Japan's newspapers in a good spot despite recession

Posted by Nestor Bailly on November 30, 2009 at 4:02 PM

Kotaro Akiyama, president of Asahi Shimbun, Japan's second-largest newspaper, reassured the Financial Times that Japanese newspapers are sitting pretty and will not experience a decline like their European and North American counterparts.

Mr. Akiyama claimed that Japanese newspapers' robustness comes from their strong distribution network that buoys some of the highest circulation rates in the world.

About one newspaper per household is sold every day in Japan.

"From Wakkanai in the extreme north of Hokkaido to Anami-Oshima [a small island far to the south of Kyushu], we have more than 2,600 distribution points employing about 70,000 people. To the extent that we have that base, I don't think there will be any sudden fall in circulation," said Mr. Akiyama.

Home delivery subscriptions account for over 90% of Japanese newspaper circulation, which has remained strong throughout 2009. The Asahi Shimbun's circulation was down only 0.1% in the first half of 2009, while some American newspapers fell 10.6% during the same period.

The Asahi's morning circulation tops 8 million, more than the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Daily Telegraph, The Times and The Guardian put together.

Mr Akiyama said that, given Japan's ageing population and the growth of the internet, circulation will "decline little by little, not quickly, but there is no way of stopping it."

However, like in North America and Europe, Japanese papers are experiencing difficulties with advertising revenue. Various cost and job cuts have been made at the Asahi, and Mr. Akiyama says he is closely watching the various western experiments with online paid content.

Source: Financial Times