Englishに関連する記事

By Tetsuya Kuroyabu

Japan's newspaper industry has a unique and controversial business practice known as "Oshigami." The term refers to excess copies of newspapers that publishers send to local newspaper shops even though those shops have little or no realistic prospect of selling them.

The practice has existed for decades and is closely connected to the economics of newspaper circulation and advertising.

■What Is Oshigami?

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It has been learned that Nippon Cultural Broadcasting removed a radio program about “fragrance harm” that was broadcast on August 5 after receiving a protest from a citizens’ group. The program had also been available on YouTube, but it can no longer be accessed.

The group that protested was Canary Network Japan, represented by Kazuko Aoyama and Keiko Fukaya. The group claimed that Dr. Riko Muranaka, who spoke about fragrance harm on the program, made incorrect statements.

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By Tetsuya Kuroyabu

Here is an important question.

If newspaper stores receive a large number of newspapers they cannot sell, why don’t most of them go out of business?

There are two main reasons.First, newspaper companies give money to newspaper stores to cover part of their losses.Second, there is money from advertising flyers.

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By Tetsuya Kuroyabu

The English-language Wikipedia has raised questions about the reliability of circulation figures reported by Japanese newspapers:

“Some figures are disputed; the numbers for Japanese newspapers have been subjected to claims of ‘oshigami’…”

The issue known as “oshigami” has remained largely hidden from public view in Japan for more than 50 years, with no clear solution in sight.

“Oshigami” refers to newspapers that publishers or their distribution networks supply to newspaper dealers in quantities exceeding actual subscriber demand. Dealers may still be required to pay for these unsold copies. As a result, the number of newspapers supplied to dealers can be significantly higher than the number actually delivered to paying readers.

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By Tetsuya Kuroyabu

Eighty-one years have passed since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

On August 6, 1945, the world’s first atomic bomb used in warfare exploded about 600 meters above Hiroshima. Radiation, extreme heat, the blast, and the fires that followed devastated the city. Hiroshima had an estimated population of 340,000 to 350,000 at the time, and tens of thousands died within the following months.

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By Tetsuya Kuroyabu

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.

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