived fromthe originalon June 23, 2012.RetrievedJune 23,2012.
  8. ^グループ hội xã ・ đoàn thể / hữu hảo hội xã リンク nhất lãm[Group Companies and Organization / Related Companies Link List] (in Japanese). Mainichi Newspapers Group Holdings. Archived fromthe originalon May 4, 2016.RetrievedApril 25,2016.
  9. ^Duyên cách[History] (in Japanese). Sports Nippon Newspapers. Archived fromthe originalon May 5, 2016.RetrievedApril 25,2016.
  10. ^Nihon Shinbun Kyokai,Mainichi announces its online news site merger with MSNArchived2007-12-17 at theWayback MachineNews Bulletin No. 28 April 2004.
  11. ^Reliability and openness key features of new Mainichi siteArchived2007-10-04 at theWayback MachineMainichi Daily News,2007-09-18.
  12. ^(in Japanese)Sản kinh Webは “MSN sản kinh ニュース” に変わります,Sankei Shinbun,2007-09-18.
  13. ^Wakabayashi 2000,p. 319.
  14. ^Kajimoto 2015,p. 37, Postwar Judgment: II. Nanking War Crimes Tribunal.
  15. ^Honda 1999,pp. 125–127.
  16. ^"Chronology of problems with English-language site - Mainichi Daily News".September 4, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon September 4, 2008.RetrievedDecember 13,2021.
  17. ^ "Analysis of the investigative team"Archived2008-09-04 at theWayback MachineMainichi Newspapers,2008-07-20.
  18. ^ab"Japanese newspaper admits infamous sex column was untrue"Archived2018-01-21 at theWayback MachineTelegraph.co.uk,The Daily Telegraph,2008-7-22
  19. ^(in Japanese)Anh ngữ bản サイトに “Đê tục” な nhật bổn thiệu giới ký sự を yết tái mỗi nhật tân văn がおわびArchived2008-06-27 at theWayback MachineSANSPO.COM,The Sankei Shinbun,2008-06-24.
  20. ^ab"Punitive measures over Mainichi Daily News WaiWai column announced"Archived2008-09-04 at theWayback MachineMainichi Newspapers,2008-06-28.
  21. ^ab"WaiWai is dead"Archived2008-06-27 at theWayback MachineJapan Inc,2008-06-22.
  22. ^(in Japanese)Mỗi nhật tân văn anh ngữ bản サイト “変 thái ニュース” を thế giới phát tínArchived2008-06-23 at theWayback MachineJ-CAST,2008-06-20.
  23. ^ab"Chronology of problems with English-language site"Archived2008-09-04 at theWayback MachineMainichi Newspapers,2008-07-20.
  24. ^(in Japanese)Mỗi nhật が anh văn サイト nhất bộ bế tỏa “Đê tục” と kháng nghị 3 bách kiệnArchived2012-07-21 atarchive.today47NEWS,Kyodo News,2008-06-24.
  25. ^Mainichi will ’severely punish’ employees who contributed to WaiWai columnArchived2008-06-28 at theWayback MachineJapan Probe,2008-06-24.
  26. ^(in Japanese)“Đê tục quá ぎる” mỗi nhật tân văn anh ngữ bản のゴシップサイトが phê phán thụ け bế tỏaArchived2008-08-08 at theWayback MachineINTERNET Watch,Impress Watch,2008-06-24.
  27. ^"Apology to readers for WaiWai column"Archived2008-08-28 at theWayback MachineMainichi Newspapers,2008-06-25.
  28. ^(in Japanese)“Mỗi nhật jp” が tự xã quảng cáo だらけに, ネット thượng に thâm いつめ tích tàn るArchived2016-11-03 at theWayback MachineNikkei BP,2008-07-08.
  29. ^"The Birth of Blog Discourse"Archived2008-11-09 at theWayback Machine(translation of blog post inCNET Japan),Néojaponisme,November 6, 2008.
  30. ^The writer was Ryann Connell. Justin Norrie,"Japanese set the blogs on 'sleazy Australian' writer"Archived2009-02-24 at theWayback MachineThe Age,2008-07-05.
  31. ^ab "Mainichi Daily News to start over again"Archived2008-09-03 at theWayback MachineMainichi Daily News,2008-07-20.

Further reading

edit
  • De Lange, William (2023).A History of Japanese Journalism: State of Affairs and Affairs of State.Toyo Press.ISBN978-94-92722-393.
edit