“Oshigami”: The Taboo at the Heart of Japan’s Newspaper Industry

One of the most deeply entrenched taboos in Japan’s media industry is a practice known as “oshigami” — literally, “pushed papers.”
Oshigami refers to newspaper copies that publishers supply to their sales agents in excess of the number actually needed to meet subscriber demand. Sales agents are nevertheless required, formally or in practice, to accept and pay for these excess copies.



















































